© TCNPress.Org
By Line:
Charleston, AR
June 16, 2025 5:35 a.m.
Summer Solstice Gathering on June 21
In a recent interview, numerous Chiefs of The Chickamauga Nation discussed an upcoming event in Charleston, Arkansas.
The Summer Solstice Gathering will display the culture and history of Chickamauga people in Arkansas. Dr. David Jurney, a renowned archaeologist and anthropologist, will present his findings from the anthropological research and history he discovered of Chickamauga in Arkansas, especially the River Valley.
The Tribe will provide a BBQ luncheon for the greater Charleston community sometime around noon. When asked why they are hosting the BBQ, they were excited to state, “It is because we are almost all related through our Chickamauga bloodlines here in Franklin County.
When asked to explain, one of the Chiefs said, “Back in the late 1700s, around 1775, the Chickamauga began moving west of the Mississippi River to escape the illegal immigrant squatter settlers who were stealing their lands east of the Mississippi.” “We were under Spanish protection at the time, and they gave us land grants for the St. Francis River basin, and we invited other tribes with which we were in a Confederacy to join us in our new lands. In 1809, Thomas Jefferson, the President of the United States agreed to trade lands east of the Mississippi River for lands west of the Mississippi River to the Lower Town Chickamauga. The land trade included the Arkansas River Valley including today's Franklin County. Eventually, the land trade was included in the 1817 Treaty with the Western Cherokee."
“We are misnamed ‘Cherokee’ because at the time, we spoke Arate, an admixture of the Cherokee Trade Language and the Mobilian Trade Language, with words sprinkled in from Spanish, French, and English. That is why we were called the Lower Town Cherokee, and the language was eventually called the Southern Dialect of Cherokee or the Lower Town Dialect of Cherokee. While we knew we were Lower Town Chickamauga, almost everyone identified us as Cherokee because we spoke that trade language. Eventually, many of our people accepted the term Cherokee because it was easier than trying to correct everyone including the United States government.”
“Even here in Arkansas, the United States kept changing our name. We were called Chickamauga, Cherokee, Arkansas Cherokee, Western Cherokee, Red Stick Cherokee, Old Settler Cherokee, and numerous others. The one thing that did not change is that we remained Lower Town Chickamauga in our culture, beliefs, and traditions.”
"We want to host the BBQ because the Summer Solstice Gathering is our homecoming. It is our opportunity to demonstrate to the people of Franklin County that we are almost all related by Chickamauga blood. We understand most of the people have been told they have Cherokee blood. We were told the same thing until we did the historical research and found out our families were all of Lower Town Chickamauga descent. The United States committed genocide in renaming us and trying to eliminate our Chickamauga culture and identity, much like the governor and the Board of Corrections of the State of Arkansas are trying to do to us today.”
Toward the end of the interview, the Chiefs wished people would come out to the Gathering and enjoy being around family and having a good time. If someone has ever been told they are Cherokee, they need to come to the Gathering and find out which of the Chickamauga families in the area they are actually related to by blood. There will be people there to help people learn their true identity and help them fill out an application for Citizenship in The Chickamauga Nation if they desire to do so.
If you are in the Charleston, Arkansas area on June 21, Summer Solstice, come early and learn about the true history and culture of the Chickamauga here in Arkansas.