| Regions with significant populations |
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| United States ( Tennessee) ( Alabama) ( Georgia) |
| Related ethnic groups |
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Chikamaka, Creek, Shawnee, Cherokee, Catawba, Saponi, Natchez, Mohawk, Delaware, Choctaw, and Chickasaw |
The Chikamaka Band are an American Indian people who are indigenous to Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia.
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The members are descended from groups of American Indians, who came together resisting the encroachments of European-descended settlers of what became the United States of America.[1] Their alliance, known as the Chickamauga Confederacy, was largely made up of people from the following American Indian groups: Chikamaka, Catawba, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Delaware, Mohawk, Natchez, Saponi, and Shawnee.[1] It also included allied groups of Tories, many of whom were of Scottish, Irish, or German origin.[1]
The principal territory of the Chikamaka Band in Tennessee is in the counties of Grundy, Marion, Sequatchie, Franklin, Warren and Coffee.
On 19 June 2010, the Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs recognized the Chikamaka Band as a Tennessee State Indigenous American Indian Tribe;[2] however, the state attorney general's office declared that recognition "void and of no effect" on 3 September 2010.[3] This continues in appeal in the court system of Davidson County, Tennessee and of the courts in Tennessee. The outcome of whether the tribes retain recognition is yet to be determined.
The term "Chikamaka" has been translated as “break-away” people.[4] People from various Native American groups who were unhappy about the attempts of European-descended settlers to take their lands, along with Tories dispossessed by the American Revolution, joined the Chikamaka and formed the Chickamauga confederacy.[4][5]
Tsiyugunsini, or "Dragging Canoe" left the Cherokee in 1776 and joined the Chikamaka.[4][5] Tsiyugunsini became perhaps the best known chief of the Chikamaka.[4] Chuwalee was another, less well known chief.[4]
From 1776 to 1782 the Chikamaka under Tsiyugunsini warred on the American settlers of Tennessee and southern Virginia in alliance with the British.[5]
In 1779 eleven Chikamaka towns in the area of Chattanooga and Knockville were assaulted and burned by a force led by Evan Shelby.[5]
Tsiyugunsini ("Dragging Canoe") died in February 1792 at Lookout Town (near Trenton, Georgia) after celebrating a successful raid by his brother, "Turtle At Home" and Chief Glass.[5] In this raid Chikamaka warriors killed several members of the John Collingsworth family and captured an eight-year-old girl.[5] After Tsiyugunsini's death, John Watts of Will's Town led the Chikamaka warriors.[5]
In 1794, the Chikamaka towns of Running Water and Nickajack were destroyed by a force led by Major James Ore.[5] Many of the people of the towns were killed.[4] Many of he men had been away at a social gathering.[5] The survivors retreated to the hilly terrain of Black Bear Mountain (Monteagle Mountain), now known as the South Cumberland Plateau.[4] They intended to hold this land at all costs, resolving to die in its defense if the could not live there unmolested.[4] After much hardship the Chikamaka succeeded in retaining these lands.[4] The fighting largely ceased after the 1796 Tellico Treaty, which was signed by John Watts for the Chikamaka.[5]
John Ore, leader of the 1794 attack on Nickajack, settled in the rebuilt town of Nickajack after 1800. He engaged in mining, and the manufacture of gunpowder for the Chikamaka, as well as operating a tavern.[5]
Most of the Chikamaka people remained in their homeland and assimilated into American society.[1] However they preserved and handed down their own traditions and sense of identity. Since they came together, the Chikamaka have intermarried with people of other races.[1] Some of their cultural practices have changed over the years. During the Forced Removal the Chikamaka remained in their mountainous stronghold with and mostly escaped the attentions of the US Army and the state militias.[1] The Chikamaka were denied the allotments and other things granted to groups of so called "Peaceful Indians", as they had fought with US forces for more than twenty years. Because of this history of conflict, the Chikamaka were known to both "Whites" and "Peaceful" Indians as "The Hostiles."[1]
The Chikamaka aided in the escape of numerous Indians who passed through their lands.[1] Some such transients chose to remain and become a part of the Chikamaka people.[1]
Many of the Chikamaka avoided official records including the US census, and even if their deaths are recorded, they may not be included in Census records. Others did take part in the Census and were often labeled as "White", "Mulatto", or "Free Person of Color" in census records, regardless of their Indian ancestry.[1] Records on those of the Chikamaka who did participate in the Census may be filed in the records of any of the following counties: Grundy, Marion, Sequatchie, Franklin, Warren and Coffee. Since county boundaries have changed, the current boundaries are not a safe guide to where particular records may be filed.[1]
Due to their history of intermarriage, current members and descendants of the Chikamaka have a range of physical appearances, including some who have blue eyes and light skin, even though a majority of their ancestry may be Native American.[1] Some such people consider themselves "Indians" or "Native Americans", regardless of their physical appearance or exact ancestry.