The Cherokees in Indian Territory. Before the forced removal known as the "Trail of Tears", White people came to the Indian Territory as traders, missionaries, soldiers, etc. A young missionary couple travelled from New England to Dwight Mission in 1834. Cassandra Sawyer Lockwood's first view of the Cherokees took place at the mouth of Salasaw [Sallisaw] Creek, a branch of the Arkansas river and filled her with dread. "Here, for the first time, I beheld the Cherokees, the shores being lined with Indians and negroes. The negroes were the slaves of the Indians. The men were dressed with trowsers made of common striped bed-ticking & hunting shirts made of factory gingham in [the] form of short, loose gowns. They were generally without covering for the head, though some wore handkerchiefs in the form of turbans."1 Bird Doublehead was born in what became the Saline District of Indian Territory in 1828. His parents had moved voluntarily from Georgia in 1815. In his recollection of clothes he wore as a boy, he referred to wearing hides and furs when he lived in the hills. This statement could be important from a socio-economic view. Since almost all of the oral recollections of life in the nineteenth century and many commentaries from that period present evidence that the majority of clothing was hand spun, it is very possible that isolated families who did not own a loom had to revert to tanning hides. "Our clothing was made with a spinning wheel, reel and loom. We would sit around the fireplace at night at Alex and Becky's house and pick seeds out of the cotton so that it could be carded, reeled and woven. I never saw any cotton until I got down to Wilson's place. Up in the hills our clothing was more or less of hides and furs. "The clothing was colored different colors by the use of different barks of the trees. For example shumac with a little copperas boiled down to a strong liquid made a tan color. Sycamore boiled down would make a red. We could get indigo up at the store at Fort Gibson and this would make any and all kinds of shades of blue. "The Indians usually wore moccasins up in the hills in the Saline District made from hides and furs. Later they would make shoes. We had no shoe tacks, and we would have to whittle shoe pegs usually out of ash or maple. We would take cowhide and tan it with bark, and if the hair did not come off easily with the bark preparation we would take lye and throw it on the hide and let it stay there overnight and then the hair would scrape off easily the next morning. We used hog bristles and squirrel skins cut into threads to sew the shoes. "You have heard them say and recall the age of a boy by referring to him as a shirt tail boy. This was because we never wore pants until we were about eleven or twelve years old, they wore just long shirts."23 The reference to "shirt tail boys" was explained by Ed Williams, a Negro man raised in the Flint district. "All Indians dressed about as they do now, except the children, who wore long shirts until they were about twelve years old when they would put clothes on them. Some of the full bloods here in the hills today dress their children in just about the same way."4 According to L. W. Wilson a long shirt was also called a "sweep"5. This is the only reference to this garment called a "sweep" located by the authors. 1839 saw three political entities in the Indian Territory. When the "Trail of Tears" emigrants arrived, even with their reduced number, they outnumbered the old settlers and Treaty Party Cherokees by two to one.6 Both the old settlers and the new emigrants had a chief and their own set of laws. Various conferences were held but not always with the desire on the part of different factions to solve the problem.7 A major council was held from the 10th of June to the 19th of June in 1839.8 In a communiqué from M. Stokes, Agent for the Cherokee Nation, to Captain William Armstrong, on June 24, 1839, he described the events that preceded the murder of three of the leaders of the Treaty Party, John Ridge (father) and John Ridge (son) and Elias Boudinot. To many of the Cherokees, while they did not sanction the action, it was considered just retribution for signing away their lands east of the Mississippi by the Treaty of 1835. "When General Arbuckle and Myself got to their Council Major John Ridge and his son John Ridge, Elias Boudinot and his brother Stand Watie were all present, but they all left the Council Ground that evening, and (as I have since understood) apprehensive of danger. It was known before they went away, that most of those concerned in making the late treaty of New Echota [Removal treaty of 1835] had joined the old Cherokee party, who first removed to this Country, and were opposed to John Ross and his party."9 According to Grant Foreman, some "Old settler" Cherokees had considered killing the two Ridges and Boudinot in 1838.10 Despite the conflict and turmoil, most of the "Old Settlers" and the new emigrants joined together by "An Act Of Union" on July 12, 1839 under the leadership of John Ross. In September, a council was convened in Tahlequah and adopted a constitution. This gave them the platform for establishing a system of justice and electing delegates and a Chief of the Cherokee Nation. Ross was elected to this latter position. To an outsider, an Indian celebration and council meeting must have been an interesting sight. John Howard Payne wrote about both. The first took place on Saturday, October 31, 1840. ".....I digress - I was speaking of the cavalcade accompanying the principal Chief and the Washington Delegation on their return homeward. "I saw the train passing among the scenery I have mentioned and there was much of the Salvator Rosa effect in the line of horsemen, - some with turbans, red, yellow, green11, white; -some with hats of every form and hue, excepting any which I had ever before witnessed. Their garments - mostly bright colored robes of prints, calico, no two alike - and, here and there an Indian beaded belt and pouch - On every shoulder a rifle; - at every belt, pistols and a knife."12 "......Horses are tied among the trees, through which there appears an ever moving multitude of men, women, and children, of all complexions and costumes, and of Indians from various tribes, some with the simple blanket folded around them, - others glittering with silver bands and bracelets and every variety of bead and bauble and colored robe and tunic and embroidered belt and moccasin and pouch and legging."13 Some members of the Western Cherokees did not recognize the new government and tried to declare it null and void.14 As late as 1842, some killings were committed to supposedly "revenge" the deaths of the two Ridges and Boudinot.15 Other killings occurred over the next few years committed by an element of both Cherokees and Whites opposed to the new Government.16 By 1844, the Cherokees had established a newspaper in the Indian Territory called The Cherokee Advocate. The paper was established by William Ross, the brother of Chief, John Ross.17 As stated in previous sections, with the adaptation to the White man's ways came the concept of distinct social stratification. Two visitors, John D. Lang and Samuel Taylor, jun. visited the Indian territory in 1842 and noted some of their observations: "There is less similarity in the general appearance of the Cherokees than in any other tribe. They are divided into three distinct classes. First; those that are pretty well civilized and appear intelligent. Second; those who may be reckoned among the half civilized or apprentices in civilization. Third; those who have made little improvement in their dress and manners; the last class is most numerous. They are cultivators of the soil, and have generally given up hunting, but are dissipated."18 Whether the poorest class was in preponderance cannot be ascertained. Hitchcock commented upon the huts of a large number of poor Indians along the Spavinaw.19 There, obviously was a great gulf between those Cherokees and the more affluent ones who partook in fancy balls. "Lieut. Ewel has been giving me an account of a Cherokee ball which he attended last evening at a Mr. Williams' about two miles from the garrison - Says there were about 40 ladies & as many Cherokee gentlemen with some white men including a gambler. Says the ladies were well dressed & that all behaved well - danced a certain reel incessantly, more complicated than the old Virginia reel."20 Authors Lang and Taylor do not elaborate on the Cherokee class structure beyond their noting it was multi-leveled. They did, however, describe Cherokee Industry: "The Cherokees live principally by farming. They raise neat cattle, horses, and other domestic animals, and keep an abundance of poultry. Some of the nation are extensive farmers and planters. Cotton is grown in the southern part of the nation, where most if not all who are able keep slaves to cultivate the land, do the work in the house &c. The manners and customs of this portion of the community do not differ materially from those of the white planters in the south and west. Their style of dress and mode of living are also very similar....They have generally adopted the manners of the whites more than any other tribe we met."21 General Hitchcock in his diaries, often referred to the economic and social conditions of the Cherokees. The following are some of the observations from his diary written from November 21, 1841 to January 4, 1841. These also include some important commentary on their dress. "There had been great Frauds by contractors upon the Indians - And I was sent to investigate the reports. I reported but the report was suppressed by the interest exerted by the contractors." [This statement was written in the fly-leaf of volume 24.] Left Fort Smith this morning and entered the Cherokee Nation on horseback- Dined at a Mr. Lowerys' a Cherokee High Sheriff..... Lowery has a good log house floored & well secured against bad weather - His wife, about 30, large but good looking woman neatly dressed in a check frock - Her little girl, about 10, was neatly dressed in check. There was nothing to distinguish appearance from those of many of our border people except the complexion (Cherokee) & superior neatness. Saw a spinning wheel & some hanks of spun cotton hanging in the passage between the two log houses under one roof." Visited the school......36 scholars except for one - ages from about 6-16. Quite fair, some with light hair & eyes.....well but plainly dressed." In 1844 the Reverend Henry C. Benson along with other ministers traversed the Cherokee Territory, traveling north-west' on their way from Fort Coffee Academy to Tahlequah. Benson wrote an account of the Cherokee civilization as witnessed during his travel. "....We saw many proofs of progress in their practical business operations and pursuits of life. There were occasional farms, with comfortable family dwellings, and with barns, orchards, wagons, carts, plows, harrows, and other implements of husbandry-all giving indication of intelligence, thrift, enterprise, and comparative wealth. But in the immediate vicinity of those comfortable homesteads we would see the smoky hovel and the little irregular patch of corn and pumpkins; and every object we saw would indicate degradations and squalid poverty. "There did not seem to be an equal distribution of the comforts of life among the people. The contrasts and differences were more marked than among the Choctaws. The better classes were more refined and wealthy, while the lower classes were more destitute and thriftless.....All the natives were dressed after the fashion of the whites on the frontiers, with the exception of a single garment--few of them wore hats upon their heads. It is the last article which an Indian will consent to adopt."22 This next passage referred to a mixed blood Cherokee, (one-half White and one-half Indian) who had daughters in school at Keene New Hampshire. "I asked Mr. Field if he was from that state. His daughters smiled & he answered that he was an Indian born & bred in Alabama. I could then see a tincture of the Indian complexion, but his whole demeanor & language bespeak a gentleman & a man of independence & character. I begin to see how it is that the Cherokees are noted for their progress in civilization. "Mr. Drew, a partner of Mr. Smith - a half breed. He emigrated with his father in 1809 to this country - has travelled to the North since he grew up. He says the Ancient customs of the nation are all gone - the green corn & other dances." "As we approached Tallequah we met several persons riding out, two women among them, well dressed & covered with shawls - the men were well dressed with hats & all are riding good horses "I came to Wolfes and what do I find - one of the neatest and most comfortable log houses I almost ever saw. Mr. W is a half-breed - a very portly large man (has a large arm chair expressly made for him) "Lewis Ross the merchant is wealthy & lives in considerable style. His house is of the cottage character, clapboard & painted - his floors carpetted - his furniture elegant, - cane bottomed chairs of a high finish - mahogany sofa - two superior mahogany [?] Rocking chairs - Mahogany lady's work table with drawers- a very superior Chickering piano on which his unmarried daughter.....plays some waltzes..... Mr Louis Ross told me he sold as a merchant no ornaments of any consequence - that the Cherokees bought nothing of that kind now- he sold a great proportion of domestics - Some ready made clothing - especially pantaloons & over Coats - a great many shoes of the latter article the Cherokees make great use almost dispensing with moccasins. "Many of the influential people in this Cherokee Nation are half-breeds. They are a free minded free spirited people very little shackled by conventional & on any subject they readily hit on the strong points & take little heed of minor considerations. They seem to be industrious & orderly. I have not yet seen a drunken man since I came into the Nation. The law prohibits the sale of arduous spirits. I have never seen any assembly of people more orderly than this at Tallequah. There are classes of people here - rich & poor, cultivated & uncultivated & they occupy the same relative positions as with us. The habits of life appear simple & natural. Savage customs and manners have disappeared. There are no villages strictly speaking but settlements more or less densely populated occupying favorable positions embracing a circle of many miles and various names ... There are many blacksmiths arriving therein but no shoemakers or professed tailors - no arts of any consequence beyond the building of very good log houses with doors & windows, some of the latter with glass & sliding windows. "Talked with Mr. Joseph Vann this morning sitting in the Council room before the council assembled. Mr. Vann is President of the Council: - say 45 yrs of age - came to this country 10 or 15 yrs ago - dresses in a frock overcoat - wears a kerchief in a turban form on his head - vest, pants & boots. he speaks perfect English & is a clear minded sensible man. Sparce population & many had begun to be comfortable. Some of them have sold their improvements to advantage to the last emigrants- of these many are very poor & are obliged to work hard for a living - No game of any consequence... Thinks they were more comfortable east of the Miss. But that the work of removal deprived great numbers of what little property they had, stock &c & that they have no means of supplying themselves here...States that many died in the removal - many children died but many are left helpless orphans depending upon the charity of those who are frequently scarcely able to take care of themselves. There are many blacksmiths in the nation. Some shoemakers 23. Leather is brought from the States......The men generally at this season have warm overcoats - some made of blankets - some of thick pilot cloth. Some have overcoats in the form of hunting shirts, bound with a belt of all varieties of cloth - The most have pantaloons- some wear buckskin leggings- have seen as yet but one man with his legs bare- In summer & at home there may be many more."24 Grant Foreman, in his discussion of the history of the Cherokee Advocate, quoted Indian Commissioner Pierce Butler as saying in his report for 1844: "The Cherokees display great mechanical talent; many, even most of the farmers are capable of stocking their own ploughs, helving their own hoes, and making gates and doors to their dwellings......They [the women] are no less contributors to the progressive social condition of their own people than are the men; they are fond of spinning and weaving and manifest great ingenuity in the manufacture of domestic cloth,....the material is well manufactured, and in the selection, variety and arrangement off the colors, they exhibit great taste and skill."25 Mrs. Hannah Hitchcock, the daughter of a missionary was asked to write her reminiscences of times in the Indian Territory. She described the dress and manufacture of cloth in the Cherokee Nation. "The people dressed in clothes spun and woven from cotton and wool by the busy hands of the Cherokee women. The women picked the seed from the cotton by hand, carded, spun and wove it into cloth for their dresses. Some who were able bought Turkey Red factory thread for stripes and plaid and for the men they carded, spun, and wove wool mixed with the cotton into jeans. For coats the men wore hunting shirts or frocks or jeans of broad stripes dyed in bright colors by the women, and these frocks were usually bordered with fringe. The women with their homespun dresses wore bright plaid shawls and on their heads were bright colored handkerchiefs, tied under the chin. On their feet were heavy low shoes and stockings knot of homespun yarn They wore their hair in two braids brought to the top of the head and fastened with a tuck comb.26 Speaking of homespun dresses, I myself while I was in my teens during the forties had one woven for me by a Cherokee woman which I wore with great pride. It was deep Indigo blue plaided with Turkey red and a thread of white and the sleeve-caps were trimmed with fringe that I made by raveling out a strip of cloth. I remember too, a baby dress made of homespun which looked like gingham and was trimmed with lace knit from blue factory thread."27 Most Cherokee women did not wear bonnets. They either wore handkerchiefs on their head or went bare headed. George Washington Tieske, born in 1862, remembered seeing women at camp meetings: "seated under these trees..and that most of them wore either large handkerchiefs on their heads or split bonnets."28 A split bonnet is shaped like a typical "pioneer" sunbonnet. However, its brim was made with removable wooden slats for stiffening. It was also called a slat bonnet. These were used as early as mid-century29 but not necessarily by Indian women. It is hard to know to what period Tieske was referring. It is probably safe to conclude, however, that it was after 1870. Elizabeth Ross summed up the dress that was worn in the Indian Territory during the nineteenth century. "During many years after the Cherokee removal from east of the Mississippi River, and their establishment of new homes in Indian territory, almost all clothing was made in the home. Many sheep were raised and there were many spinning wheels and looms throughout the nation. Spinning and the making of homespun wearing apparel had engaged the attention of numbers of the Cherokee long before their removal to the west, and in the new nation there was an increase in the number of sheep raised among the hills and valleys. "Many of the people of today recall having seen various articles of clothing which had been dyed, fitted and completed in the homes. The majority of the men wore, in cool or cold weather, the loose sack coat, which has been often referred to as the "hunting shirt". These coats were usually dyed bright colors, generally striped, and trimmed or bordered with fringes made of yarn or of one or more of the predominating colors of the coat. They were very durable and lasted for years. Practically all the homespun trousers were in blue color, and the striped "hunting shirts" and blue trousers were typical of the native Indians long before the civil war period, as well as for some years after. In the olden days many of the full blood councilmen from the various districts arrived at Talhlequah attired in the prevailing costume. Comparatively few "store clothes" were to be seen in the earlier period when the population was largely composed of native people. It was not until toward the end of the closing decades of the Cherokee Nation that spinning and weaving ceased and no more homespun cloth was made. "The portrait of Sequoya ....shows the famous Cherokee wearing a `hunting shirt' his head wrapped in a turban style and were there existent portraits of many others of the of the old-time Cherokee leaders they would be shown wearing the favorite costume of relatively modern times. As did Sequoya, the notables among the native Cherokee adhered to the wearing of the "hunting shirt" and other homespun accessories until the end of their days."30 The first sentence in the above paragraph is of critical importance for it demonstrates that some people were aware that the style of dress of Sequoyah and other old-time Cherokees reflected a not too distant past. The next few comments are from the Pioneer-Indian Papers: "Old William Dutch, also called Captain Dutch, one of the few early day Cherokees whose portrait was painted in a picturesque `hunting shirt', although like others of his countrymen he had the opportunity of attiring himself as did the white men and Cherokees of mixed white and Indian blood. "So numerous were the sheep in the Cherokee hills in the years preceding the outbreak of the civil war that large quantities of wool were sold after a sufficiency had been retained for family purposes.31" "The Cherokee hunting shirt, so-called, was not a shirt, but really a loose sack coat. Those worn in mild weather were sometimes longer than others and their resemblance to a shirt may have been responsible for the erroneous term. "The full Blood Cherokees, and some of the half-breeds, wore the hunting shirts during a number of decades. Cherokee women learned how to spin and weave in the original Cherokee country beyond the Mississippi river, long before the removal to Indian territory. In the new nation the number of spinners and weavers was increased. Sheep were raised in considerable numbers and most of the household clothing was made in the homes. "Woolen hunting shirts were usually a rather bright color, dyed by the women, who also were the cutters, fitters, and makers of apparel worn by the men. Often the hunting shirts were striped in two colors. Some were equipped with wide collars of black velvet, while the outer edges of others were ornamented with small beads. Many were trimmed with a fringe made of yarn, usually of the colors used in the coat. These bright colored hunting shirts and the homespun trousers of the men, which were almost invariably dyed a deep blue, constituted the national costume in periods before the outbreak of the civil war and to some extent thereafter for several years. "Many of the members of the National Council arrived at Talequah during the legislative sessions dressed in their best hunting shirts and trousers. Many of their countrymen visited the capital when the council was in session. At such times the streets and the square surrounding the capital were colorful, [in contrast to] the costumes of the somber black suits worn by a number of the officials of the nation, some of whom were of more white than Indian Blood. "There were many in the early days, who wore large, bright hued handkerchiefs as turbans in the summer time and small shawls for the same purpose in the winter season."32 "[The] hunting jacket [was] made from pretty striped cloth and decorated with fringe around the edges, especially the bottom, which extended to a point near the hips--about the modern `business coat' of today.33 I recall the yellow, black, and blue colors distinctly. His trousers were usually of tan color. The tan color of the trousers was obtained by boiling the cloth which they were made in a strong decoction from the bark of a walnut tree--other colors were obtained in the sam way ("store dyes") being unknown to the Cherokee in those days. "Shoe strings were made by cutting long strips from the tanned hide of an animal, usually a deer, and were called "buckskin thongs".34 During the first five decades of the nineteenth century, the clothing of the Cherokees men could be characterized as either representing what became known as older Indian cultural values as signified by the hunting shirt or current White societal values as manifested by the black frock coat. Their is little or no mention of leggings or breech clouts being worn by "Civilized Indians". Mary Baker, a full blood born in 1853 in the Flint district recalled the clothing she helped to make. "I have helped card both cotton and wool, spin it into thread and yarn on the spinning wheel and then into cloth with the loom. Our clothing was mostly all home spun. "Pretty red hunting coats with fringe on the bottom were made for the men and in most instances these coats were made of wool and shirts were made of cotton cloth. The trousers were made of a material which we called cotton jeans. Women wore no hats, but wore large shawls and blankets. The shawls were made at home. The blankets in nearly every case were purchased or traded for from peddlers coming through the country in wagons laden with blankets, beads, and jewelry of all kinds. Hides and furs were traded for the wares of this peddler. Fort Gibson, Webbers Falls, and Fort Smith were trading places. Hides and furs came near being a medium of exchange for all kinds of merchandise."35 In these recollections, the term "Jeans" was used to denote a heavy weight material that was either cotton, wool36, or a mixture. However, the standard definition states that Jeans was "A linen/cotton, twilled cloth of the fustian group."37 Another source defined Jeans as only "a twilled cotton cloth."38 This definition did not include linen. However, neither definition included wool in any combination. Lucinda Hickey, born in 1854, recollected that: "The Cherokee men wore pants and coats made of Buckskin and were fringed. The pants were fringed down the outside of the leg and the coat was fringed round the bottom. They wore shirts of homespun and were made loose like a sack. They called these hunting shirts. "The women wore dresses made of homespun and were made with tight fitting waists and real full skirts. These were made of the brightest colors. The men and women both wore buckskin moccasins".39 The fringed pants were probably the article of clothing that most closely resembled Buckskin leggings. Both shoes and moccasins were worn in the mid-nineteenth century. Socio-economic status, obviously, played a role in the choice of footwear as did the age of the wearer. George Lloyd Poston who was born in 1857 recalled that he did not wear shoes until he was almost grown. Instead, his mother made him moccasins. "These were sown with sinews from the deer, or small narrow strips of leather cut from the buckskin. Some moccasins were decorated with beads but these were principally for the women. I have also had clothes-coat and pants from buck-skin. My mother also made nice and durable gloves from this skin. She spun from hemp thread to make our clothes, which were of cotton or woolen material."40 In addition many children and adults went barefooted in the summer. "Yarn was spun upon the family spinning heel, and all the hose for the entire family, both wool and cotton, were hand knitted. In summertime both men and women went barefooted, so that not many pairs of summer hose were required."41 Buckskin clothing is mentioned more frequently in recollections than in commentary of the day. This does not make it more or less valid. Another reference to buckskin clothing was made by Ezekial Parris, who as stated in a recent endnote died in 1937. This description cited a beaded buckskin vest. This is the only historical reference found to such a garment. While the recollection is detailed, it has to be evaluated in this context. However, according to Parris these vests were not uncommon. "The Buckskin vests were often decorated with designs which were worked out in colored beads. Not only were such vests warm and comfortable in cold weather, but they were picturesque in appearance to those who wore them. The vests were of value, also, for considerable time was required in which to sew on the numerous small beads. "Some of the noted native Cherokee leaders of earlier times owned and wore some highly ornate beaded buckskin vests. In a picture made several years after the close of the Civil War, Captain James Vann, an officer in the Union Indian Brigade during most of the period the civil war, [who] became Assistant principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation is shown wearing a buckskin vest, the front of which was well covered with ornamental designs. "The backs of the buckskin vests were made of durable cloth and there were pockets in the vests such as may be seen in the usual vest of today."42 Even though John Ross was elected as Chief of the Cherokee Nation, factionalism continued into the eighteen forties. One element showed its opposition to the Cherokee Government by committing acts of terror. The treaty of August 6, 1846 helped to solidify the Cherokee Nation and end, temporarily and to some degree, the tensions that had plagued it.43 Mrs Martha Tyner Swift, born circa 1848, was a mixed-blood Cherokee. She recalled that prior to the Civil War the Indians lived well. Even though this is a generalization recollected after a period of time, it is useful as an indicator of how some of the Indians lived. "The Indians lived well in those days. We had all we wanted to eat. The Sanders farm had a big orchard of apples and peaches and we always had plenty of both. The Sanders family had quite a bunch of slaves but they were always good to them. "When I was a little girl the Indians dressed a great deal like the white folks. I never saw any Cherokees with leggings but I have seen them with calico hunting jackets. I have seen them wear turbans. My grandfather wore a turban a good deal of the time. I have never seen any of my folks wear their hair down on their shoulders but I have seen full bloods wear it that long."44 The Cherokees valued education and sobriety. As early as 1836, a temperance society had been organized by the western Cherokees45, and as early as 1823, the Cherokees had allowed Protestant missionaries to establish schools west of the Mississippi. Hopefield Mission was opened in 1823 and closed in 1836. Fairfield Mission, Dwight Mission, and Forks of the Illinois Mission were all established circa 1830. Thus even before the mass forced removal, educational institutions were established by the Cherokees west of the Mississippi.46 In 1839 Chief John Ross submitted to the National Council messages from many missionaries desirous of setting up stations.47 Cherokee schools differed from those of other tribes in that they were established by the Cherokee Nation and not the Federal Government.48 Prior to 1839, an act had been passed that provided for a committee to assess and plan an educational system for the Cherokee Nation.49 In 1841, the Cherokee National Council provided for eleven public or common schools to be located throughout the eight districts. By 1852, the number of all schools had risen to twenty-one.50 For many years the mixed-blood Cherokees had been sending their children to institutions of higher learning in the northeastern states such as Connecticut and Massachusetts. They also sent some of their young men to the Choctaw Academy. The following are lists of clothing that the Sub-Agent for the Cherokees, M. Stokes, supplied for three Cherokee boys in 1836.
Since each boy's clothing and miscellaneous articles cost the same amount, the choice of purchases must have been specific. It cannot be known upon what it was based. It is sufficient to notice that there were difference, ie., for one boy pantaloons were procured while for the other two, pants. The Cherokees, especially the mixed-bloods, desired higher education for both their male and female children. They preferred to have them not leave the area. The closest female school for higher learning was the Fayetteville Female Academy in Arkansas which was established in 1839.54 The mixed-bloods, according to Devon Mihesuah, espoused the ideals of the gentry of the antebellum south. They desired their daughters to be: "........pious [Christian] homemakers and companions to their prominent husbands."55 Two seminaries defined as institutions of higher learning [colleges] were established in the Cherokee Nation. Both the Male Seminary and the Female Seminary opened their doors in 1851.56 The curriculum at the Female Seminary included theology, geometry, Latin. The women did not learn "domestic science" as they did at the mission schools nor did they wash their own clothes or cook their own meals.57 The values promulgated at the Female Seminary, according to Mihesuah, espoused the White ideal. Looking White was preferable to looking Indian. Thus, blue eyes and light skin signified superiority.58 An article written by Ka-ya-kun-stah in the newspaper of the Cherokee Female Seminary in August of 1854 alluded to the fact that these women considered themselves not to be of the same ilk as other Indians. "Every nation and race of the world has its peculiar customs, and none are more striking than some of the marriage ceremonies of the red race.......she (the bride) is dressed in scarlet cloth; her skirt short and her pantalets of the same; her foot displays an ornamental moccasin, while her wrist and fingers are decked with jewels and her neck with wampum."59 Another article echoed this same attitude. It also defined the set of ideals that was espoused at the Cherokee Female Seminary. What is ironic is that these values were raceless and could have applied to White people as well as to the Cherokees described in the commentary. This article appeared in the school's newspaper papers of August 4th, 1855 edition. "Two Scenes in Cherokee Land - Scene l "On a hillside by a merry little brook, stood a rude hut inhabited by a Cherokee family. There was no fencing to be seen about it; no neat grass plot bordered with flowers; no shrubbery or rose-bushes to add the beauty of cultivation to the wild scenery of nature.....Here might be seen a broken mortar, and there a pestle, while the ground was strewn with rocks, skins, rags...Now, if you have no objection, we will take a peep within. In rudeness and uncivilization, we find the inmates bearing a striking resemblance to their little hut. In one corner is a roll of buffalo skins, which doubtless serves for beds. The floor is the earth upon which the hut stands. "A woman is seated by the fireside smoking a pipe. Stretching along over her head, are a few strings of dried venison, and on the sides of the hut are fastened some beads, feathers, &c. No little stand of books, no vase of flowers, filling the room with fragrance, no neat pile of papers are to be seen; nothing but the mere necessaries of life. "Several large, swarthy-looking boys in one corner, are repairing their bows and arrows. In another corner stand two girls with mortar and pestle, preparing to beat `Conihany'. They are dressed in calico skirts with red jackets fastened with silver brooches, their feet are covered with moccasins. Their hair is plaited and hanging down their backs. "Thus pass the days of their wild life, without any intellectual pleasure or enjoyments, only varied from the same monotonous round by some great gathering or public festival. The most noted of these were the `green-corn dances' as they were called."60 "By the fenced fields of wheat and corn, we see that civilization and nature are here united in our Cherokee land. White cottages peep forth from the same spot, perhaps, where some rude wigwam once stood. What a contrast to the scenes of olden-time! What has produced the change? The Missionaries came and brought with them the Bible. They taught our ancestors the precepts of religion and the arts of civilization; to cultivate farms and erect neat little cottages. They taught them also the knowledge of books, and the value of education. Thus, under the influence of the religion of the Missionaries, the wild Indian was changed and became a new man."61 The descriptions of the clothes worn by the "uncivilized" Cherokee girls is probably one of the few contemporary descriptions for that time period of what was worn by Cherokees who were not wearing current style "White Women's" dress. The dress of the Female Seminary students, also, reflected this same ideal. The graduation class of 1856 is described as wearing dresses of white62 with pink belts.63 In an earlier edition of The Cherokee Rose Buds (some editions entitled Wreath of the Rose Buds), a full blood Cherokee tried to answer the allegation that the Seminary was only for mixed bloods. "It is sometimes said that our Seminaries were made for the rich and those who were not full Cherokees; but it is a mistake. I thought I would address a few lines to the other class in the Nation. My beloved parents were full Cherokees. They belonged to the common class and, yet, they loved their children. But these beloved parents have been called from this world and left me a lonely orphan.....At the time of my mother's death, a kind missionary teacher came and took me under her care. Under the influence and teaching of the missionaries, I was prepared to enter this institution. "I should not have said so much about myself; but I feel that a great many of the full Cherokees can have the benefit of the Seminary as well as I.....I feel it is no disgrace to be a full Cherokee. My dark complexion does not prevent me from acquiring knowledge and being useful hereafter."64 Roughly, two basic types of male dress can be seen for that period - the men who wore "traditional" Indian dress and those who wore what the contemporary White American man wore. The term traditional is used only in context and in juxtaposition of what the middle and upper class White man wore. In the February 11, 1857 edition of A Wreath of Cherokee Rose Buds, CUL-STA-YA wrote an article entitled "The dress is not the man". However, she showed the opposite in her prejudice against "traditional" Indian male dress. "Is it by the dress that we form our opinion of a man? No, it is not by the external appearance alone, but by a survey of his whole character. The gaudy hunting frock and beaded belt are merely outward ornaments which is too eagerly desired, will show only a weak and degraded mind."65 Costume plate #32 Augustus Ward Loomis taught in the Koweta Mission in 1852. He visited the people in their homes and taught the Gospel through an interpreter.66 Although he taught in the Creek Nation, he recorded his observation of other Nations in his book, Scenes in the Indian Country. Loomis showed the flexibility of the Indians in his vignette aboard a steamer at Van Buren, Arkansas. "When we embarked at Van Buren we found quite a company on board [the steamer] already; a few white men, but many Indians, men and women; and the Indians were the lords and ladies. "The women wore very small shawls, and gowns which were not very flowing; with the handkerchiefs tied about the head instead of bonnets. "From Little Rock, we had a fellow passenger, a nephew of the Cherokee chief whom I had known once in Princeton, N.J., where he was then attending school. Now, he seemed to be quite a business man, having his residence at Tallequa, the capital of the Cherokee nation. "He had hitherto been dressed in a genteel suit of broadcloth, which he was wearing home from Philadelphia, whither he had been for the purchase of goods; and he had been quite social and communicative all the way up the river, until we met, on board this last steamer, amongst other Indians. He had stowed the broadcloth away in his trunk, and appeared in his hunting shirt, and bead sash with long tassels, no vest, gay slippers, straw hat with red ribbon. He would not enter into any protracted conversation with the white men, and seemed to be anxious all the time, lest possibly he might be implicated in some of the Indians' little quarrels."67 Rarely has any author described the Cherokee Indians as being "painted and feathered. Although the following description does not seem to represent the majority of Cherokees in the eighteen fifties, it still needs to be recorded as Loomis saw it. "One evening, as we were nearing the shore to gather wood, and to put out a few cases of goods for a small store back from the river, we had a view of a company of Cherokees, with painted faces, feathers in their hair, bare legs, moccasined feet, and armed with guns and knives." 68 Alice Robertson was born on January 2, 1854. In one of her memoirs, she described a speech given by a Mr. Ross who was a "...graduate of an eastern college and owner of a plantation and slaves, who stood forth that day wearing a hunting shirt of lavender color, cotton frilled and beruffled, and worn in the old Southern style of the ruffled shirt of that day. Over the hunting shirt was worn an elaborate beaded belt with many strands, ending in gay tassels all of scarlet, forming a sash at the top. He wore a white felt hat, which was thrown off as he spoke, to show the long hair worn in that day."69 Costume Plate # 33 Other events that influenced the growth of the Nation during the middle of the decade was the gold rush of 1849, the formal abandonment of Fort Gibson in 185773, and, of course, the Civil War. Costume Plate # 34 The reasons for the change in attitude are complicated and complex. The South treated the Indian nations with more respect than did the North; many of the contiguous Indian nations had already sided with the Confederacy; important battles had been won by the South; and Stand Watie's men, members of the "old Ridge party" were exerting a lot of political pressure on Ross.79 Unfortunately, this alliance pitted Ross against his friend Opothleyhola, a Creek Chief.80 Once the decision was made to align with the Confederacy, a regiment of home guards, known as the Drew Regiment, was raised. Again, the Indians were pitted against each other due to the political machinations of their White counterparts. Unfortunately, not only did Indian allies find themselves suddenly to be enemies, but within nations, the different factions used the Civil War to destroy their political rivals. One example of this was the wrecking of Daniel Ross's store by Stand Watie and his men.81 Watie even proclaimed himself principal chief, a title which was disputed by the National Council (Ross men) in February of 1863.82 A letter from Dr. Dwight Hitchcock at Fort Blunt, Cherokee Nation of November 25, 1863 illustrated the above statement. "I am glad you stopped before coming here. This is no place for people of peaceful proclivities. The history of the last four weeks is a sad one. No army of Rebels is near us - we fear the approach of none. But this terrible Guerilla warfare is in progress....the neighborhood was in mourning, Andrew Nave was shot and stabbed in a few steps of his own home. One Cherokee soldier was killed in Tahlequah - another a few miles above. [Other incidences are described in the letter.] Many houses were utterly emptied. (I lost almost all I had at home in the way of clothing: & many valuables which were in my trunk...) The Chief's house was burned to ashes: and the council houses in Tahlequah:"83 The Indians who fought on the side of the Confederacy did not seem to have any type of issued uniform. The wife of Brigadier General Stand Watie commented that she had planned to make him a new uniform since the old was threadbare. However, his company captured a Federal wagon train and were able to supply themselves.84 Mary Alice Arendell commented: "When he [father] came home [from the southern side of the civil war] he was badly in need of clothes. My mother carded and spun and made some clothes before he returned."85 Although there was a clothing bureau established to supply the confederate army, it did not have enough supplies to accomplish this task.86 In Wiley Britton's book The Civil War on the Border he described the clothing furnished by the Federal Government to the Indian units. Most of the units described - the first, second, and third Indian regiments - were composed predominantly of Cherokees:87 "Shortly after these regiments were organized the men were furnished clothing by the Government the same as other soldiers. It was quite amusing to the white soldiers to see the Indians dressed in the Federal uniform and equipped for the service. Everything seemed out of just proportion. Nearly every warrior got a suit that, to critical tastes, lacked a good deal in fitting him. It was in a marked degree either too large or too small. In some cases the sleeves of a coat or jacket were too short, coming down about two thirds the distance from the elbows to the wrists. In other cases the sleeves were too long, coming down over the hands. "At the time these Indian troops were organized the Government was furnishing its soldiers a high-crowned stiff wool hat for the service. When, therefore, fully equipped as a warrior, one might have seen an Indian soldier dressed as described, wearing a high-crowned stiff wool hat, with long black hair falling over his shoulders, and riding an Indian pony so small that his feet appeared to almost touch the ground, with a long squirrel rifle thrown across the pommel of his saddle. When starting out on the march every morning anyone with this command might have seen this warrior in full war-paint....."88 The conclusion of the Civil War saw deep enmity between the Northern and Southern Cherokees and extreme poverty in the Nation.89 Some Cherokees had to revert to deerskin clothing90 since clothing and blankets were scarce and few had spinning wheels and looms.91 A census of the Cherokee Nation taken in 1867 showed that one-third had perished during the war. According to the records cited, a census of 1860 showed the number of Cherokees as being 21,000 while in 1867 it was only 13,566. This number indicates only those who remained in the Cherokee Nation at the end of the war.92 Some of the articles of the treaty of July 19, 1866 would change the fortunes and lives of the Cherokees forever. Among these was the creation of a United States court in the Cherokee Territory, the abolition of slavery, the allotment of a right of way for a railroad, and the organization of a council of all the tribes in the Indian Territory. This later article hindered the autonomy of the Cherokee Nation. Other articles included the commandment that a census would be taken of each tribe and that other Indians (friendly to the Cherokees) could be settled on their land west of the 96th meridian. The Cherokees were supposed to receive payment for this land. Also, the Indians were to cede other lands to the United States, thus minimizing their holdings. All funds received by the Cherokees through land sales had to be invested in United States Registered stocks. Further, the United States was officially allowed to erect military posts within the Nation.93 One of the implementations of the treaty gave to all Cherokee owned former slaves who would return to the Nation by January 17, 1867 citizenship, the right to vote, and the right to hold office,94 In March of 1889, White settlers were allowed to settle on land that had been sold to them by various tribes. This area was to become the Oklahoma Territory. Slowly, these new settlers would encroach on Indian Lands and influence the Federal government in allowing White settlers to eventually settle on Indian lands that had been sold to the government, namely the Cherokee Outlet.95 The Dawes Commission was an obvious extension of the Federal Government's desire to limit the amount of land used by the Indians and to individualize this ownership. One of the responsibilities of this commission was to take a census of all Cherokees. Regardless of political changes and set backs, the Cherokees never seemed to surrender their spirit for tribal improvement. By 1867 there were thirty-two public schools; by 1869 there were forty-two; and by 1870 there were sixty-four.96 McLoughlin states figures that are different. He stated that in 1870 there were fifty-four schools and by 1885 there were one hundred schools.97 Even after the Civil War when the Nation's debt began to mount, the Cherokees continued to increase their educational schools and other institutions.98 Another economic set back for the Cherokees that resulted from the Civil War was the abolition of slavery. Similar to their White southern counterparts, much of the personal and group economics depended on the institution of slavery. To solve the problem, many wealthy Cherokees hired White people under special permits, thus increasing the White population in the Indian Territory.99 It, also, provided for absentee land ownership because land could be used as long as it was farmed. Thus, wealthy Cherokees could place White families on land while they lived elsewhere. Unfortunately, many of these White families refused to leave the territory upon the expiration of their permits.100 Another problem that the Cherokees faced was their inability to attract outside capital101 to "exploit" the timber and mineral deposits they had at their disposal. However, the neighboring White people did not want to help the Cherokees become financially stable.102 Even with all the economic and political problems that beset the Cherokees during and immediately after the Civil War, Indian Agent John B. Jones reported on the incredible progress the Cherokees had made toward rebuilding their homes, their farms, their herds.103 At this juncture, living in the Indian Territory aside from the Cherokees were Black freedmen, White laborers, and other tribes of friendly Indians. The tribes in the Indian Territory were basically divided into two camps - the traditionalists and the progressives. At the opposite ends of the division were agrarian expansionism and industrial development.104 These were not always mutually exclusive, but according to Burton's analysis, agrarian expansion fitted the traditionalists views while industrial expansion followed progressive ideologies.105 Controversy over cattle grazing was another item that characterized the latter third of the nineteenth century. The Cherokees wanted to tax the foreign cattle that passed through their lands.106 On May 17, 1893, the Cherokee Nation sold its lands between the ninety-sixth and one-hundredth meridians to the Federal Government. The Cherokee outlet was, then, open to White settlers and settlement.107 Sherman Grant Pendler was not an Indian. He was born in Iowa in 1876 and traveled through the Indian Territory. His recollection of his family's clothing dovetailed many of the recollections of clothes worn by the Indians during the late nineteenth century. "As to our clothing in the early 80's. The men wore hand-woven jeans, later they bought material. My mother made jeans clothing. We raised our cotton, pulled seed by hand and mother did the spinning. We raised our sheep, sheared them, then the women folk washed the wool, carded it and knitted our stockings and wristlets. The women had handmade looms for weaving. The women wove linsey-woolsey, half wool, half cotton, from which they made their clothes. Women wore full, long skirts, tight waists called basques and sun bonnets tied on to keep the prairie from blowing them off. These were slat bonnets, the front sewed across so that paste board or thin wooden slats could be run in and taken out when the bonnets were washed and then slipped back in. This gave form and body to the bonnet. Women wore large loose cow-hide laced shoes. Men wore cow-hide boots."108 Mrs. Mary Katherine Garrett, who was one fourth Cherokee, remembered wearing "tight basque dresses, mother hubbards, and skirts and waists."109 Even in the eighteen-eighties, Indian men continued to wear hunting shirts. Charlotte Petty recalled her grandmother making "loud red striped hunting shirts......These were trimmed with collars and bands of black imported velvet on which beads were often embroidered. All colors of stripes were woven into the red material. The men were very well dressed who wore these loud shirts. Their long black hair hung far over the collars of these shirts."110 Charlotte was a mixed-blood. She does not indicate whether these clothes were worn by full-bloods or mixed-bloods. However, by the fact that her mother was Cherokee and the supposition garnered through other recollections and writings of the period (referred to previously) it can be deduced that she was describing clothes worn by full bloods. Another reference to clothes worn by full-bloods was given by Johnson Keener, a full blood, who was born in 1884. "The clothing for the children was limited. It consisted of one pair of shoes a year, and a blouse made dress effect of some loud colored gingham. The breeches were more like skirts, being made large and loose fitting with a split in the side of the legs."111 His description of clothing worn by children has unusual elements in it. The "blouse made dress effect" probably referred to the clothes worn by young children of both sexes. However, the reference to the breeches is an enigma. By the turn of the century, a lot of the progress that the Cherokees and other tribes had made had been wiped out by the Dawes Commission's land allotment system. The Cherokees were the only tribe who refused to treat with the Dawes Commission.112 According to Debo, the allotment period caused many segments of the population extreme financial loss. Since these allotments were finite in acreage, the wealthy lost much of their holdings and even though the poorer Indians received land, which often they lost through lack of understanding and not very honest land speculators. In some instances, they were even forced to relocate.113 Thus, once again, many of the Indians had to start over. 8. Foreman Collection, box 23, folder 38, pp. 692-694. Letter from Stokes to Armstrong, June 24th, 1839. From OIA: Cherokee File. Agency 6/24, 1839. Thomas Gilcrease Museum. Tulsa, OK. 10. Grant Foreman, The Five Civilized Tribes, p. 289. 11. The color green was not popular among the Indians. Whether Payne did not differentiate and just named colors cannot be known or whether by 1840, green was worn as was, also, apparently, yellow. 18. John D. Lang & Samuel Taylor, jun. Report of a Visit to Some of the Tribes of Indians Located West of the Mississippi River, p. 28. 21. John D.Lang & Samuels Taylor, jun. Report of a Visit to Some of the Tribes of Indians Located West of the Mississippi River, p. 27. 23. Either he contradicted himself or became aware that there were shoemakers in the Cherokee Nation. 36. "Wool cloth was called jeans and was used mostly for men's blankets and clothing". Description is from Pioneer-Indian Papers, Mary Alice Arendell, born in 1861 in Waco Texas. 46. Foreman Collection, box 11, folder 11, "Protestant Church Schools Among Five Civilized Tribes," p.3. Thomas Gilcrease Museum. Tulsa, OK. 63. Foreman Collection, box 26, folder 47A. Letter from A. E. W. Robertson dated August 9th, 1852. Thomas Gilcrease Museum. Tulsa, OK. 65. A transcribed copy of The Wreath of Cherokee Rose Buds, February 11, 1857 from T. L. Ballenger Early History of N.S College, pp. 138 and following. 69. Alice Robertson Collection, manuscript collection, box 2, folder 5. Special Collections, McFarlin Library, University of Tulsa. Tulsa, OK. 83. Worcester Collection, letter from D. D. Hitchcock to Mr. & Mrs. William S. Robertson of November 25th, 1863. Thomas Gilcrease Museum. Tulsa, OK. 86. LeRoy H. Fisher, The Civil War Era in the Indian Territory, p. 117, from Kenny A Franks, "The Breakdown of Confederate-Five Civilized Tribes Relations". 90. McLoughlin does not show where he found this information. Whether he assumed this because of conditions of poverty or found this information in reports cannot be ascertained since it is not footnoted. 100. Ibid., p. 242. |