The Yuchi people are a Native American

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

based in

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, though their original homeland was in the southeastern United States. In the 16th century, the Yuchi lived in the eastern

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is a long river located in the Southern United States, southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. Flowing through the states of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, it begins at the confluence of Fren ...

valley. By the late 17th century, they had migrated south to

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, and

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, settling near the

Muscogee Creek people The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek or just Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language; English: ), are a group of related Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlandsepidemic An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of hosts in a given population within a short period of time. For example, in meningococcal infection ...

diseases and warfare in the 18th century, the remaining Yuchi bands were forcibly relocated to

Indian Territory Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United States, ...

in the 1830s, alongside their allies, the Muscogee Creek. Today, the Yuchi primarily reside in northeastern

, where many are enrolled citizens of the

federally recognized This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes are legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United States.

Muscogee (Creek) Nation The Muscogee Nation, or Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is a federally recognized Native American tribe based in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The nation descends from the historic Muscogee Confederacy, a large group of indigenous peoples of the South ...

. They continue to maintain a distinct cultural identity, with some members still speaking the

Yuchi language Yuchi or Euchee is the language of the (Children of the Sun), also known as the Yuchi people, now living in Oklahoma. Historically, they lived in what is now known as the southeastern United States, including eastern Tennessee, western Carolin ...

, a

linguistic isolate A language isolate is a language that has no demonstrable genetic relationship with any other languages. Basque in Europe, Ainu and Burushaski in Asia, Sandawe in Africa, Haida and Zuni in North America, Kanoê in South America, and Tiwi i ...

Name

The term ''Yuchi'' translated to "over there sit/live" or "situated yonder." Their

autonym Autonym may refer to: * Autonym, the name used by a person to refer to themselves or their language; see Exonym and endonym * Autonym (botany), an automatically created infrageneric or infraspecific name See also * Nominotypical subspecies, in zo ...

, or name for themselves, Tsoyaha or Coyaha, means "Children of the Sun." Their language is an isolate. The

Shawnee The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...

called them ''Tahokale,'' and the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

call them ''Aniyutsi.''

History

At the time of first European contact, the Yuchi people lived in what is now eastern

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. In 1541,

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

explorer Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...

Hernando de Soto Hernando de Soto (; ; 1497 – 21 May 1542) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire in Peru, ...

described them as a powerful tribe known as the ''Uchi,'' that were also associated with the

Chisca The Chisca were a tribe of Native Americans living in present-day eastern Tennessee and southwestern Virginia in the 16th century. Their descendants, the Yuchi lived in present-day Alabama, Georgia, and Florida in the 17th, 18th, and early 19th ...

tribe. Both historical and

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

evidence exists documenting several Yuchi towns of the 18th century. Among these was Chestowee in present-day

Bradley County, Tennessee Bradley County is a County (United States), county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 108,620, making it the thirteenth most populous county i ...

. In 1714, instigated by two English

fur trader The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...

s from

, the

attacked and destroyed Chestowee. The Cherokee were prepared to carry their attacks further to Yuchi settlements south on the

Savannah River The Savannah River is a major river in the Southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and South Carolina. The river flows from the Appalachian Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, ...

, but the colonial government of South Carolina did not condone this. The Cherokee destruction of Chestowee marked their emergence as a major power in the

Southeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, ...

Yuchi towns were later documented in western South Carolina and northern Georgia, where the tribe had migrated to escape pressure from the Cherokee. "Mount Pleasant" was noted as being on the

in present-day

Effingham County, Georgia Effingham County ( ) is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 64,769. The seat is Springfield. Effingham County is included in the Savannah metropolitan area. I ...

, from about 1722 to about 1750. To take advantage of trade, the British established a

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...

and small military garrison there, which they called Mount Pleasant.Daniel T. Elliott and Rita Folse Elliott, "Mount Pleasant. An Eighteenth-Century Yuchi Indian Town, British Trader Outpost, and Military Garrison in Georgia"
Watkinsville, GA: LAMAR Institute Publications, 1990 "Euchee Town" (also called Uche Town), a large settlement on the

Chattahoochee River The Chattahoochee River () is a river in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern United States. It forms the southern half of the Alabama and Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia border, as well as a portion of the Florida and Georgia border. It ...

, was documented from the middle to late 18th century. It was located near Euchee (or Uche) Creek, about ten miles downriver from the Muscogee Creek settlement of ''Coweta'' Old Town. The

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

William Bartram William Bartram (April 20, 1739 – July 22, 1823) was an American naturalist, writer and explorer. Bartram was the author of an acclaimed book, now known by the shortened title Bartram's ''Travels'', which chronicled his explorations of the S ...

visited Euchee Town in 1778. In his letters he ranked it as the largest and most compact Indian town he had ever encountered, with large, well-built houses.John T. Ellisor, ''The Second Creek War'', p. 31 US Indian agent

Benjamin Hawkins Benjamin Hawkins (August 15, 1754June 6, 1816) was an American planter, statesman and a U.S. Indian agent. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress and a United States Senator from North Carolina, having grown up among the planter elite ...

also visited the town and described the Yuchi as "more orderly and industrious" than the other tribes of the

Muscogee Creek Confederacy The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek or just Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language; English: ), are a group of related Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands In the late 18th century, English colonists noted Patsiliga, a settlement on the

Flint River The Flint River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 15, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Georgia. The river drains of western Georgia, flowing south from th ...

. Other Yuchi settlements may have been those villages noted on the

Oconee River The Oconee River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map Accessed April 21, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its origin is in Hall County and it terminates where it join ...

near Uchee Creek in

Wilkinson County, Georgia Wilkinson County is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,877.US 2020 Census Bureau report, Wilkinson County, Georgia The county seat is Irwinton. The county was crea ...

, and on Brier Creek in

Burke Burke (; ) is a Normans in Ireland, Norman-Irish surname, deriving from the ancient Anglo-Norman and Hiberno-Norman noble dynasty, the House of Burgh. In Ireland, the descendants of William de Burgh (''circa'' 1160–1206) had the surname'' de B ...

or Screven counties, also in Georgia. A Yuchi town was known to exist from 1746 to 1751 at the site of present-day Silver Bluff in

Aiken County, South Carolina Aiken County () is a county in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 168,808. Its county seat and largest community is Aiken. Aiken County is a part of the Augusta- Richmond County, GA-SC Metropolitan ...

, which developed in the later 18th century. During the 18th century, the Yuchi established an alliance with white settlers in the

Southern Colonies The Southern Colonies within British America consisted of the Province of Maryland, the Colony of Virginia, the Province of Carolina (in 1712 split into North and South Carolina), and the Province of Georgia. In 1763, the newly created colonies ...

, trading deerskins and

Indian slaves Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

with them. The Yuchi population plummeted during the 18th century due to

Eurasia Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...

infectious diseases infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...

, to which they had no immunity, and to war with the Cherokee, who were moving into their territory. After the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, Yuchi people maintained close relations with the Muscogee Creek Confederacy, into which federally recognized members were later absorbed. In the late 18th century, some Yuchi migrated south to Florida along with the Muscogee, where they became part of the newly formed

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...

people.Jackson 415 During the

Creek War The Creek War (also the Red Stick War or the Creek Civil War) was a regional conflict between opposing Native American factions, European powers, and the United States during the early 19th century. The Creek War began as a conflict within th ...

of 1813–1814, which overlapped the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, many Yuchi joined the

Red Sticks Red Sticks (also Redsticks, Batons Rouges, or Red Clubs)—the name deriving from the red-painted war clubs of some Native American Creek—refers to an early 19th century traditionalist faction of Muscogee Creek people in the Southeastern Uni ...

party, traditionalists opposed to the Muscogee people of the Lower Towns, who had adopted aspects of

European-American European Americans are Americans of European ancestry. This term includes both people who descend from the first European settlers in the area of the present-day United States and people who descend from more recent European arrivals. Since th ...

culture. Euchee Town decayed. The Yuchi tribe became one of the poorest of the Muscogee communities, at the same time gaining a bad reputation. The

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...

of the town, designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

, is within the boundaries of present-day

Fort Benning Fort Benning (named Fort Moore from 2023–2025) is a United States Army post in the Columbus, Georgia area. Located on Georgia's border with Alabama, Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve compone ...

. In the 1830s, the US government forcibly removed the Yuchi, along with the Muscogee, from Alabama and Georgia to

(present day

), west of the Mississippi River. The Yuchi settled in the north and northwestern parts of the Muscogee Nation. Three tribal towns which the Yuchi established there in the 19th century continue today: Duck Creek, Polecat, and Sand Creek.

Second Seminole War

Prior to 1818 some Yuchi moved to near

Lake Miccosukee Lake Miccosukee is a large swampy prairie lake in northern Jefferson County, Florida, located east of the settlement of Miccosukee. A small portion of the lake, its northwest corner, is located in Leon County. The small town of Miccosukee, F ...

in northern Florida, settling near Muscogee refugees.

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

's invasion of the area during the

First Seminole War The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were a series of three military conflicts between the United States and the Seminoles that took place in Florida between about 1816 and 1858. The Seminoles are a Native American nation which co ...

resulted in the Yuchi moving to eastern Florida. They fought alongside the Seminole during the

Second Seminole War The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between the United States and groups of people collectively known as Seminoles, consisting of Muscogee, Creek and Black Seminoles as well as oth ...

under their chief Uchee Billy. He was captured in 1837 with his brother Jack by General

Joseph Marion Hernandez Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

, who also captured

Osceola Osceola (1804 – January 30, 1838, Vsse Yvholv in Muscogee language, Creek, also spelled Asi-yahola), named Billy Powell at birth, was an influential leader of the Seminole people in Florida. His mother was Muscogee, and his great-grandfa ...

. The two leaders were imprisoned for years in

Fort Marion The Castillo de San Marcos ( Spanish for “ St. Mark’s Castle”) is the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States; it is located on the western shore of Matanzas Bay in St. Augustine, Florida. It was designed by the Spanish en ...

St. Augustine, Florida St. Augustine ( ; ) is a city in and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Located 40 miles (64 km) south of downtown Jacksonville, the city is on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Florida. Founded in 1565 by Spani ...

. From 1890 to 1895, the

Dawes Commission The American Dawes Commission, named for its first chairman Henry L. Dawes, was authorized under a rider to an Indian Office appropriation bill, March 3, 1893. Its purpose was to convince the Five Civilized Tribes to agree to cede tribal title ...

considered the Yuchi in Indian Territory to be an autonomous tribe. It registered tribal members preparatory to allotment of communal tribal lands in Indian Territory to individual households of members. Some 1200 tribal members were registered in those years. The Dawes Commission later decided to legally classify the Yuchi as part of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, in an effort to simplify the process of land allotment. But this decision interrupted the autonomy of the people and their record of historical continuity as a recognized tribe.

Current status

The Yuchi people are enrolled in

federally recognized tribes This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes are legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United States.

, particularly the

, who host the Euchee Language Program. In the 1990s, the Yuchi Tribal Organization based in

Sapulpa, Oklahoma Sapulpa is a city in and the county seat of Creek County, Oklahoma, Creek County, extending partly into Tulsa County, Oklahoma, Tulsa County, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 21,929 at the time of the 2020 United States census, ...

, petitioned the US federal government to gain federal recognition as an independent tribe. In 2000, the

Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, Department of the Interior. It is responsible for im ...

denied the petition. As of 1997, the Yuchi tribe had a formal enrollment of 249 members. Other Yuchi descendants are already enrolled in other tribes, such as the Muscogee. Most Yuchi are of multi-tribal descent; some are citizens of other tribes, such as the

. The Euchee Tribe of Indians, while not federally recognized, has their headquarters in

. Their tribal chairmen are co-chairs Felix Brown Jr. and Clinton Sago.

James Anaya Stephen James Anaya is an American lawyer and the 16th Dean of the University of Colorado Boulder Law School. He was formerly the James J. Lenoir Professor of Human Rights Law and Policy at the University of Arizona's James E. Rogers College of L ...

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

(UN) Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, visited the Yuchi community. Tracie Revis (Yuchi) gave a speech defining the importance of federal recognition. He acknowledged the declaration by the UN on the Rights of Indigenous People that states "that we have the right of

self-determination Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage. Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...

and by virtue of that right- we may freely determine our political status and freely pursue our economic, social and cultural development." An estimated 2,000 persons are ethnically Yuchi. They are descendants of some 1,100 persons recorded by the

Indian Claims Commission The Indian Claims Commission (ICC) was a judicial relations arbiter between the United States federal government and Native American tribes. It was established under the Indian Claims Act of 1946 by the United States Congress to hear any longstandin ...

in 1950, which was settling compensation claims dating from allotments. The Yuchi continue their important ceremonies, such as the

Green Corn Ceremony The Green Corn Ceremony (Busk) is an annual ceremony practiced among various Native American peoples associated with the beginning of the yearly corn harvest. Busk is a term given to the ceremony by white traders, the word being a corruption of ...

of late summer. They maintain three ceremonial grounds in Oklahoma. Some members belong to the

Native American Church The Native American Church (NAC), also known as Peyotism and Peyote Religion, is a Syncretism, syncretic Native American religion that teaches a combination of traditional Native Americans in the United States, Native American beliefs and eleme ...

and

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

congregations. In 2008, the Yuchi tribe received a grant from President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

's administration for a Native Americans Comprehensive Community Survey and Plan. The grant was used to developed the Tribal History Project, which began in October 2010. The

Human Genome Project The Human Genome Project (HGP) was an international scientific research project with the goal of determining the base pairs that make up human DNA, and of identifying, mapping and sequencing all of the genes of the human genome from both a ...

acknowledged the importance of the Yuchi's distinct culture and language and approached the Yuchi in order to collect genetic data (DNA). The Yuchi tribe declined to participate in the Project due to cultural conflict and uncertainty among members over the uses of government ownership of tribal DNA.

Yuchi language

The

is a

, not known to be related to any other language. In 2000 the estimated number of fluent Yuchi speakers was 15, but this number dwindled to 7 by 2006.Anderton, Alice, PhD
"Status of Indian Languages in Oklahoma"
Intertribal Wordpath Society, Ahalenia.com, 2006-2009 (retrieved 7 Feb 2009) According to a 2011 documentary on the Yuchi language, the number of first-language speakers had declined to five by 2011. Young Yuchi people have learned the language in recent years and are continuing to do so. Yuchi language classes are being taught in

, in an effort led by Richard Grounds and the Euchee Language Project. As of 2011, the Administration for Native Americans awarded the Yuchi tribe a grant for the years 2011 to 2014 in an effort to provide after-school programs for youth to improve proficiency in their native language and develop a young generation of speakers. The Yuchi people and language are featured in a chapter in

Mark Abley Mark Abley (born 13 May 1955) is a Canadian poet, journalist, editor and nonfiction writer. His poetry and some of his nonfiction books express his interest in endangered languages. In November 2022 Abley was awarded an honorary D.Litt. by the Un ...

's ''Spoken Here: Travels Among Threatened Languages'' (2003), a book on

endangered languages An endangered language or moribund language is a language that is at risk of disappearing as its speakers die out or shift to speaking other languages. Language loss occurs when the language has no more native speakers and becomes a " dead langua ...

Notable people

* Uchee Billy (died 1837), warrior and chief *

Sam Story Sam Story, also named Timpoochee Kinnard, was Chief of the Walton County, Florida, band of Euchee (Yuchi) Indians in the early 19th century, who occupied the lands on and to the west of the Choctawhatchee River. His parents were Timothy Kinnard, a ...

, 19th-century chief * Richard Ray Whitman (born 1949), artist, poet, actor

References

Citations

Bibliography

*Jackson, Jason Baird. "Yuchi." ''Handbook of North American Indians: Southeast.'' Eds. William C. Sturtevant and Raymond D. Fogelson. Volume 14. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution, 2004. .

External links

The Euchee Language Project

''Memoirs of Jeremiah Curtin in the Indian Territory''
pp. 327, 333–335. 19th-century ethnographer's account of learning Yuchi language in 1883 in a Yuchi settlement 55 miles from

Muskogee, Oklahoma Muskogee () is the 13th-largest city in Oklahoma and is the county seat of Muskogee County, Oklahoma, Muskogee County. Home to Bacone College, it lies approximately southeast of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Tulsa. The population of the city was 36,878 as of ...

. Electronic record maintained by

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

, accessed January 15, 2007.
Uchee Path
historical marker
Joseph Mahan Collection
Columbus State University Archives {{authority control Native American history of Tennessee Native American tribes in Tennessee Native American tribes in Alabama Native American tribes in Georgia (U.S. state) Native American tribes in Oklahoma Unrecognized tribes in the United States Native Americans in Appalachia