Editing Cherokee (section)

=====Eastern Band=====
[[File:Cól-lee, a Band Chief Cherokee by George Catlin (1985.66.285) Smithsonian.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Cól-lee, a Band Chief, painted by [[George Catlin]], 1834]]

The Cherokee living along the [[Oconaluftee River]] in the [[Great Smoky Mountains]] were the most conservative and isolated from European–American settlements. They rejected the reforms of the Cherokee Nation. When the Cherokee government ceded all territory east of the [[Little Tennessee River]] to [[North Carolina]] in 1819, they withdrew from the Nation.<ref>Theda Purdue, ''Native Carolinians: The Indians of North Carolina'', pg. 40</ref> [[William Holland Thomas]], a white store owner and state legislator from [[Jackson County, North Carolina]], helped over 600 Cherokee from [[Cherokee, North Carolina|Qualla Town]] obtain North Carolina citizenship, which exempted them from forced removal. Over 400 Cherokee either hid from Federal troops in the remote Snowbird Mountains, under the leadership of [[Tsali]] ({{lang|chr|ᏣᎵ}}),<ref name=Tsali>[http://www.cherokee-nc.com/history.php?Name=Tsali "Tsali."] ''History and culture of the Cherokee (North Carolina Indians).'' (March 10, 2007)</ref> or belonged to the former Valley Towns area around the [[Cheoah River]] who negotiated with the state government to stay in North Carolina. An additional 400 Cherokee stayed on reserves in Southeast Tennessee, North Georgia, and Northeast Alabama, as citizens of their respective states. They were mostly mixed-race and Cherokee women married to white men. Together, these groups were the ancestors of the federally recognized [[Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians]], and some of the state-recognized tribes in surrounding states.