The following study examined leadership characteristics of a modern leader of the Cherokee Nation, Ross O. Swimmer, during his three elections as Principal Chief, 1975-1985. Few Western scholars paid attention to the Cherokee Tribe after the break-up of institutions legislated by the federal Indian policy of Allotment. The position of the government was, the Cherokee Tribe no longer existed. For almost seventy years, no form of Cherokee leadership was visible; no Cherokee government existed. Federal Indian policy changed again, allowing tribes to elect their own leaders. This study began filling in gaps of missing information on modern Cherokee leadership by examining Swimmer’s leadership characteristics. The study attempted to add to the body of leadership knowledge by mining minds and memories, searching for the meaning of leadership from a modern Cherokee perspective. The three questions guiding the study were: what were the leadership characteristics of Principal Chief Ross O. Swimmer; to what extent did these leadership characteristics reflect traditional Cherokee leadership characteristics; and from a tribal perspective, did these make a difference, and to what extent? The data indicate seven Swimmer leadership characteristics: Visionary, Goal Oriented, Bureaucratic, Top-Down, Authoritarian, Delegator, and Communicator. There was inconsistency with Swimmer’s use of traditional leadership practices. Swimmer used a combination of traditional Cherokee, traditional Native American, and Anglo-European-American leadership characteristics during his three terms as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. Two possible explanations for Swimmer’s blending leadership characteristics from varying models were suggested. First, given his bi-cultural heritage, Swimmer could navigate back and forth between the mainstream White culture and the traditional Cherokee culture, to pick and choose various types of leadership characteristics. Second, adaptability has always been a unique characteristic of the Cherokee people. Cherokee leaders frequently applied the feature of borrowing from White culture in order to adapt and survive. Swimmer accomplished many of his goals for the Cherokee people and set the Nation on a path of growth and stability. His methods were not without criticism from traditional Cherokees. However, Swimmer built the foundation for a corporate government that instilled pride in the Cherokee people and provided opportunity for self-sufficiency. / text

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Georgia State University, 2007. / Charles G. Steffen, committee chair; Mohammed Hassen Ali, Wayne J. Urban, committee members. Electronic text (322 p.) : digital, PDF file. Title from file title page. Description based on contents viewed Dec. 5, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 284-318).

Thesis (M.F.A.)--West Virginia University, 2003. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains 209 p. Includes abstract.

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Thesis (M.A.) History--University of Central Oklahoma, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 118-136).

Thesis (M.A.)--East Tennessee State University, 2003. / Originally issued electronically at http://etd-submit.etsu.edu/etd/theses/available/etd-0607103-161102/unrestricted/mcmillionA071503a.pdf . Includes bibliographical references (leaves 106-111).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2009. / Title from title page screen (viewed on Oct. 22, 2009). Thesis advisor: Gerald F. Schroedl. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

This dissertation examines the creation and performance of expressive vocal practices by Eastern Cherokees as they seek to revitalize the Cherokee language in North Carolina in the Eastern part of the United States. The Eastern Band of Cherokee of Indians is facing the impending loss of its heritage language due to a community-wide shift to English. To combat this loss, the community now operates a Cherokee language immersion school, New Kituwah Academy. This dissertation is based on ethnographic and linguistic data collected during the researcher’s five years as the music and art instructor at New Kituwah. Indigenous epistemologies of language and poetics are brought into discourse with methodological and analytical approaches in ethnomusicology and linguistic anthropology. Performative vocal practices are processes through which Eastern Cherokee speakers negotiate what it means to be “modern Kituwah citizens.” Contemporary Cherokee voices emerge from the ambiguities of poetic “language play” in speech and song. “Voice” is both a metaphorical representation of a Cherokee sovereign and an actual materiality produced by embodied, speaking, and singing subjects. The translation of new popular song texts into Cherokee is likewise explored as “working” or “playing” with language. Translation is a poetic process imbedded within broader socio-cultural systems of meaning and perception (ontologies). Translation and vocal play destabilize semantic connections and open up the possibility for alternative interpretations and meanings; they allow for sovereignty to flourish as Cherokees reimagine and reshape themselves and their world.

This study surveys the dreams and ideas of the missionary movement as shown in the life of the Worcester-Robertson family who lived among the Cherokee and Creek Indians. The sources include pertinent material in the papers of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM), Houghton Library, Harvard University; the Presbyterian Historical Society, Philadelphia; the Indian Archives and Alice Robertson papers, Oklahoma Historical Society, Oklahoma City; the Alice Robertson Collection, University of tulsa; family papers, interviews and correspondence.

The Treaty of New Echota was signed by a small group of Cherokee Indians and provided for the removal of the Cherokees from their lands in the southeastern United States. This treaty was secured by dishonest means and, despite the efforts of Chief John Ross to prevent the removal of the Cherokees from their homeland to west of the Mississippi River, the terms of the treaty were executed. In May of 1838, under the command of General Winfield Scott, the removal of the Cherokees commenced. Scott encountered many difficulties including inefficient commissioners and superintendents, drought, disease, and the wavering policy of the Van Buren administration in his quest to fulfill his assignment. He considered the humane treatment of the Cherokees to be his primary concern and did everything in his power to assure that they were not mistreated. These events led to the tragic “trail of tears.”