Local merchant William Holland Thomas, a longtime ally of the Cherokee who was adopted into the tribe, became their lawyer and drew up a simple plan of self-governance. Under the leadership of Chief Yonaguska, the Qualla Cherokee separated from the authority of the Cherokee Nation in 1819. Most of the Cherokee people were forced out of the area after passage of the Indian Removal Act of 1830, with approximately 11,000 Cherokee people relocated from North Carolina via the tragic Trail of Tears.īut some of the indigenous people evaded capture in the Great Smoky Mountains, while others were allowed to stay due to earlier treaties. The Cherokee and their ancestors had occupied this area for centuries before the first Europeans arrived.īut once gold was discovered near modern-day Dahlonega and Helen GA in 1828, attracting thousands of settlers to the Blue Ridge region, conflict between them and the Cherokee people became increasingly common. That’s partly because most of the area lies within the Qualla Boundary, which is held as a land trust by the US Bureau of Indian Affairs for the federally recognized Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Cherokee, North Carolina is not like any other town we’ve ever visited during our extensive explorations of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
