Sam Houston and Native American relations

Reconstruction of an early 19th-century Cherokee farm in Tennessee

Sam Houston was born in Virginia.[1][2] His father Samuel Davidson Houston, an American Revolutionary War veteran, died in 1806, when Houston was eleven. Two years later, his mother Elizabeth Blair Paxton Houston (1757–1831) moved the family of nine children to the wilderness of Blount County, Tennessee.[1] They settled 10 miles (16 km) from Maryville on a 619 acres (2.51 km²) tract along Baker's Creek[lower-alpha 1] that his father purchased before his death. The Houstons cleared the land, built a cabin, and opened a store.[4] He hated taking orders from his brothers, at the farm and the store.[5] Bored by his chores, Houston retreated for hours into the woods, where he sometimes ran into Cherokee people, whom he found peaceful and friendly.[6] The farm was near the Tennessee border with the Cherokee Nation, whose members often traded at the Houstons' store. The Cherokee were one of the Five Civilized Tribes.[7]

Houston attended Porter Academy,[8] Blount County's first school,[9][lower-alpha 2] of which his two older brothers, James and John, were trustees.[7] Houston disliked school. The only coursework that interested him was Latin, but the headmaster at the academy refused his request to be taught the language.[11][12] Houston preferred reading books from his deceased father's library, especially the Greek classics, and other books that taught him about faraway lands and other historical periods.[11][12][13]

According to Texas historian James L. Haley, Houston also preferred the "free and unsophisticated spiritual expression of the Native Americans" over the stern church sermons of damnation and hell.[7] In 1809, he crossed the Tennessee River to live with the Cherokees along the banks of the Hiwassee River on Hiwassee Island, which was about 90 miles southwest of the Houstons' home.[1][6][14] Sent to look for him, John and James found Houston at John Jolly's home.[15] When his brothers asked him to return to the family, Houston told them that he preferred to live among the Cherokee people,[16] which he did for three years.[1] The tribe was led by Jolly (also known as Ahuludegi or Oolooteka), who emphasized the importance of fairness and honesty.[15] The Indian agent of the Cherokee in southeastern Tennessee, Return J. Meigs, stated that Jolly's house was "one of the largest ... finest homes in the South."[17][18][19] Houston considered Jolly his "Indian Father", and regarded the Cherokees as his family. Jolly adopted him and gave him the Cherokee name Colonneh, meaning "the Raven,"[19] which in Cherokee lore fights an evil spirit to save the Corn Spirit, thereby ensuring a bountiful harvest.[15] Houston wore their clothing, spoke the Cherokee language,[20] danced with them, and played their ball games.[19] He hunted wild game with the Cherokee boys and wandered along woodland streams with the girls. According to William Carey Crane and James L. Haley, these experiences helped shape his character and gave him skills that aided him while serving in the military and as a leader.[11][12]

Houston visited his family in Maryville occasionally,[16][19][21] when his clothing needed mending[11] or he needed money. While he was away from home, he corresponded with his cousins, inquiring after his younger brother William's welfare, and showing affectionate concern for his sisters.[7] He acquired a reputation for drinking too much liquor and he purchased gifts for tribal members on credit, which created mounting debt. As a result, he took a job clerking at a store in Kingston, thirty miles west of Maryville.[12] Houston returned to Maryville in 1812, and at 19 he opened a school in a one-room schoolhouse a few miles to the north. He charged tuition of eight dollars per term, payable in cash, cotton cloth, and corn. His venture was successful, and he later recalled that he "experienced a higher feeling of dignity and self-satisfaction than from any other office or honor which I have held."[22] Finding himself again facing debts, in March, 1813, he enlisted in the United States Army. He was appointed a sergeant the same day.[23] Houston fought in the Creek War where he led the charge against the Creek. He rose through the ranks and he developed what would be a life-long relationship with Andrew Jackson.[24][25] He fought alongside the Cherokee during the War of 1812 at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in 1814.[21] Houston was badly hurt when an arrow was shot into his upper thigh. He was not expected to live through the night, but he recovered enough to return home. He was promoted to first lieutenant under Jackson in May 1817.[19][26]

Louisiana Purchase (1803), map of present-day United States with an overlay of the Louisiana Purchase in white

As whites settled in the western frontier, political pressure mounted to remove Native Americans from the Southern United States to land west of the Mississippi River, as proposed in 1803 (the year of the Louisiana Purchase) by Thomas Jefferson. A delegation of Cherokee people visited the western lands in 1809. By 1816, Jackson wanted all Cherokee to move west and he thought that Houston could help make this happen.[27] In 1817, after a treaty was negotiated with the Cherokee, Jackson appointed Houston as a sub-agent to administer the treaty because he could speak the Cherokee language and knew many of the people that were to be moved. Houston believed that the removal of Cherokee from East Tennessee was inevitable,[28][29] and he felt that the Cherokee were moving to a place where they could live in peace. He was known among the Cherokee as the Great Chief of the whites.[30]

Arkansas Territory's evolution to the state of Arkansas and Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma)

In February 1818, Houston was strongly reprimanded by Secretary of War John C. Calhoun after he wore Native American dress to a meeting between Calhoun and Cherokee leaders, beginning an enmity that lasted until Calhoun's death in 1850.[31] Houston believed that the clothing he had worn showed respect for the Native American delegation, but Calhoun felt that it was unbecoming of an officer in the Army. Houston was also charged, and later cleared, of involvement in an illegal slavery ring.[32] Angry over the incident with Calhoun and an investigation into his activities, Houston resigned from the army in 1818.[33]

Houston continued to act as a government liaison with the Cherokee.[19][33] The treaty he negotiated in 1818 stipulated that tribal members should get the same amount of land that they had in Tennessee. They were to have free navigation of the waterways, all head rights for their land, and receive money to make necessary improvements.[34] Governor Joseph McMinn and Calhoun decided that it was important to ensure the success of the treaties and they bribed Tahlonteeskee, who received $1,000 (equivalent to $19,117 in 2022) while other delegates received $500 in bribes. It is unknown whether Houston was aware of the arrangement. Unlike the later Trail of Tears, there was no forced removal of the Cherokee. Their removal was well-organized, with much of the travel on river boats.[35] Once they arrived, though, they learned that they had been given land that had been Osage and Quapaw hunting grounds.[36]

After receiving his law license and practicing law in Tennessee beginning in 1819, Houston was elected a congressman in 1823, chosen for the position by Jackson. In October 1827, he took the oath as the governor of Tennessee.[37] In January 1829, Houston married Eliza Allen, the daughter of wealthy plantation owner John Allen of Gallatin, Tennessee; their marriage quickly fell apart,[38] and in April 1829, Houston resigned as governor. Shortly after leaving office, he traveled west to rejoin the Cherokee,[39] and reunited with Jolly's tribe in mid-1829.[40]

John Jolly, also known as Ahuludegi and Oolooteka, painted by George Catlin, 1834

After a calamitous journey, Houston disembarked from the steamboat into a clearing that was lit by torches carried by Jolly's slaves. The chief had been notified that Houston was on board and he came to meet him and take him two miles back to his home.[41]

The old chief threw his arms around him and embraced him with great affection. He said,[42]

My son, eleven winters have passed since we met. My heart has wandered often where you were; and I heard you were a great chief among your people. Since we parted at the Falls, as you went up the river, I have heard that a dark cloud had fallen on the white path you were walking, and when it fell in your way you turned your thoughts to the wigwam. I am glad of it—it was done by the Great Spirit… We are in trouble and the Great Spirit has sent you to give us council, and take trouble away from us. I will tell our sorrows to the great father, General Jackson. My wigwam is yours—my home is yours—my people are yours—rest with us.

— Charles Edwards Lester, The Life of Sam Houston [42]

Seeking refuge from white society, Houston went to the lodge of Jolly[19] to live among the people who gave him the happiest time of his life.[43] In a letter dated May 11, 1829, to Jackson, he described himself as a man in "the darkest, direst hour of human misery" after his failed marriage.[44] For his excessive drinking, he was nicknamed "Big Drunk".[19]

Jolly had a large plantation worked by up to twelve enslaved people, and he owned more than 500 head of cattle. Jolly was a generous host to whoever visited his large, fine house.[45][lower-alpha 3] The wealthier members of the Cherokee Nation lived like southern planters; their labor was supplied by enslaved black people; they purchased fine goods from Baltimore, Philadelphia, or New Orleans, and they built homes like the fine Southern plantation houses. They did not approve, though, of the way that whites lived, and enjoyed their own cultural traditions. For instance, Houston and Jolly followed an ancient tradition among friends where they fed one another from a common spoon.[45]

The leaders that Houston knew, such as Jolly, John Drew, Captain John Rogers, and Walter Webber were successful men who operated mercantile businesses or plantations, where cotton or corn crops were grown and harvested by African American enslaved people. Many of the leaders were partially of European descent, their fathers or fore-fathers being white traders who intermarried with the Cherokee people. According to Jack Dwain Gregory, they aimed to live like successful white people. Full-blooded Cherokees generally preferred to live according to Cherokee traditions.[17]

More than ten years earlier, Houston had helped negotiate the treaty that brought the Cherokee to Arkansas, believing that they would not be subject to pressure from white Southerners to leave the area. He thought they would thus escape the continual encroachments by whites on their lands, but he had soon become very aware that the Cherokee were being taken advantage of by their own agents in the Arkansas country.[46]

The treaty of 1828 (Treaty of Washington, May 6, 1828) required the Cherokee to move further west into Indian Territory, now Oklahoma. Although part of the arrangement was that the Indian agents were to give the Cherokee $50,000 (equivalent to $1,332,424 in 2022) in gold coin[47][48] for abandoning their lands in Arkansas, they were given instead worthless certificates or paper money of little value. These agents also reduced the rations that the Cherokee were to have received.[49] The Cherokee suspected that the federal government would move other Cherokee groups from the East onto their land, without increasing the amount of land they received, and they wanted good titles to their new lands.[50]

On October 31, 1829, Houston was granted citizenship to live among the Cherokee with all the rights and responsibilities of native members of the tribe.[lower-alpha 4] A committee, appointed by Jolly, assessed the contributions that he had made to the Cherokee, his integrity, as well as his proposals for the future, and they accepted him into the Cherokee Nation. The National Committee and Council approved him as well. Being a citizen of the Cherokee Nation gave him more cachet as a tribal emissary.[19][52][lower-alpha 5] He was also a Council leader. He was uniquely qualified to help them because he knew how the United States government operated, he spoke the Cherokee language and could interpret it, and he understood the needs of the Cherokee.[54] Wanting to fully assimilate into the nation, he avoided white people, donned the clothing and turbans of the natives, wore a goatee and grew out his hair, which he braided and let fall down his back. He reportedly would not speak English, used an interpreter when he had to talk to white men, and carried no weapons but a bow and arrow, which he had learned to use as a boy.[55] In 1829, Houston participated in a seven-day Green Corn Dance celebration that involved cleansing the wrongs committed in the past year by purging all traces of illness and foreign substances from the body, dancing, and games. He also participated in tribal governmental and religious functions at that time.[56] Houston lived according to Cherokee customs and traditions, during which he better understood their perceptions of the world. He shared their appreciation for the land and its forests, and how they related to the natural world, unlike those white men who did not respect the Cherokee's connection with their homelands and hunting grounds. White men had deceived them, introduced devastating diseases, introduced white men's vices, and changed their way of life. Houston endeavored to work in their best interests and protect them.[57]

Into 1831, Houston was often depressed and drunk. He physically attacked Jolly once when he was drunk and violent. He campaigned for a seat on the Cherokee tribal council, but was defeated. He had a shift in attitude after the death of his mother in September 1831 in Maryville, deciding that he needed to stop drinking and change his life path.[49]

Houston married Diana Rogers Gentry under Cherokee law[19] in the summer of 1830.[58] Although separated from Eliza Allen, Houston was still legally married to her, but the Cherokee were not concerned about that.[49] Diana was the daughter of Chief John "Hellfire" Rogers (1740–1833), a Scots-Irish trader, and Jennie Due (1764–1806), Jolly's sister.[58] John Rogers had served as a captain in the British Army during the American Revolutionary War and fought under Jackson at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in 1814,[59] alongside his sons and Houston. He was the official interpreter for the Cherokee and the likely successor of Jolly as a leader of the Cherokee.[60]

Diana was the name given to her at birth, but among the Cherokee she may have been known as Tiana.[lower-alpha 6] She was a tall, beautiful woman, of Scottish and English background, and less than a quarter Cherokee heritage.[62] According to family lore, Diana attended a Moravian missionary school, perhaps Brainerd Mission.[63][lower-alpha 7] Diana was previously married to David Gentry, a wealthy and powerful white man, in Tennessee. In 1817, the Gentrys moved to the Dardanelle area in Arkansas, where he was a successful blacksmith. They may have had two children, Joanna and Gabriel, neither of whom had children. It is also said that they had no children. David died during a battle with the Osage people.[65]

Houston called Diana "Hina".[66] They settled near Fort Gibson on the Neosho River and operated a trading post at Wigwam Neosho from 1829 to 1833.[19][67][lower-alpha 8] After declining to accompany Houston to Texas in 1832, Diana remained in Indian Territory with titles to their property, which included their residence and land. The marriage ended without animus,[58][69] and she later remarried. Diana died in 1838 of pneumonia.[58][lower-alpha 9]

One of the tasks facing the new Republic of Texas was the need to establish a policy for Native American tribes. Houston, who assumed the office of president in 1836, planned to provide frontier protection, engage in trade relationships, and promote peace.[78] On December 5, 1836, a law was enacted that gave Houston the power to protect Native Americans by establishing trading posts and blockhouses.[80] Laws had also been enacted to establish a large army and a chain of forts, but Houston, having sympathy for the native peoples, would not execute these laws, because there were no funds to pay for them.[81] He was able to provide riflemen and militia to protect the frontier. The law allowed for treaties, use of agents, and ability to distribute goods among Native American tribes.[82]

Relations between whites and native peoples became increasingly problematic as Native Americans were pushed west and their land was usurped by whites.[82] Houston was a strong believer in Native Americans' rights.[83] Throughout the last years of his presidency, Houston made numerous efforts for the Republic to find common ground with the various tribes, asserting their right to land ownership.[84][85][86] Many tribes thus came to respect him as their friend. For instance, various Native American tribes—sometimes hundreds of people at a time—camped out, ate, and celebrated at his farm.[87] In 1836–1837, Houston enlisted the aid of the peaceful Texas Delaware tribe to guard the Texas border against angry Native Americans. When Mirabeau B. Lamar became president in 1838, his policies helped fuel the Texas–Indian wars.[88] With John Forbes[89] and John Cameron,[90] Houston negotiated a treaty in East Texas with the Cherokee people (Treaty of Bowles Village with the Republic of Texas), in February 1836. Houston, Forbes, and Cameron were commissioners for the provisional government.[19] The United States Congress would not ratify the treaty, and negotiations stalled.[91] In early 1837, the Republic's government moved to a new capital, the city of Houston, named for Sam Houston, its first president.[92]

In 1838, Houston frequently clashed with the United States Congress over issues such as a treaty with the Cherokee and establishment of a land-office act.[93] He was forced to put down the Córdova Rebellion, a plot to allow Mexico to reclaim Texas with aid from the Kickapoo Indians.[19] By keeping troops out of the Indian country, Houston avoided some serious conflicts with the native tribes. Nothing came of the threats made by the Cherokee after the Texas Senate refused to ratify the treaty granting them permanent title to their lands,[94][95][96] and by the end of Houston's first term in December 1838, the native peoples of Texas had become agitated about continuing white encroachment on their lands.[97]

In accordance with the Republic's constitution, Houston did not stand for re-election in the 1838 election. He was succeeded by Mirabeau B. Lamar, who, along with Burnet, led a faction of Texas politicians opposed to Houston.[97] Lamar sought to exterminate hostile tribes, and he wanted friendlier tribes removed to reservations. In the case of the Alabamas and Coushattas, he sought to provide good titles to their lands, but they misunderstood the purpose of the surveyors who arrived on their land. Thinking that their land was going to go to white settlers, they moved out of the area. Before the situation could be rectified, whites began settling on the land.[78] The Lamar administration removed many of Houston's appointees and established a new capital at Austin. Lamar raised volunteer troops and rangers to pacify the hostile tribes and launched a war against the Cherokee, this led to the Cherokee being driven from Texas by military force in 1839,[80][98] and campaigns against the Comanche continued until the end of 1840.[99]

Although Lamar's policy of punitive expeditions against the native peoples achieved its goal, Houston's policy of friendship and conciliation, even as they continued their raids on white settlements,[98] had better results for the native peoples and was less costly in lives lost and funds expended by the Republic. Houston's defense of his Native American friends was the object of much newspaper commentary and was debated bitterly in the Texas Congress.[80] The Republic of Texas constitution barred presidents from seeking a second consecutive term,[100] so Lamar left office in 1841. Houston was again elected president.[101][102]

When Houston left the presidency of Texas the first time, the Anglo population seemed to support Lamar's strong anti-Indian policies. After the Great Raid of 1840 and hundreds of lesser raids, with all of the captives either killed by the native peoples or recovered, and with the Republic bankrupt,[103] Texans wanted to end the warfare and favored more diplomatic initiatives, which led to Houston's election to his second presidency. [19]

Houston's Indian policy was to disband most of the regular Army troops, and to muster four new companies of rangers to patrol the frontier. Houston ordered the Texas Rangers to protect the lands of the Native Americans from encroachment by settlers and illegal traders. He wanted to end the cycle of rage and revenge that had spiraled out of control under Lamar. Under Houston's policies, the Texas Rangers were authorized to punish infractions by the native peoples, but they were never to initiate conflict. The troops were ordered to find and punish the actual perpetrators, rather than retaliating against innocent people simply because they were Native Americans.[19]

Houston set out to negotiate with the Native tribes. The Caddo were the first to respond, and in August 1842, a treaty was made. Houston then expanded it to include all tribes except the Comanche, who still wanted permanent war. In March 1843, Houston reached an agreement with the Delaware, Wichitas, and some other tribes. At that point, Buffalo Hump (Potsʉnakwahipʉ), a war chief of the Penateka band of the Comanche who trusted Houston, began to talk. In August 1843, a temporary treaty accord led to a ceasefire between the Comanches and their allies, and the Texans, and on September 29, 1843, his administration negotiated the Treaty of Bird's Fort with the Delaware, Chickasaw, Waco, Tawakani, Keechi, Caddo, Anadahkah, Ionie, Biloxi, and Cherokee.[104] In October 1843, the Comanche agreed to meet with Houston to negotiate a treaty similar to the one just concluded at Fort Bird.[lower-alpha 11] In early 1844, Amorous Man, Buffalo Hump, and Old Owl (Mopechucope), concluded the Treaty of Tehuacana Creek in which they agreed to surrender all white captives, and to cease raiding Texan settlements in exchange for the cessation of military action against them, the establishment of more trading posts, and formal recognition of the boundaries they chose for the Comanchería.[105]

Comanche allies, including the Waco, Tawakoni, Kiowa, Kiowa Apache, and Wichita, also agreed to join in the treaty. The Texas Senate, before ratifying the treaty in its final form, removed the boundary that would have confined white settlers to the region east of the Edwards Plateau, causing Buffalo Hump to reject this altered version of the agreement, which led to a resumption of hostilities.[106][107]