NEW ECHOTA New Echota is one of the most significant Cherokee Indian sites in the nation.

In 1825, the Cherokee national legislature established a capital called New Echota at the headwaters of the Oostanaula River.

During its short history, New Echota was the site of the first Indian language newspaper office

In the early 1800s, a Cherokee named Sequoyah (George Guess) wrote and taught others to write the Cherokee language.

The system taught by Sequoyah was a syllabary (set of written characters, or symbols, used to represent spoken syllables) type alphabet.

It was here that the Cherokee Phoenix, a bilingual (two language) newspaper was printed.

In 1827, the Cherokees wrote a consitution for their nation patterned after the US Constitution. It provided for legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government and was divided into districts. It was one of the earliest experiments in national self government by an Indian tribe.

In 1838, the Cherokee people were forcibly removed from their lands in the Southeastern United States to the Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma) which resulted in the deaths of approximately 4,000 of the remaining 15,000. The Cherokees called this event Nu na da ul tsun yi—“the Place Where They Cried”. The Cherokee Trail of Tears resulted from the enforcement of the Treaty of New Echota, an agreement upheld by the Supreme Court. It exchanged Native American land in the East for lands west of the Mississippi River, but which was never accepted by the elected tribal leadership or a majority of the Cherokee people.

In many ways the Cherokees live just like whites. They lived in houses.

They made a living from farming or operating stores, mills, inns, and ferries.

Some owned taverns like the Vann’s tavern seen here. Others became lawyers and teachers.

In 1987, about 2,200 miles (3,500 km) of trails were authorized by Federal law to mark the removal of seventeen detachments of the Cherokee people. Called the "Trail of Tears National Historic Trail," it traverses portions of nine states and includes land and water routes.National Historic Trail

Samuel A. Worcester, a white missionary, filed a lawsuit claiming “The state of Georgia had no legal authority to pass laws regulating activities within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation, a nation recognized through treaties with the United States.” He and others were later imprisoned for their support of the Cherokee Indians.

The former Cherokee Nation's capitol was established as a state historic site on May 12, 1962.

New Echota Scavenger Hunt Watch the 17-minute informative site film 1. Where were laws and the constitution written?_________ 2. This is the building where laws were enforced. _________ 3. What was the name of the paper printed in the print shop?______________________ 4. Name the missionary whose home still remains. 5. List a business on the grounds. _______________________ 6. This out building was used to preserve meats.___________ 7. This out building was used for crop storage and grinding to create grain. _________________ 8. What is the name of the creek?____________________ 9. List two animals you saw on the nature trail. _________ ______________ 10. What tragic injustice done to the Cherokees started at New Echota? ___________________________