The Mississippian Culture was the last pre-historic development in North America, thriving from about 1000 AD until the arrival of European explorers. The Mississippian Culture spanned from the upper Midwest, through Georgia to the south, and westward into the Great Plains. It developed a continental system of trading and practiced sophisticated religious beliefs

Early Mississippian cultures (c A.D.) abandoned tribal nomadic traditions for increasing complexity, creating sedentary, centralized communities based on agriculture. The Middle Mississippian period (c ) is considered the high point of Mississippian culture. The formation of complex chiefdoms, most notably at Cahokia in modern day Illinois and Missouri. The Late Mississippian period (c to European contact) is a time of warfare, political turmoil, and migration. People began abandoning Cahokia early in this period ( ). Sites have more defensive structures and fewer mounds. Although some areas continued to reflect a Middle Mississippian culture until the first significant contact with Europeans, most areas had dispersed or were experiencing severe social stress by 1500.

Indian Tribes of the Eastern United States

Coastal Algonquian At the time of the first contact of Europeans with the Indians, the Algonquian tribes lived in the tidewater areas of the Atlantic Coast. In 1584, about 7,000 Algonquians lived in North Carolina. Having migrated to the south, they kept some of the Northeastern Algonquian traditions, but they also borrowed from their neighbors as they adapted to the geographical and climatic conditions of the area. They were more water-oriented and emphasized hunting, fishing, and gathering more than did most of their neighbors.

Catawba The Catawba were Siouan-speaking peoples and gave their name to the river that dominates the Piedmont region of the Carolinas. At that time of English contact there were about 6,000 Catawbas. The Catawba Nation was a military alliance of several tribes decimated by war and disease who joined the Catawba after the Yamasee War in the 1710s. Their name means "cut off," referring to their being cut off from other Siouan tribes. They call themselves I Ye Ye, "people," or Nieye, "real people."

Cherokee At the time of their first contact with Europeans, in the mid-16th century, the Cherokee lived in the isolated hills and valleys of the upper Southern Appalachians. They are related linguistically to the Iroquois to the north. By the beginning of the 1700s, the Cherokee territory had spread into southwestern Virginia, western North Carolina, northwestern South Carolina, eastern Tennessee and northern Georgia and Alabama.

The Cherokee are sometimes referred to as one of the “Five Civilized Tribes.” The other four are the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole. It was an ethnocentric name given to the Indians by white Americans who saw these tribes becoming more Europeanized in their culture. The Cherokee adopted European clothing after the War of Independence and even began to own black slaves. They were the first Indians to develop a written language. In the 1820s, Sequoya created a syllabary (a type of alphabet) which allowed the Cherokee language to be written and translated. In the 1830s, the Cherokee will be moved from their homelands in Georgia to the Indian Territory in Oklahoma.

Trail of Tears: When gold was discovered on Cherokee land, Georgia brought it under state control. The Cherokee sued. In Worcester v. Georgia (1832), the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Cherokee, but Jackson refused to enforce the ruling (saying, “Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it!”) Instead, Jackson bought the land and sold them land in the Indian Territory. The Cherokee were forcibly moved into stockades (concentration camps) and then removed to Oklahoma in the winter of Walking 1200 miles during winter, more than one-quarter of the Cherokee (more than 4,000 people) died. Some hid out in western North Carolina and later received title to land and became the “Eastern Band” of the Cherokees.