Western North Carolina Heritage

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Western North Carolina Native American History Resources

Literature by and about Native Americans in Western North Carolina is not extensive. Early accounts of the life of the Cherokee, the Catawba and other tribes are scattered within early traveler's accounts, government documents, periodicals, and in fiction and non-fiction books. It is often difficult to derive material specific to the region from the more extensive body of literature on Native Americans. This bibliography does not seek to be comprehensive. It  is a work in progress with primary focus on local holdings pertaining to the Eastern Band of Cherokee.

To explore some of the early nineteenth and  twentieth century descriptions of  Native Americans, see Race and Ethnicity.

Illustration from "The French Broad," by Constance Fenimore Woolson, in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. 50, Issue 299, April 1875, p.633.

Arneach, Lloyd 
The Animals' Ballgame: a Cherokee Story from the Eastern Band
1990
Western Carolina University
Book illustrated by Lydia G. Halverson with sound cassette.

Browder, Nathaniel C.
The Cherokee Indians and Those Who Came After: Notes for a History of Cherokee County, North Carolina, 1835-1860 (Draft Copy)
1973
UNCA
Cherokee history, census and genealogy resource.

Carney, Virginia Moore. 
A Testament to Tenacity: Cultural Persistence in the Letters and Speeches of Eastern Band Cherokee Women
2000
Western Carolina University
Author's dissertation (University of Kentucky).

Duncan, Barbara, et al
The Cherokee Artist Directory 2001
2001
UNCA - NC Documents
Museum of the Cherokee Indian in collaboration with the North Carolina Arts Council and the Cultural Resources Division of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians: "A project of the Blue Ridge Heritage Initiative, a collaboration of local, tribal, state, and federal partners in the Appalachian region of North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia."

Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Planning Board (Tribal Council)
Comprehensive Plan
1974
Western Carolina University
Seven volume work that explores the following topics: Population & economy study - Environmental reconnaissance inventory - The impact of land tenure - Land use analysis and initial housing study - Index for maps (with supplement for Cherokee County tracts) - Commercial areas appearance improvement program - Recreation development guide.

The Eastern Cherokees: How They Live Today, Their History
1937
UNCA - Special Collections
Government published information pamphlet.

Finger, John
Cherokee Americans: The Eastern Band of Cherokees in the Twentieth Century
1992
UNCA
Traces twentieth-century history and social conditions.

Finger, John R.
The Eastern Band of Cherokees, 1819-1900
UNCA
1984

Galloway, Mary Regina Ulmer, ed.
Aunt Mary, Tell Me a Story: a Collection of Cherokee Legends and Tales 
1990
Western Carolina University - Special Collections 
As told by Mary Ulmer Chiltoskey with illustrations by Lib Lambert, John Barton Galloway and Goingback Chiltoskey.

Gilbert, William H.
The Eastern Cherokees
1978
UNCA
Reprint of the 1943 edition published by the Smithsonian Institution as a bulletin for the Bureau of American Ethnology.

Gilbert, William H.
The Cherokees of North Carolina: Living Memorials of the Past
1957
UNCA - Special Collections
Part of a Smithsonian annual report.

Gray, Sam
Mythic Maps: an Exhibition of Cherokee Legends in the Appalachian Landscape
1979
UNCA - Special Collections
Presented by the Mountain Heritage Center of Western Carolina University.

Hamilton, Anna Blanche 
Rabbit Goes Duck Hunting: Cherokee Indian legend
1954
Appalachian State University - Special Collections
As retold by Hamilton with illustrations by Cherokee Indian School (Cherokee, N.C.) elementary students. 

Indians of North Carolina: Past and Present
1999
UNCA - Reference
Contains a section of biographical and historical information on the Eastern Band of Cherokee.

Jarrett, Robert Frank 
Occoneechee: the Maid of the Mystic Lake 
1946
UNCA - Special Collections
Includes a glossary of Cherokee words.

Johnson, F. Roy 
Stories of the Old Cherokees: Based on Reports and Collections of James Mooney and Others
1975
Appalachian State University

Kilpatrick, Jack Frederick and Anna Gritts Kilpatrick
Eastern Cherokee Folktales
1966
Western Carolina University
Reconstructed from the field notes of Frans M. Olbrechts.  A bulletin of the Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology.

Kilpatrick, Jack Frederick, ed.
The Wahnenauhi Manuscript: Historical Sketches of the Cherokees, Together with Some of Their Customs, Traditions, and Superstitions
1966
Western Carolina University
Memoirs of Lucy L. Keys (Wahnenauhi), a nineteenth-century Cherokee, as edited by Kilpatrick.

Kupferer, Harriet J.
The "Principal People," 1960: a Study of Cultural and Social Groups of the Eastern Cherokee
1966
Western Carolina University

Lee, E. Lawrence 
Indian Wars in North Carolina, 1663-1763
1963
UNCA

Long, Marcelina
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians: Genealogy Workbook
1998
Appalachian State University
Compiled for Cherokee Publications.

Middleton, T. Walter 
Qualla, Home of the Middle Cherokee Settlement: Tales of the Great Smoky Mountains' Native Americans
1999
Western Carolina University

Mooney, James
Myths of the Cherokee and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees
1972
UNCA
Reprints of the 1900 and 1891 landmark editions respectively, published in the 19th and 7th Annual Reports from the Bureau of American Ethnology.

Mooney, James
The Swimmer Manuscript: Cherokee Sacred Formulas and Medicinal Prescriptions
1932
Western Carolina University - Special Collections
Revised, completed and edited by Frans M. Olbrechts.

Moore, David G., ed.
The Conference on Cherokee Prehistory
1986 
Western Carolina University - State
"Papers presented at the Conference on Cherokee Prehistory: the archaeology of an Appalachian culture, Warren Wilson College, September 14-15, 1984. Sponsored by Warren Wilson College and the Western Office of the North Carolina Division of Archives and History and funded in part by a grant from the North Carolina Humanities Committee."

North Carolina Indians
1982
Appalachian State University
N.C. Commission of Indian Affairs published pamphlet.

North Carolina Task Force to Study State-Cherokee Tribe Relations 
Final Report of Task Force to Study State-Cherokee Tribe Relations 
1985
Western Carolina University

O'Donnell, James H., III
The Cherokees of North Carolina in the American Revolution
1976
UNCA

Perdue, Theda
Native Carolinians: the Indians of North Carolina
1985
UNCA

Perry, Myra Jean 
Food Use of "Wild" Plants by Cherokee Indians
1974
Appalachian State University
Author's M.S. thesis is specific to the Eastern Band of Cherokee in North Carolina.

Rights, Douglas L. 
The American Indian in North Carolina
1947 (1957)
UNCA
Exceptionally well-indexed classic study of North Carolina Indians.

Rivers, Olivia S.
The Changes in Composition, Function, and Aesthetic Criteria as a Result of Acculturation Found in Five Traditional Dances of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina
1990
Appalachian State University
Author's Ph. D. thesis from University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Royce, Charles C. 
The Cherokee Nation of Indians
1975
Appalachian State University
Details treaties and government relations.

Scalone, Lorraine
The Peacekeepers: A Qualitative Study of an Intervention Program for Children Who are At-Risk for School Failure
1997
Western Carolina University
Master's thesis specifically focusing on education services for Cherokee children.

Schroedl, Gerald F. 
Overhill Cherokee Archaeology at Chota-Tanasee
1986
Western Carolina University
University of Tennessee Department of Anthropology report of archaeological excavation investigations.

Setzler, Frank M. and Jesse D. Jennings 
Peachtree Mound and Village Site, Cherokee County, North Carolina
1946
UNCA - Special Collections
With appendix and details of skeletal remains from the Peachtree site by T. D. Stewart.

Sharp, J. Ed.
The Cherokees, Past and Present: an Authentic Guide to the Cherokee People
1970
UNCA
Discusses Cherokee history, social life and customs.

Siler, David W.
The Eastern Cherokees: a Census of the Cherokee Nation in North Carolina
1972
Appalachian State University
Reproduction.

Siler, Margaret R. 
Cherokee Indian Lore and Smoky Mountain Stories
1990
Western Carolina University
Edited by Barbara A. McRae with artwork by James H. McRae.

South, Stanley A.
Indians in North Carolina
1959
UNCA - Juvenile Literature

Speck, Frank G., and Leonard Broom
Cherokee Dance and Drama
1951
Western Carolina University
Written in collaboration with Will West Long.

Spindel, Donna
Introductory Guide to Indian-Related Records, to 1876, in the North Carolina State Archives
1977
Appalachian State University

Sturtevant, William C.
Handbook of North American Indians
1978-1996
UNCA
Smithsonian Institution publication.  Volume 4 details the History of Indian-White Relations, while volumes 9 and 10 discuss Indians of the Southwest. 

Underwood, Thomas Bryan and Moselle Stack Sandlin
Cherokee Legends and the Trail of Tears 
1956
UNCA
From the nineteenth annual report of the Bureau of American Ethnology.  Adapted from the John Burnett Version of the Cherokee removal, courtesy of the Museum of the Cherokee Indian.

United States, Bureau of Indian Affairs
Indians of North Carolina
1968 
Western Carolina University - Special Collections

United States Congress, Senate, Committee on Indian Affairs
Memorial of the Eastern or Emigrant Cherokees: Mr. Morgan Presented the Following Memorial of the Eastern or Emigrant Cherokees, So Called, Praying for the Payment to Them Per Capita of the Trust Fund Due Under the Ninth Article of the Treaty of 1846
1900
Appalachian State University

United States, General Land Office
Cherokee Indian Reservation Eastern Band Cherokee Indians Field Notes of the Qualla Boundary Survey
1878
Western Carolina University
Land survey field notes of the General Land Office, Department of the Interior, 1878, from a survey of the Cherokee Reservation / Qualla Boundary. Includes land surveys from the adjoining counties of Swain, Graham, Jackson, Macon and Cherokee.

United States, National Archives and Records Service
American Indians: a Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications
1984
Appalachian State University
Summarizes the historical background for different record groupings relating to Indians in the National Archives. Frequently mentions the Cherokee.

United States, Office of Indian Affairs
Eastern Cherokees in North Carolina: Letter from the Secretary of the Interior in Response to Resolution of the House of February 25, 1882, Relative to the Lands and Funds of the Eastern Band of North Carolina Cherokees
1882
Appalachian State University
Report prepared in the Office of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.

White, Alice D. (Cherokee County Historical Museum)
The Heritage of Cherokee County, North Carolina
1987
UNCA - Special Collections

PERIODICAL ARTICLES

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from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, administered by the State Library
of North Carolina, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources.