The new nonfiction title Cherokee History and the Spirit Family is set for release on January 23, 2024, and we couldn’t be more eager to share the compelling stories inside it with our readers. A personal examination of the Cherokee Nation’s history from 1826–1910, the book follows author James Barnes’ early family as they navigate each wave of removal and failed legislation from the United States government. Barnes carefully guides readers through each stage of the fraught relationship between the U.S. and Cherokee Nation, leveraging extensive research and family documentation to craft a thorough, fact-based representation of the Cherokee experience during this time period. Our assistant managing editor, Ariana Adams, sat down with Barnes to reflect on this project and everything it works to achieve as we near the release date for this engrossing new book.
Ariana Adams (AA): Hello, James, thank you so much for taking the time to discuss your new book with us. If it’s alright with you, let’s get started. Way back at the beginning of this process, what led you to start writing Cherokee History and the Spirit Family?
James Barnes (JB): My Cherokee ancestry and passion for history are the driving forces. Before his death in 2007 my dad asked me to tell the story of our family. I accepted that challenge.
AA: “Challenge” definitely seems like the right word to describe such an extensive project. How did you go about researching your family’s history?
JB: I began with a trove of family documents and photos left to me by relatives. Reaching out to aunts, uncles, and cousins for information elicited more photos and documents. Using the Ancestry genealogical database, I uncovered many family connections, which were verified through research and correspondence. I carried out field trips to Oklahoma, Georgia, and Tennessee, combing through books, maps, and documents at various libraries and museums. Cherokee Nation archives were a valuable resource. I read more than fifty Cherokee history books and articles, focusing on early history in the 1700s, creation of the modern Cherokee Nation in the 1820s, the loss of sovereignty during the presidency of Andrew Jackson, the forced migration from 1836–1838, rebuilding of the Cherokee Nation from 1840–1860, the Civil War and its aftermath, the flowering of Cherokee culture from 1866 to 1895, and the demise of sovereignty from 1896 to 1906. With the help of historians, I located numerous family claims from 1836 to 1848, which paint a detailed picture of where they lived and what they owned in their homeland.
AA: It sounds like a fascinating process. What were the most surprising things you discovered about your family over the course of your research?
JB: First, that several of my ancestors were slave owners, which opened my eyes about the class system among Cherokees. Second, they were extremely successful as farmers and owned extensive properties in Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee going back to the late 1700s. Third, the intersections of my ancestors with Sequoyah’s Syllabary and his life. Fourth, the breadth of the educational system developed by Cherokees, culminating in the Male and Female Seminaries. Fifth, the realities of the Civil War in Indian Territory, and how divided my family was, mirroring the national experience. Sixth, the roles that my great grandfather William Penn Mayes played in the 1880s and 1890s, working as Chief Interpreter with his half-brothers Joel and Samuel Mayes, who were both Principal Chiefs.
AA: Speaking of the Male and Female Seminaries, can you explain why they were so important to the Cherokee Nation?
JB: Cherokees believed deeply in education, and quickly became literate after Sequoyah’s Syllabary was finished in the early 1820s. They started free public education at a time when it was uncommon. After their relocation west, their commitment to educating their people became even more paramount. They desired to offer the equivalent of the best schools in the U.S. at the time. Establishing the seminaries was an amazing accomplishment in the late 1840s and early 1850s, but the Civil War, coupled with the failure of the U.S. to pay what was promised in the Echota Treaty, put them back two decades. The Female and Male Seminaries were the glory of the Nation from the 1870s to the end of sovereignty in the early 1900s.
AA: It’s quite sobering to see how far out the Civil War’s ripple effect has gone in the U.S. Can you break down how some of those dynamics impacted Cherokee culture and political proceedings? For example, you mention the Keetowah faction in the book. Who were they and why were they important?
JB: The Keetoowah were mostly full-blood Cherokees who were anti-slavery and pro-Union. They played a critical role in the run-up to the Civil War and during it, led by the Pins. Keetoowahs continued to promote full sovereignty until the formal end of Cherokee Nation in the early 1900s. After 1906, Keetoowah voices were represented by Frank Boudinot in court in the following decades, who won many victories for them.
AA: What about your personal family members, like John Huss Spirit? Could you speak to his influence and contributions to Cherokee history?
JB: John Spirit was born in 1817 and was Annie Spirit’s (my great-grandmother’s) great uncle and the second Cherokee ordained as a minister. Often called Captain Spirit because of his service as Company Leader of the Cherokee Light Horse guards in 1825, he was a close associate of Sequoyah’s in refining the Syllabary, playing a major role in translating the Bible into Cherokee. The two of them went through it together line by line. Elected in 1828 to the Supreme Court, he served with distinction until 1834. His preaching was famous in the Nation after removal west. He was a friend of John Mix Stanley, one of the best painters of Indian life, and many others in the U.S. In 1843 Huss helped found the International Indian Council to bring together all the tribes who had been relocated, to protect their lands and sovereignty. He was an important bridge between the pro and anti-removal factions, serving on the Cherokee delegation to Washington in 1846 to sign the new treaty with the U.S. that finally solved the issues that had lingered since removal. He died in 1858.
AA: What an inspiring life. Since we’re on the topic of role models and admirable historical figures, let’s talk about Ned Christie, the contentious outlaw. You have a very interesting perspective on him in the book. Why do you view Ned as a hero?
JB: Ned Wade Christie was an important character in Cherokee history. Born in 1852, he grew up speaking mostly Cherokee despite having a white grandmother, and became an excellent blacksmith and gunsmith. During the Civil War he and his brother Arch joined the Union army, serving in the same unit as Annie Spirit’s second husband, Simon Snell. Elected to the Cherokee National Council in 1885 as a member of the Keetoowah Society, Ned was a strong supporter of sovereignty and public education. He opposed railroads being built across Cherokee land. While in Tahlequah for a Council meeting in 1887, he was framed for the murder of a U.S. Marshal. Federal Judge Isaac Parker convened a grand jury that indicted him. Christie correctly believed he wouldn’t receive a fair trial and refused to turn himself in. A reward of $500 was offered for his arrest. For several years Ned continued his normal life, albeit with Keetoowah armed guards protecting him and his family. On November 3, 1892, a large posse surrounded his home, blowing it up with dynamite and shooting him dead as he emerged. Decades later his innocence was confirmed by an eyewitness. In my view Ned was a Cherokee patriot and a martyr. His life demonstrates the layers of cruelty and prejudice that Cherokees faced after removal, bringing untimely death and dishonor to too many.
AA: What about other key players during the removal period, like Andrew Jackson? How do you view him and his actions at this time?
JB: In the 1828 presidential election against John Adams, Jackson promised that he would force all Indians in the eastern half of the country to give up their homelands and move them west despite the numerous solemn treaties signed over many decades. Once elected he and his allies began invading Cherokee lands and illegally seizing many farms, including those of Annie’s grandfather Buffalofish Spirit and his wife and children in northern Georgia. By bribing representatives and senators, Jackson succeeded in getting his Removal Act passed, and then began secret negotiations with a small Cherokee faction for the New Echota Treaty in 1835. Narrowly approved by Congress following a racist campaign, the treaty provided the basis for a violent roundup of virtually all Cherokees and their removal west by boat and wagon. Despite Cherokees having saved his life at the Battle of Horsehoe Bend in 1814, Jackson treated them with contempt. In my view, he was a shallow, greedy, and vindictive man.
AA: Moving back to the present, can you describe your relationship with the Cherokee Nation today?
JB: I am a voting member of the Cherokee Nation, a member of the National Trail of Tears Association and its Georgia branch. My great-grandmother Annie Spirit was honored at the Snell Family Cemetery on October 28, 2017, when the Oklahoma Chapter of the Trail of Tears Association held a grave-marking ceremony for her, at which my cousin LeeAnn Dreadfulwater represented the family.
It’s been a true pleasure and privilege to speak with James about his new book, Cherokee History and the Spirit Family. Find this title available for preorders on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, IndieBound, or wherever you like to buy books. To learn more about this fascinating piece, head over to the UNG Press book page for Cherokee History and the Spirit Family, out January 23, 2024.
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