Cherokee phoenix. (New Echota [Ga.]) 1828-1829
Title:
Place of Publication:
Geographic coverage:
- Echota, Gordon county
Publisher:
Dates of publication:
Description:
- Vol. 1, no. 1 (Feb. 21, 1828)-v. 1, no. 47 (Feb. 4, 1829).
Frequency:
Languages:
- Cherokee
- English
Subjects:
- Cherokee Indians--Georgia--Newspapers.
- Echota (Ga.)--Newspapers.
- Gordon County (Ga.)--Newspapers.
- Indians of North America--Georgia--Newspapers.
Notes:
- "Printed ... for the Cherokee Nation."
- Available on microfilm from the University of Georgia Libraries.
- Editor: E. Boudinott, Feb. 21, 1828-Feb. 4, 1829.
- In English and Cherokee.
- Printer: John F. Wheeler, Jan. 14-Feb. 4, 1829.
- Suspended July 16 and Dec. 17-24, 1828.
- Title in masthead also in Cherokee.
LCCN:
OCLC:
Succeeding Titles:
Cherokee phoenix. February 21, 1828
About
Collaborating with Reverend Samuel Worcester, the General Council of the Cherokee Nation established a printing office at New Echota in 1828. The Cherokee Phoenix was first published on February 21st, 1828 and was notable for its adjacent columns of English and Cherokee text. The paper's founding is rooted in the Cherokee Nation's response to pressure from Georgia and surrounding states to relinquish territory and move west of the Mississippi river; the Cherokee Phoenix was meant to function as a tool for gaining public support in keeping the Cherokee Nation united. In 1829, the publication became the Cherokee Phoenix and Indians' Advocate to make its efforts as an advocacy publication more explicit. The paper began publishing small fictional works, Christian living articles, and news of the Cherokee nation, but rapidly shifted towards focusing on the removal crisis. The first editor, a formally educated Cherokee named Elias Boudinot, ran the paper until 1832 when he was replaced for his increasing support of voluntary removal to the west. Boudinot's successor, Elijah Hicks, was a strong anti-removal advocate and edited the paper until its closure in May 1834. The Cherokee annuity was not paid in that year and the Georgia Guard ceased publication in 1835 to prevent the printing of more anti-removal sentiments. Elias Boudinot would be among several Cherokees who signed the New Echota Treaty of 1835 which gave up Cherokee Nation land east of the Mississippi River.