The Cherokee Memorials
The Cherokee Memorials (1829)
Introduction
We often think of a “memorial” as something like a “tribute,” but that isn’t quite what it means in this context. As American Passages explains:
A direct appeal to Congress, the courts, or another official federal body, a “memorial” was the nineteenth-century equivalent of a petition. The Cherokee tribe produced articulate and compelling memorials asking the United States Congress to allow them to stay in their traditional homelands east of the Mississippi. The Cherokee Council, which was the official leadership body of the tribe, composed its own memorial to send to Congress, while also submitting twelve other memorials written by Cherokee citizens. Despite their eloquence, the Cherokee memorials were not effective and the tribe was relocated in 1838.
Anticipating that they would soon be ordered to “remove” from their homelands, the Cherokee Council composed the Memorials as a direct appeal to the US Congress. Given the context of that moment (Jacksonian Indian Removal policies coupled with the recent discovery of gold on Cherokee lands), it makes sense that the Cherokees would be looking for ways to preserve their nation. It might also make sense to us that they were in a precarious position: they are appealing to a large, powerful, and increasingly violent sovereign nation, and part of their argument involves pointing out how that larger, more powerful nation has violated a legal agreement against them. As you read, consider how the Cherokees build their argument, and how they position themselves with respect to their audience.
Discussion Questions:
- How do the Cherokees build their argument? How do they position themselves and their audience? Where do you find them most convincing, and why?
- Examine the Cherokee Memorials in conjunction with other legal documents like the Mayflower Compact (found in William Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation) or the Declaration of Independence. What does each document outline? How does each establish what is being agreed upon? How does each address the consequences of violating these agreements?
- Examine the Cherokee Memorials in light of Pratt’s “contact zone” definition.
- How might the Cherokee Memorials be in conversation with texts by other Native writers during this period? In what ways do they engage with the ideas offered by writers like David Cusick, William Apess, or Black Hawk?
- How do the Cherokee Memorials urge us to consider what counts as “American”?
CHEROKEES MEMORIALIZE CONGRESS.
While the negotiations leading up to the conclusion of this treaty were in progress John Ross and his delegation, finding no disposition 276on the part of the executive authority to enter into a discussion of Cherokee affairs predicated upon any other basis than an abandonment by them of their homes and country east of the Mississippi, presented a memorial to Congress complaining of the injuries done them and praying for redress. Without affecting t