Location: Main Street in Robbinsville
County: Graham
Original Date Cast: 1937
Little is known of the early life of Junaluska, distinguished Cherokee leader and warrior. He is believed have been born in the Cherokee village of Echoe, near present Dillard, Georgia. Federal documents signed by Junaluska indicating his age, as well as the 1851 Cherokee census, place his year of birth around 1779.
Although he was not chief, Junaluska spoke for the Cherokee in 1811 when he refused Shawnee chief Tecumseh’s request for the tribe to join his people in fighting the influx of settlers of European descent. As further indication of his loyalty to the United States, Junaluska recruited 100 warriors to join about 500 other Cherokees from Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama in the 1813 war against the Creek Indians. It is an account from this conflict that credits Junaluska for saving Andrew Jackson’s life at Horseshoe Bend, Alabama. While there are no documents to support the story, there is evidence that Junaluska and his men played a decisive role in the battle in March 1814. He was praised for his bravery and daring in swimming across the Tennessee River to steal the Creek’s canoes and then using them to ferry the Cherokee warriors across to outflank the enemy.
Junaluska returned to his farm in North Carolina and lived a quiet life until Andrew Jackson, now President, called for the removal of Cherokee to Oklahoma in 1838. Junaluska survived the Trail of Tears, but walked back to North Carolina in 1843. In 1847 the North Carolina General Assembly granted Junaluska citizenship, 337 acres of land, and $100 in recognition of his military service, 1813-14. The land was at Cheoah, near the present town of Robbinsville, and was, ironically, part of his property prior to the removal.
Junaluska died on November 20, 1858, at about age 79. He is said to have collapsed while walking to the healing springs in Citico, Tennessee. He is buried with his third wife, Nicie (or Nisuh) in Robbinsville. In 1910 the Gen. Joseph Winston Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution placed a rock with a plaque at the site and in 1997 the Friends of Junaluska erected an impressive monument recognizing seven Cherokee clans and honoring Junaluska’s achievements. Junaluska’s name is an Anglicized form of his second Cherokee name, which meant “One who tries, but fails.” He is remembered not as a failure, but as an inspirational leader and brave warrior.
References:
William S. Powell, ed., Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, III, 338-339—sketch by Gordon B. McKinney
Barbara R. Duncan and Brett H. Riggs, Cherokee Heritage Trails Guidebook (2003)
John R. Finger, The Eastern Band of Cherokees, 1819-1900 (1984)
James Mooney, History, Myths, and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees (1992)