I have an idea in mind for a story, but I want it to be as historically accurate as possible. I need to find a Native American tribe that was at least semi-peaceful with Americans, located in a forest or close to a forest (in the eastern part of the country, preferably not in the south), probably close enough to American developers that they will be asked to leave soon or fought, any time period between the very late 1700s to about the 1840s. I’ve been trying to research it, but I can’t find good sources.
Wow, that’s a lot of specific detail… Do any of you know of any tribes?
The problem with this question is that the Eastern U.S. Native American tribes were mostly wiped out by disease shortly before the English colonists ever landed in any large numbers. Over 90% of most tribes died during European introduced plagues during the late 1500’s to early 1600’s. The forgotten part of the story is that the settlers in Jamestown and later colonies like the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts were extremely lucky in that they landed in places that were already set up for human habituation thanks to the now decimated Native American populations. Of course, that doesn’t mean that there weren’t any Native Americans around. There were but their numbers and culture had mostly been destroyed through an apocalyptic set of events.
It depends on how Eastern you want to get. If you aren’t opposed to using an island as a setting, Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts has the Wampanoag tribe that meets your criteria.
Researching wild fantasies and imaginary history is never very easy.
True but historical fiction works best when it tries to be as accurate as possible. The Wampanoag tribe and possibly others fit the criertia fairly well.
“By the 1800’s there remained but three native communities on Martha’s Vineyard: Aquinnah, Christiantown, and Chappaquiddick. Aquinnah being the most populous and organized, we were able to maintain control over our land, despite intense efforts by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to end our existence. Over the past 100 years more and more native land has been lost as changes in the local economy forced tribal members to sell their lands, move to other parts of the island, or to leave the island altogether. Aquinnah was at different times in history referred to as a “praying town,” an Indian District, and an incorporated town. Throughout it all we remain a sovereign tribe.”
http://www.wampanoagtribe.net/pages/wampanoag_webdocs/history_culture
It’s also not really a wild fantasy… Which is kinda the entire point of me researching as much as possible about the white culture and the Native American culture back then.
Martha’s Vineyard could easily be a good place to use. Were there any other tribes/places that you know of that fit decently, since you said there could be others that suit the criteria fairly well, so that I can look into them?
The Cherokee. They are in the South, specifically the mountains of North Carolina, but they fit the bill perfectly in all other ways.
You beat me to it. The main consideration is that the Cherokees were the biggest nation in the east who cooperated with the British and Americans instead of keeping up hostilities. Otherwise, it would be very tough to find much white-Indian friendship during the historical period you’re thinking of. A lot of white people’s learning of native medicinal plants came about through Cherokee contact.
They don’t necessarily have to be completely friendly. They should just be peaceful enough that they wouldn’t want to harm or kill white people on the spot because of it being unmoral or because they didn’t automatically hate every white person but did distrust them.
Any one of the so-called Five Civilized Tribeswould fill the bill, which besides the Cherokee included the Choctaw, Chicasaw, Creek (Muscogee), and Seminole. They attempted to integrate into white culture, but were eventually mostly relocated to Oklahoma. They all, however, were in the South.