Originally Published July 11, 2023
On behalf of The Chickamauga Nation, I want to extend our warmest greetings.
First, we are truly sorry for how you have been treated by the press and others.
From what appeared publicly in the press, we want to provide you with information concerning your family lineage from Jane Lassiter’s father, Tobias Lassetter who was married to a Chickamauga woman named Sarah Bushyhead (1759 – 1817).
The Bushyhead family is historically recognized as Lower Town Chickamauga, which the government called the Lower Town Cherokee.
George Washington, during his Fourth Annual Address to Congress, Recognized the Chickamauga as inhabiting the lower towns on the Tennessee River.
The common misconception is that the Chickamauga and the Cherokee are the same people of which they are not.
The Chickamauga and Cherokee are ethnically, racially, culturally, socially, and religiously separate people who happened for a time to speak the same Trade Language.
Furthering the confusion, the United States government lumped together all speakers of the Cherokee Trade Language to make Treaty writing easier so the government called us all Cherokee.
We were told, like hundreds of thousands of other families, that we are Cherokee. That is not our fault.
It is easy to understand why our families called themselves Cherokee, because the government falsely called us Cherokee.
We Are Not Cherokee, We Are Chickamauga.
Without doubt, you are of Native American ancestry, because you too are Chickamauga.
(C) This document was produced at the request of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on July 18, 2019, to document the History, Anthropology, Culture, Religion, and Archaeology of The Chickamauga Nation.