Slavery and Identity Among the Cherokee

Slavery and Identity Among the Cherokee The institution of slavery in the United States long pre-dates the African slave trade. But by the late 1700’s the practice of slaveholding by southern Indian nations- the Cherokee in particular- had taken hold as their interactions with Euro-Americans increased. Today’s Cherokee still grapple with the troubling legacy of slavery in their nation with the Freedman dispute. Scholarship on slavery in the Cherokee nation typically focuses on analyzing the circumstances that help to explain it, often describing a less brutal form of slavery (an idea some scholars debate). Nevertheless, the practice of African slaveholding forever changed the way Cherokees view race which they continue to reconcile today. The Roots of Slavery in the Cherokee Nation The slave trade on US soil has its roots in the arrival of the first Europeans who developed an extensive transatlantic business in the trafficking of Indians. Indian slavery would last well into the mid-to-late 1700s before it was outlawed, by which time the African slave trade was well established. Until that time, the Cherokee had a long history of being subject to capture and then exported to foreign lands as slaves. But while the Cherokee, like many Indian tribes who also had histories of inter-tribal raiding which sometimes included the taking of captives who could be killed, traded, or eventually adopted into the tribe, the continual incursion of European immigrants into their lands would expose them to foreign ideas of racial hierarchies that reinforced the idea of black inferiority. In 1730 a dubious delegation of Cherokee signed a treaty with the British (the Treaty of Dover) committing them to return runaway slaves (for which they would be rewarded), the first â€Å"official† act of complicity in the African slave trade. However, an apparent sense of ambivalence toward the treaty would manifest among the Cherokee who sometimes aided runaways, kept them for themselves, or adopted them. Scholars like Tiya Miles note that Cherokees valued slaves not just for their labor, but also for their intellectual skills like their knowledge of English and Euro-American customs, and sometimes married them. Influence of Euro-American Slavery One significant influence on the Cherokee to adopt slavery came at the behest of the United States government. After the Americans’ defeat of the British (with whom the Cherokee sided), the Cherokee signed the Treaty of Holston in 1791 which called for Cherokee to adopt a sedentary farming and ranching-based life, with the US agreeing to supply them with the â€Å"implements of husbandry.† The idea was in keeping with George Washington’s desire to assimilate Indians into white culture rather than exterminate them, but inherent in this new way of life, particularly in the South, was the practice of slaveholding. In general, slaveholding in the Cherokee nation was limited to a wealthy minority of mixed-blood Euro-Cherokees (although some full blood Cherokees did own slaves). Records indicate that the proportion of Cherokee slave owners was slightly higher than white southerners, 7.4% and 5% respectively. Oral history narratives from the 1930s indicate that slaves were often treated with greater mercy by Cherokee slave owners. This is reinforced by the records of an early Indian agent of the US government who, after advising that the Cherokee take up slave owning in 1796 as part of their â€Å"civilizing† process, found them to be lacking in their ability to work their slaves hard enough. Other records, on the other hand, reveal that Cherokee slave owners could be just as brutal as their white southern counterparts. Slavery in any form was resisted, but the cruelty of Cherokee slave owners like the notorious Joseph Vann would contribute to uprisings like the Cherokee Slave Revolt of 184 2. Complicated Relations and Identities The history of Cherokee slavery points to the ways relationships between slaves and their Cherokee owners were not always clear cut relationships of domination and subjugation. The Cherokee, like the Seminole, Chickasaw, Creek and Choctaw came to be known as the â€Å"Five Civilized Tribes† because of their willingness to adopt the ways of white culture (like slavery). Motivated by the effort to protect their lands, only to be betrayed with their forced removal by the US government, removal subjected African slaves of the Cherokee to the additional trauma of yet another dislocation. Those who were the product of mixed parentage would straddle a complex and fine line between an identity of Indian or black which could mean the difference between freedom and bondage. But even freedom would mean persecution of the type experienced by Indians who were losing their lands and cultures, coupled with the social stigma of being â€Å"mulatto.† The story of the Cherokee warrior and slave owner Shoe Boots and his family exemplifies these struggles. Shoe Boots, a prosperous Cherokee landowner, acquired a slave named Dolly around the turn of the 18th century, with whom he had an intimate relationship and three children. Because the children were born to a slave and children by white law followed the condition of the mother, the children were considered slaves until Shoe Boots was able to have them emancipated by the Cherokee nation. After his death, however, they would later be captured and forced into servitude, and even after a sister was able to secure their freedom, they would experience further disruption when they along with thousands of other Cherokees would be pushed out of their country on the Trail of Tears. The descendants of Shoe Boots would find themselves at the crossroads of identity not only as Freedman denied the benefits of citizenship in the Cherokee nation, but as people who have at times denied their black ness in favor of their Indianness. Sources Miles, Tiya. Ties That Bind: The Story of an Afro-Cherokee Family in Slavery and Freedom. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005.Miles, Tiya. â€Å"The Narrative of Nancy, A Cherokee Woman.† Frontiers: A Journal of Women’s Studies. Vol. 29, Nos. 2 3., pp. 59-80.Naylor, Celia. African Cherokees in Indian Territory: From Chattel to Citizens. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2008.

Space Spinoff Technology Works on Earth, Too

Space Spinoff Technology Works on Earth, Too Did you know that the chip in your cell phone is the result of space exploration? Or, that the breast-cancer screening women get was first developed for sensors on space missions? Its true. Innovative technologies that get made for space missions end up being as useful (and sometimes even more useful) on Earth than their inventors first intended. Cutting-edge technology shows up around our planet, in our cities, our homes, and even in our bodies. Not only will it be used in future space exploration missions, such as lunar exploration and asteroid mining, but will find homes on Earth, too. Lets take a look at a few space-age gadgets that are making life better for all of us here on old Terra. Space Tech in Your Hand Take a look at your cell phone. It probably has a camera, which has an image sensor based on CMOS technology that got its start at NASA. CMOS stands for complementary metal-oxide semiconductor, and it is used in imaging devices. The space agency has always been interested in capturing images of dim and distant objects in space, and the development of charge-coupled-device ​imagers (we call them CCDs) stems from the need to see planets, stars, and galaxies. They work very well that way, and technologies based on CCDs populate new generations of cameras, including the ones in cell phones. Open Wide, Insert CMOS One of the latest innovations based on the CMOS design is something that will make your next dentist visit a bit easier. Thats because new dental imagers are being built with CMOS-based sensors in them. Think about it: your mouth is a dark, dim environment, and until recently, only x-ray machines could penetrate the teeth and give dentists a look at their condition. The array of pixels in a digital imager based on CMOS designs can deliver excellent visions of teeth, lower a patients exposure to x-rays, and give dentists much better maps of a patients teeth and mouth. What Space Technology Reveals about Your Bones One of the biggest effects that space travel can have on people zeroes in on their bones. Astronauts in long-duration missions have suffered a marked loss of bone density. Thats why we often see pictures of astronauts exercising in space aboard the International Space Station. Its not just to stay in shape, its also to keep bone density from deteriorating. To keep tabs on that bone loss, ground-based MDs, NASA needed equipment that would study bone health in microgravity. A technique called dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA), done by a device light enough to take to the space station, was the answer. The same technique and equipment will most certainly find its way into medical labs here on Earth for researchers looking into bone deterioration and muscle atrophy. Monitoring Pollution from Vehicles Vehicle CO2Â  (carbon dioxide) emissions are a huge factor in the rise of greenhouse gases in Earths atmosphere. This blanket of gases consists mostly of nitrogen, plus oxygen and carbon dioxide and formed early in Earths infancy. It may have formed more than once, and was affected by (among other things) impacts, volcanism, and the rise of life. While life on our planet depends and exhales this gas, understanding its role in our atmosphere and climate is still under intense study. One mystery: how CO2 gets concentrated in the atmosphere and then dissipates over the course of a year is not well-understood. Instruments in space (such as weather satellites and other sensors) can measure the year-round cycle of CO2 in our atmosphere and three missions are getting ready to launch to do just that. However, theres another use for this technology that can be deployed right here on Earth: measuring vehicle emissions where the vehicles are, rather than requiring them to visit inspection stations each year. A new instrument has been developed that uses lasers to do this work, zeroing in not just on CO2, but also methane, ethane, and nitric acid more accurately and quickly than older, less-efficient methods. Several states in the U.S. have already purchased this technology, and more will jump on board. Saving a New Mothers Life Every year tens of thousands of women around the world (many in developing countries), die from the effects of hemorrhage after giving birth. A new NASA spinoff technology based on a G-suit spacesuit is now being used to help save the lives of new moms threatened by hemorrhages. A team of researchers at NASA Ames modified a G-suit so that it could supply a range of pressures and used it on a woman suffering from postpartum bleeding. This application of a technology used to keep astronauts safe on their journey back to Earth after spending time in space, is a lifesaver for new moms who dont always have access to blood transfusions or medications quickly after giving birth. Since the development of a product called LifeWrap, more than 20 countries have invested in technology based on the same thing that astronauts routinely use as they return home. Clean Drinking Water is a Must Many people on our planet do not have access to clean drinking water. Or, they live in municipalities where the water delivery infrastructure is deteriorating (and local officials have not taken action to fix it, as in Flint, MI). Access to safe, clean water is a human right. Its also something that astronauts in space continually face: having enough water to drink while orbiting several hundred miles above the planet. NASA has created ever-more-efficient ways to recycle water on such places as the International Space Station, and much of the technology relies on filtration. At this time, the agencys astronauts use some of the best filtration tech in the world. Certain fibers used in nanomaterials also make good water filters. NASA has taken advantage of those materials to provide the ISS with good drinking water. And, it turns out that the same filters NASA uses can also be used by people working on the ground: emergency workers, communities in developing countries, backpackers, and others who have a need to filter and use water where they are. The latest filters not only take out many impurities in water, but also remove viruses and bacteria. Eventually, companies selling this technology will supply it to homeowners in remote locations and possibly even to cities where water delivery systems are in need of drastic repair. From Farming to Skiing, Nuclear Energy, to Industrial Productivity Those are just a few of the many, many technologies that space exploration enables for use here on Earth. From technology to strengthen race car bodies, improve a skiers vision, improve flow in nuclear plants, and GPS-enabled driverless tractors, machines and techniques developed for use in space are having an incredibly huge effect on medicine, industry, farming, recreation, consumer goods, and much more. Money spent on space exploration isnt spent up there; it goes for machines and people who work right here on Earth! Â  Want to know more about space spinoffs? Visit NASAs spinoff pages for many more technologies making life easier here on Earth. And, read here for more examples of how space exploration can benefit you.