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photos.ALBj.net → 2004 → Unto These Hills, Cherokee, North Carolina, July 3, 2004

Trip to North Carolina during the Fourth of July weekend to see the popular dramatic presentation of the Cherokee Indians.

Unto These Hills, Cherokee Indian drama
Unto These Hills is set in the early 19th century.

Unto These Hills queueing area
The outdoor amphitheater site was chosen in 1947. It was a quiet location, sheltered from traffic noise. It provided a natural bowl with excellent acoustics. It was protected from the wind, the surrounding vegetation was lush, and the orientation was such that the sun would set behind the audience and the rising moon could provide a backdrop for the play. It was large enough for 2,800 seats and minimal earthmoving would be necessary since there was already a primitive road leading to the site. The first performance on the 40- by 160-foot sand stage was on July 1, 1950.

Unto These Hills pre-show
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Unto These Hills pre-show
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Pre-show Adam and Eve
One song was fooling around with various biblical stories, beginning, of course, with Adam and Eve.

Pre-show Samson and Delilah
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Pre-show waltz soloist
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Pre-show
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Scene 1: A Cherokee Village, 1540
Descriptions for this photo till the end of the set are quotations—with very minor paraphrasing in a few cases—from the scene descriptions found in the 2004 souvenir booklet.

Scene 1: A Cherokee Village, 1540
In the beginning was the land. The Cherokee possessed it lovingly.

Scene 1: A Cherokee Village, 1540
But out of the great sea came a seething tide of explorers and settlers.

Scene 1: A Cherokee Village, 1540
In 1540, the Cherokees encountered their first white men, Spaniards under the leadership of Hernando DeSoto, searching for gold.

Scene 1: A Cherokee Village, 1540
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Scene 2: Council of Chiefs, 1811
Some 250 years later, the Cherokee were approached by a fiery warrior from the north, Tecumseh, who urged them to join in war against the white men.

Scene 2: Council of Chiefs, 1811
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Scene 2: Council of Chiefs, 1811
Under the calm guidance of Junaluska and wise counsel from Sequoyah…

Scene 2: Council of Chiefs, 1811
…the Cherokee decided to try to live in peace with the white men.

Scene 2: Council of Chiefs, 1811
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Scene 3: Horseshoe Bend, Alabama, 1814
The Cherokee had finally made their way into the confidence of the white men who called on them for help against the other Indians who threatened the American nation.

Scene 3: Horseshoe Bend, Alabama, 1814
The Cherokees joined General Andrew Jackson at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in 1814.

Scene 3: Horseshoe Bend, Alabama, 1814
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Scene 3: Horseshoe Bend, Alabama, 1814
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Scene 3: Horseshoe Bend, Alabama, 1814
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Scene 3: Horseshoe Bend, Alabama, 1814
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Scene 3: Horseshoe Bend, Alabama, 1814
During this battle, Chief Junaluska saved the life of Andrew Jackson.

Scene 4: A Clearing In the Woods, 1814
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Scene 4: A Clearing In the Woods, 1814
Following victory at Horseshoe Bend, the Cherokee headed home to the Great Smokies. Among those returning was Tsali, the Cherokee who would later give his life so that a handful of his people could remain in the land of their birth.

Scene 4: A Clearing In the Woods, 1814
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Scene 5: The Eagle Dance
Through the Cherokee nation swept a wave of rejoicing, and Indians and whites gathered to celebrate the great victory.

Scene 5: The Eagle Dance
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Scene 5: The Eagle Dance
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Scene 5: The Eagle Dance
In the Great Smokies, the Cherokee reached far into the past and brought back a dance of triumph—the Great Eagle Dance.

Scene 5: The Eagle Dance
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Scene 5: The Eagle Dance
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Scene 5: The Eagle Dance
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Scene 5: The Eagle Dance
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Scene 5: The Eagle Dance
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Scene 6: A Country Store, New Echota, Georgia, 1830s
The hopes of the Cherokee were crushed by the increasing tide of white settlers.

Scene 6: A Country Store, New Echota, Georgia, 1830s
Storm broke over the land when gold was discovered in north Georgia.

Scene 6: A Country Store, New Echota, Georgia, 1830s
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Scene 6: A Country Store, New Echota, Georgia, 1830s
And then there appeared the Reverend Schermerhorn, sent by the U.S. government to negotiate with the Cherokee leaders for a treaty to move the Cherokee to Indian territory in the west.

Scene 7: Treaty of 1835, New Echota, Georgia
Reverend Schermerhorn gathered a handful of the Cherokee together and persuaded them to sign a treaty—which none could read or understand—giving away their lands.

Scene 7: Treaty of 1835, New Echota, Georgia
All the while, their chiefs were away in Washington, D.C., urging the government to let their people remain in their homeland.

Scene 7: Treaty of 1835, New Echota, Georgia
Reverend Schermerhorn refused to explain the treaty to Drowning Bear, the only chief who remained in the hills.

Scene 7: Treaty of 1835, New Echota, Georgia
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Scene 7: Treaty of 1835, New Echota, Georgia
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Scene 8: The White House, 1835
In the year 1835, there was one big political party with President Andrew Jackson in power.

Scene 8: The White House, 1835
There was talk of states' rights and the slave question, and no one had time to think about the Indian question.

Scene 8: The White House, 1835
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Scene 8: The White House, 1835
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Scene 8: The White House, 1835
Junaluska visited in the White House to plead for the Cherokee to his old friend "Andy" Jackson, but, Jackson turned his back on the man who had saved his life at Horseshoe bend.

Scene 9: A Cherokee Village, 1838
In the Smokies, life went on. A party was gathering for the wedding of Nundayeli, daughter of Tsali.

Scene 9: A Cherokee Village, 1838
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Scene 9: A Cherokee Village, 1838
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Scene 9: A Cherokee Village, 1838
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Scene 9: A Cherokee Village, 1838
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Scene 9: A Cherokee Village, 1838
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Scene 9: A Cherokee Village, 1838
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Scene 9: A Cherokee Village, 1838
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Scene 9: A Cherokee Village, 1838
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Scene 9: A Cherokee Village, 1838
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Scene 9: A Cherokee Village, 1838
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Scene 9: A Cherokee Village, 1838
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Scene 9: A Cherokee Village, 1838
Major Davis of the U.S. Army appeared and read the orders which proclaimed that, before another moon, the Cherokee must be transferred to Indian territory west of the MIssissippi, in the vicinity of Tahlequah, Oklahoma territory.

Scene 10: The Village, 1838
The Cherokee were hearded into stockades in North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama.

Scene 10: The Village, 1838
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Scene 10: The Village, 1838
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Scene 10: The Village, 1838
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Scene 10: The Village, 1838
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Scene 10: The Village, 1838
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Scene 10: The Village, 1838
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Scene 10: The Village, 1838
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Scene 10: The Village, 1838
When the soldiers came to take Tsali, his wife Wilani, and their sons, they set off down the trail.

Scene 10: The Village, 1838
Tsali's wife stumbled and a drunken soldier clubbed her to death.

Scene 10: The Village, 1838
In return, Tsali killed the soldier.

Scene 11: Tsali's Cave In the Mountains
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Scene 11: Tsali's Cave In the Mountains
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Scene 11: Tsali's Cave In the Mountains
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Scene 11: Tsali's Cave In the Mountains
Major Davis sent Will Thomas and Drowning Bear to find Tsali's cave and to tell him that, if he will come in and surrender, all of the others hiding in the mountains will go free.

Scene 11: Tsali's Cave In the Mountains
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Scene 11: Tsali's Cave In the Mountains
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Scene 11: Tsali's Cave In the Mountains
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Scene 12: Village, Next Morning
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Scene 12: Village, Next Morning
Tsali arrived with his three sons.

Scene 12: Village, Next Morning
Tsali and two sons were to be placed before a firing squad.

Scene 12: Village, Next Morning
The life of his youngest son was spared.

Scene 12: Village, Next Morning
Because of Tsali's sacrifice, a remnant of his race was permitted to remain in the Great Smokies.

Scene 12: Village, Next Morning
The rest of his people were sent streaming into exile—a 1,200-mile journey—and only those who had hid out were allowed to remain.

Scene 12: Village, Next Morning
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Scene 12: Village, Next Morning
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Scene 12: Village, Next Morning
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Scene 13: The White House, 1841
The years passed on. Drowning Bear and Will Thomas went to Washington to see President Harrison about establishing a reservation for the Cherokees who remained behind. The death of President Harrison turns Washington's attention away from the Cherokee.

Scene 14: The Village, 1842
The Cherokee were beginning to find peace.

Scene 14: The Village, 1842
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Scene 14: The Village, 1842
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Scene 14: The Village, 1842
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Scene 14: The Village, 1842
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Scene 14: The Village, 1842
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Scene 14: The Village, 1842
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Scene 14: The Village, 1842
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Scene 14: The Village, 1842
Will Thomas bought up land and allowed the Cherokee to live there. Thomas held the deed for them and gave them a home. Chief Junaluska returned from Oklahoma to find his people living in peace with their white neighbors.