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O'Siyo All,

The area surrounding Hartwell Lake is rich in the native American history of several different Indian groups. Cherokees are the first to come to mind, but they were the last Indian inhabitants of this region. The most notable of the Indian groups were the "Mound Builders" of the Mississippian culture. The mounds these people built were later used by the Cherokee as foundations for their town houses. One such mound of the Hartwell Lake area was Estatoe Mound, which was located on the upper reaches of the Tugaloo River.

The Mound Builders had vanished mysteriously, but other tribes that were part of the Woodland culture were living in the Hartwell area when the Cherokees arrived from the north. Related to the Iroquois tribes, inter-tribal pressures had sent the Cherokee to the south and west. Ranging over several present day states, they settled mainly in the area of Eastern TN, Western NC, Northern GA and Western SC.

Eventually their settlements were divided into three areas: the Overhill towns, the Middle towns, and the Lower towns. A town was composed of a community of about 25 to 200 houses and evolved around the town house where religious ceremonies were performed and tribal councils were held. The towns had a great deal of independent auithority, however, the central power rested at the capital of Chota in the Overhill towns.

The Cherokees had a complex tradition of legends which explained most forces in the natural world. They also had an intricate social system in the areas of war, peace and the family.

The woman's role in Cherokee family society was far more advanced than her European counterpart at the time of the first meeting of these two cultures. Although they could not vote (many warriors also could not vote) they could exert a good deal of influence on decisions. Cherokee society was matrilineal. That is, people traced their descent from their mother's side of the family. Women were also the guiding hand in the home.

With the arrival of the Europeans, the Cherokees entered into an everchanging power struggle with the French and British. They grew to rely on European trade goods which influenced their involvement in the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. Their main concern was for their land which was being taken over at a fast pace by the settlers.

The Cherokees backed the British during the Revolutions in hopes of retaining their land. They were defeated by the American forces before the end of the war and forced to cede what land they held in the Hartwell Lake region. They continued to hold land in the southeast until the late 1830s when they were removed to Oklahoma on the "Trail of Tears." A smali band stayed in the mountains of North Carolina and their descendants live there today.

Do hi yi.

Quv (na)