Description

John Ross served the Cherokee Nation in a public capacity for nearly fifty years thirtyeight as its constitutionally elected principal chief Historian W Dale Weeks describes Rosss efforts to protect the tribes interests amid systematic attacks on indigenous culture throughout the nineteenth century At the outset of the Civil War Ross called for all Cherokees to remain neutral in a war they did not supporta position that became untenable when the US withdrew its forces from Indian Territory The vacated forts were quickly occupied by Confederate troops who pressured the Cherokees to align with the South

Viewed from the Cherokee perspective these events can be seen in their proper context as part of the history of US Indian policy failed foreign relations and the AngloAmerican conquest of the American West This approach also clarifies President Lincolns acknowledgment of the federal governments abrogation of its treaty obligation and his commitment to restoring political relations with the Cherokeesa commitment abruptly ended when Andrew Johnson sought to punish the Cherokees for their perceived disloyalty

Centering a Native point of view this book recasts and expands what we know about John Ross the Cherokee Nation its commitment to maintaining its sovereignty and the Civil War era in Indian Territory