Jackson and McMinn Treaty

Acquisitions by the US from the Cherokee in the Jackson and McMinn Treaty of 1817. Territories acquired are outlined in red.

The Jackson and McMinn Treaty settled land disputes between The United States, the Cherokee Nation, and other tribes following the early re-settlement of the Old Settlers of the Cherokee people to the Arkansaw Territory following the Red Stick War.

Background

Following the War of 1812, and the concurrent Red Stick War, the U.S. government attempted to persuade the Cherokee tribes to a voluntary removal to the Arkansaw Territory. This effort was headed by the Indian agent, Return J. Meigs. When the Cherokee arrived in Arkansaw, however, it was discovered that the land promised them was already in possession of other Native American peoples.

Treaty

The outcome of subsequent negotiations resulted in the Jackson and McMinn Treaty of 1817. The treaty transferred lands in Georgia along the Apalachee and Chattahoochee Rivers (Article I), lands in Tennessee fronted by the Sequatchie River (Article 2), and two areas in Alabama just north of the Tennessee River that had been ceded to the Cherokee chief Doublehead. (Article 10). In return for secured title to lands along the Arkansas and White Rivers for the Cherokee. In the treaty, the federal government also promised to fund the move of the Indians to the west. Whereas the treaty recognized the Cherokee as true title owners of the lands of West Tennessee, the treaty recognized the right of those Cherokee who wished to remain would do so separate and apart from any united States or Tennessee government, whereas the Cherokee were recognized as a sovereign people with the right to self-determination and self-governance separate and apart from the united States and Tennessee.

See also

• Jackson Purchase (U.S. historical region)