As Long As The Grass Shall Grow
A history of Cherokee land cessions and the formation of Buncombe County
Acknowledgement
Buncombe County Register of Deeds humbly acknowledges that the land we are on is the ancestral land of the Anigiduwagi, more commonly known as the Cherokee. This land was acquired through violence, oppression, coercion and broken treaties.
The traditional territory of the Cherokee people covered more than 100,000 square miles, much of this is what today we consider the American Southeast. In the early 18th century, the estimated Cherokee population was 36,000 [14]. The most significant blow to the Cherokee population came from the smallpox outbreak brought by Europeans, which devastated Indigenous people.
This map designates each land cession from the Cherokee and their total territory.
The earliest treaties with the British began in the 1720s. The Cherokee Nation, recognized as inherently sovereign, continued making treaties with Europe, colonies, and later the United States. Treaties used the phrase "as long as the grass shall grow" or something similar to designate that U.S. treaties were meant to be everlasting. The phrase was even used by Andrew Jackson to Cherokee warrior Junaluska, who were allies in the War of 1812 [12]. After Junaluska saved Andrew Jackson's life in battle, the General said,
"As long as the sun shines and the grass grows, there shall be friendship between us." Andrew Jackson
North Carolina's Land Grab
This map from 1737 shows how this region was originally inhabited by the Cherokee people, remaining unexplored and unsurveyed for years. The second half of the 1700s was filled with international disputes between the world's largest military forces attempting to control which immigrants had the rights to Indigenous lands in the New World. At the conclusion of the French and Indian War in 1763, Britain declared all lands west of the Appalachian Mountains to be Indian lands and off limits to colonial settlers, thus temporarily protecting the Cherokee [12].
At the onset of the American Revolution in 1776, mostly European immigrants or first generation colonists were moving onto lands previously designated by treaty as Indian land. The Cherokee saw the colonists' constant encroachment as a direct threat to their existence, and told them to abandon their western settlements on Cherokee land.
"We never thought the white man would come across the mountain, but he has, and has settled on Cherokee land. He will not leave us but a small spot to stand on." Dragging Canoe
The colonists refused to leave their illegal settlements on Cherokee land, so Dragging Canoe and other young warriors took up arms to protect their land, killing over thirty colonists.
U.S General and land speculator Griffith Rutherford used this news to enlist 2,500 men to take up arms against the Cherokee with the weight of the United States behind them. Rutherford's army was ruthless. They marched from modern day Old Fort, through the Swannanoa Gap down to Waynesville, Sylva, Murphy, and Andrews laying siege to the heart of the Cherokee Middle and Valley towns. According to the NC Archives and History, "Rutherford's men took a number of Cherokees as slaves and burned whatever was left behind. The strategy was one of complete devastation, a 'scorched earth' policy". Rutherford's campaign nearly wiped 36 Cherokee towns off the map, while the survivors were left to a state of near starvation as winter approached [14].
Following the destruction of Rutherford's campaign, the Cherokee met with the United States to sign the Holston Treaty in 1777 which ceded a massive tract of Cherokee land, and also proclaimed that hostilities shall forever cease between the Cherokee and the people of North Carolina "from this time forward, and that peace, friendship and mutual confidence shall ensue." [4]
North Carolina formed Burke County in 1777 [1] and Rutherford County in 1779 [1]. Following the treaty espousing friendship and mutual confidence, the NC legislature chose to name this recently ceded native land after the general who burnt down their homes.
Due to the large amount of ceded land, the Chickamauga band of the Cherokee eventually relocated.
After the Revolution, in addition to granting American independence, Britain gave up all lands between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River. Without consulting Cherokee leaders, North Carolina quickly passed an act expanding its western boundary [12].
This map shows the NC boundary extending to the Mississippi, which settlers used to expand into indigenous lands despite recent treaties.
In 1785 the Hopewell Treaty was signed, which was the first major peace treaty between the United States and the Cherokee. With the promise of peace and that "the hatchet shall be forever buried", the Cherokee ceded more land. This cession included Black Mountain to East Asheville and from Mars Hill down to Chimney Rock [5].
When Buncombe County was formed in 1791 it combined lands from Burke and Rutherford Counties as well as the land newly ceded from the Treaty of Holston in 1791 [1].
Due to the confusion and disputes over boundaries drawn by the Hopewell Treaty, and further encroachment of settlements on Cherokee lands, the Cherokee were forced to cede more land. This Holston treaty took land from Asheville all the way to Knoxville. The United States also guaranteed the Cherokee their remaining lands [6].
William Blount, who previously contested against the Hopewell Treaty for North Carolina, was assigned to finalize the Holston Treaty in 1791. A new boundary was agreed upon and Blount was to appoint surveyors to mark the new lines. The Secretary of War instructed Blount to delay running the line and to soothe the Cherokee into peace, as they may be needed in the campaigns against other tribes.
Cherokee leaders later met with President George Washington to express that they were unaware of the desire for more land cessions before their meeting with Blount. During the meeting with Blount, the Cherokee protested yielding more territory, only to be met with persistent and threatening demands. At this time they felt North Carolinians would not honor the treaties as they were already settling beyond its boundaries.
One year later when surveyors (without Cherokee representatives) scouted the lines they discovered that once again settlers and Cherokee villages were on the wrong sides of the Holston Treaty line and would need to renegotiate [6].
The Holston Treaty line wasn't surveyed until 1797, at which point Cherokee met with the commissioners fearing for their safety due to the hostile tone of the settlers. A delegation of settlers were told not to attend, that commissioners were not there to make a new treaty, as they were already pushing for more Cherokee land cessions.
During this time Blount sent a letter to Congress which set forth the determination of taking possession of Cherokee lands under the legislature that North Carolina passed claiming lands to the Mississippi River [11].
It was several years before Buncombe's boundaries were shown on survey maps, and often was just seen on the edge, like in this 1796 map of North Carolina.
Additional land is ceded in 1798 due to constant encroachment on Cherokee Land . The Treaty of Tellico once again guaranteed the Cherokee the remainder of their country forever. During this time Tennessee claimed that the Cherokee were a "tenancy at will", that Tennessee lands were granted to them by North Carolina. They again claimed the United States granting and guaranteeing Cherokee lands was subversive of the state and their rights.
The Secretary of War made it known that the arts and practices used to obtain native lands in defiance of treaties and laws involved risks of putting the whole country into war. To alleviate this concern the United States included provisions into the treaty to ensure that parties from both sides be a part of the commission and complete maps immediately after signing treaties [7].
The last treaty and land cession which expanded Buncombe County was in 1819 [8], and by this point Haywood County had already been formed from Buncombe County lands. Buncombe County continued to split to create other counties such as Yancey and Henderson, adjusting boundaries to form the county we are familiar with today.
Land Grants
After each land cession that forced the Cherokees from their land, the State of North Carolina sold their newly acquired lands through a system known as land grants. Many of those who burned down Indigenous communities under Gen. Rutherford were able to purchase hundreds of acres of "unclaimed land" directly from the state because of their revolutionary war service.
After the State of North Carolina transferred this land to individual land owners those transactions and subsequent deeds and mortgages were recorded in the Register of Deeds office. Land grants are the first records that appear in the Buncombe County Register of Deeds office and are the foundation from which all other deeds are based off of. Today we still use deeds to track who owns the title to the land. This project attempts to clarify the chain of title showing who owned the land prior to the first land grants in our deed books.
Indian Removal Act
The majority of Cherokee people were against removal since Thomas Jefferson first proposed the idea in 1803. There was friction within the tribe between the few who were in favor of relocating to protect their sovereignty, and the many who wished to remain on their ancestral land. By 1827 the Cherokee had made several advancements, including their own printing press, schools, increasing revenue with no debt, and even adopted their own constitution. Despite these advancements, the United States didn't consider their status of civilization as changed. It was at this time gold was discovered on Cherokee land in North Georgia, making indigenous land more valuable than ever.
The discovery of gold coincided with Andrew Jackson becoming President. Throughout his career Jackson negotiated 70 treaties with numerous tribes, several for additional land cessions. He made it a priority of his administration to sign into law the Indian Removal Act of 1830.
The Treaty of new Echota, which ceded all lands east of the Mississippi River, was signed in 1835 by only 20 Cherokee members against the will of the majority of the tribe [9]. Although Jackson told Junaluska "as long as the sun shines and the grass grows, there shall be friendship between us", Cherokee members were rounded up and put into concentration camps. They were forced to walk from their homes in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia to Oklahoma on foot. The walk that winter, known as the Trail of Tears, killed thousands of Cherokee and forcibly removed them from their land.
This map from "Invasion of America" [13] allows you visualize the national loss of native lands.
Cherokee Today
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians are the descendants of those that were able to hide in the mountains refusing to be relocated from their ancestral home; as well those who survived the Trail of Tears and came back. In the 1800s the tribal members purchased 57,000 acres of property which is owned by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and kept in trust by the federal government, called the Qualla Boundary. There you will find a vibrant community who cares deeply about the land they are on.
The current Qualla Boundary is only a fraction of what the original Cherokee lands were. The Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma is considerably larger than the Qualla Boundary, but even it doesn't equate all of the land that was the ancestral home of the Cherokee.
Buncombe County recognizes that the entirety of the Anigiduwagi land was unjustly taken by the United States in cooperation with the State of North Carolina. As citizens on that land, we have benefited from the inhumane actions they took. By acknowledging the historical context of this land, our hope is that Buncombe County and the State of North Carolina will begin the process of strengthening our relationship with our indigenous neighbors. Buncombe County Government recognizes that there is a lot of work to do and we look forward to initiating a longer conversation about partnering with the thriving community that is the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
References and Historic Documents
Use the links on each slide to explore the historic documents and references used in this project. Each slide has a different grouping of references which corresponds to the information used above designated by the [#].
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