Dragging-Canoe

Dragging Canoe was a Cherokee chief who led his people during a tumultuous period of conflict and treaty negotiations with the expanding United States. He was a prominent leader during the Cherokee wars and treaties that took place around the American Revolution.12

In 1776, Dragging Canoe led a force of 700 Cherokee warriors in attacks against U.S.-held forts in North Carolina. These assaults, however, were unsuccessful and led to a series of retaliatory actions by American militias that significantly weakened Cherokee power and resulted in the loss of vast ancestral lands through treaties such as the Treaty of DeWitt's Corner and the Treaty of Long Island of Holston. Despite these setbacks, Dragging Canoe continued to resist colonial encroachment.12