 Yuchi people dancing the Big Turtle dance, 1909 | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 2010: 623[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 United StatesToday:Oklahoma Historically:Tennessee, laterAlabama andGeorgia | |
| Languages | |
| English,Yuchi (L2 only) | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity (Methodist),Stomp Dance, Native American Church[2] | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Muscogee people[2] |
TheYuchi people[4] are aNative Americantribe based inOklahoma, though their original homeland was in the southeastern United States.
In the 16th century, the Yuchi lived in the easternTennessee River valley. By the late 17th century, they had migrated south toAlabama,Georgia, andSouth Carolina, settling near theMuscogee Creek people.[2][5] Some also migrated to the Florida panhandle. After suffering heavy losses fromepidemic diseases and warfare in the 18th century, the remaining Yuchi bands were forcibly relocated toIndian Territory in the 1830s, alongside their allies, the Muscogee Creek.[2]
Today, the Yuchi primarily reside in northeasternOklahoma, where many are enrolled citizens of thefederally recognizedMuscogee (Creek) Nation. They continue to maintain a distinct cultural identity, with some members still speaking theYuchi language, alinguistic isolate.[2]
The termYuchi translated to "over there sit/live" or "situated yonder." Theirautonym, or name for themselves,Tsoyaha orCoyaha, means "Children of the Sun." Their language is an isolate. TheShawnee called themTahokale, and theCherokee call themAniyutsi.[6]
At the time of first European contact, the Yuchi people lived in what is now easternTennessee.[5] In 1541,SpanishexplorerHernando de Soto described them as a powerful tribe known as theUchi, that were also associated with theChisca tribe.
Both historical andarchaeological evidence exists documenting several Yuchi towns of the 18th century. Among these was Chestowee in present-dayBradley County, Tennessee. In 1714, instigated by two Englishfur traders fromSouth Carolina, theCherokee attacked and destroyed Chestowee. The Cherokee were prepared to carry their attacks further to Yuchi settlements south on theSavannah River, but the colonial government of South Carolina did not condone this. The Cherokee destruction of Chestowee marked their emergence as a major power in theSoutheast.[7][page needed]
Yuchi towns were later documented in western South Carolina and northern Georgia, where the tribe had migrated to escape pressure from the Cherokee. "Mount Pleasant" was noted as being on theSavannah River in present-dayEffingham County, Georgia, from about 1722 to about 1750. To take advantage of trade, the British established atrading post and small military garrison there, which they called Mount Pleasant.[8]
"Euchee Town" (also called Uche Town), a large settlement on theChattahoochee River, was documented from the middle to late 18th century. It was located near Euchee (or Uche) Creek, about ten miles downriver from the Muscogee Creek settlement ofCoweta Old Town. ThenaturalistWilliam Bartram visited Euchee Town in 1778. In his letters he ranked it as the largest and most compact Indian town he had ever encountered, with large, well-built houses.[8][9] US Indian agentBenjamin Hawkins also visited the town and described the Yuchi as "more orderly and industrious" than the other tribes of theMuscogee Creek Confederacy. The Yuchi began to move on, some into the Florida panhandle.
In the late 18th century, English colonists noted Patsiliga, a settlement on theFlint River. Other Yuchi settlements may have been those villages noted on theOconee River near Uchee Creek inWilkinson County, Georgia, and on Brier Creek inBurke orScreven counties, also in Georgia. A Yuchi town was known to exist from 1746 to 1751 at the site of present-day Silver Bluff inAiken County, South Carolina, which developed in the later 18th century.[8]
During the 18th century, the Yuchi established an alliance with white settlers in theSouthern Colonies, trading deerskins andIndian slaves with them. The Yuchi population plummeted during the 18th century due toEurasianinfectious diseases, to which they had no immunity, and to war with the Cherokee, who were moving into their territory. After theAmerican Revolution, Yuchi people maintained close relations with the Muscogee Creek Confederacy, into which federally recognized members were later absorbed. In the late 18th century, some Yuchi migrated south to Florida along with the Muscogee, where they became part of the newly formedSeminole people.[10]
During theCreek War of 1813–1814, which overlapped theWar of 1812, many Yuchi joined theRed Sticks party, traditionalists opposed to the Muscogee people of the Lower Towns, who had adopted aspects ofEuropean-American culture. Euchee Town decayed. The Yuchi tribe became one of the poorest of the Muscogee communities, at the same time gaining a bad reputation.[9] Thearchaeological site of the town, designated aNational Historic Landmark, is within the boundaries of present-dayFort Benning,Georgia.
In the 1830s, the US government forcibly removed the Yuchi, along with the Muscogee, from Alabama and Georgia toIndian Territory (present dayOklahoma), west of the Mississippi River. The Yuchi settled in the north and northwestern parts of the Muscogee Nation. Three tribal towns which the Yuchi established there in the 19th century continue today: Duck Creek, Polecat, and Sand Creek.[2][10]
Prior to 1818 some Yuchi moved to nearLake Miccosukee in northern Florida, settling near Muscogee refugees.Andrew Jackson's invasion of the area during theFirst Seminole War resulted in the Yuchi moving to eastern Florida. They fought alongside the Seminole during theSecond Seminole War under their chiefUchee Billy. He was captured in 1837 with his brother Jack by GeneralJoseph Marion Hernandez, who also capturedOsceola.[11] The two leaders were imprisoned for years inFort Marion inSt. Augustine, Florida.[12]
From 1890 to 1895, theDawes Commission considered the Yuchi in Indian Territory to be an autonomous tribe. It registered tribal members preparatory to allotment of communal tribal lands in Indian Territory to individual households of members. Some 1200 tribal members were registered in those years. The Dawes Commission later decided to legally classify the Yuchi as part of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, in an effort to simplify the process of land allotment. But this decision interrupted the autonomy of the people and their record of historical continuity as a recognized tribe.[13]
The Yuchi people are enrolled infederally recognized tribes, particularly theMuscogee (Creek) Nation, who host the Euchee Language Program.[14]
In the 1990s, the Yuchi Tribal Organization based inSapulpa, Oklahoma, petitioned the US federal government to gain federal recognition as an independent tribe. In 2000, theBureau of Indian Affairs denied the petition.[15]
As of 1997, the Yuchi tribe had a formal enrollment of 249 members. Other Yuchi descendants are already enrolled in other tribes, such as the Muscogee. Most Yuchi are of multi-tribal descent; some are citizens of other tribes, such as theShawnee.[citation needed]
The Euchee Tribe of Indians, while not federally recognized, has their headquarters inSapulpa, Oklahoma. Their tribal chairmen are co-chairs Felix Brown Jr. and Clinton Sago.[16]
James Anaya,United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, visited the Yuchi community. Tracie Revis (Yuchi) gave a speech defining the importance of federal recognition. He acknowledged the declaration by theUN on the Rights of Indigenous People that states "that we have the right ofself-determination and by virtue of that right- we may freely determine our political status and freely pursue our economic, social and cultural development."[17]
An estimated 2,000 persons are ethnically Yuchi. They are descendants of some 1,100 persons recorded by theIndian Claims Commission in 1950, which was settling compensation claims dating from allotments.[18]
The Yuchi continue their important ceremonies, such as theGreen Corn Ceremony of late summer. They maintain three ceremonial grounds in Oklahoma. Some members belong to theNative American Church andMethodist congregations.[2]
In 2008, the Yuchi tribe received a grant from PresidentGeorge W. Bush's administration for a Native Americans Comprehensive Community Survey and Plan. The grant was used to developed the Tribal History Project, which began in October 2010.[18]
TheHuman Genome Project acknowledged the importance of the Yuchi's distinct culture and language and approached the Yuchi in order to collect genetic data (DNA).[19] The Yuchi tribe declined to participate in the Project due to cultural conflict and uncertainty among members over the uses of government ownership of tribal DNA.[19]
TheYuchi language is alinguistic isolate, not known to be related to any other language.[2] In 2000 the estimated number of fluent Yuchi speakers was 15, but this number dwindled to 7 by 2006.[20] According to a 2011 documentary on the Yuchi language, the number of first-language speakers had declined to five by 2011.[21]
Young Yuchi people have learned the language in recent years and are continuing to do so.[22] Yuchi language classes are being taught inSapulpa, Oklahoma, in an effort led by Richard Grounds and the Euchee Language Project.[20] As of 2011, the Administration for Native Americans awarded the Yuchi tribe a grant for the years 2011 to 2014 in an effort to provide after-school programs for youth to improve proficiency in their native language and develop a young generation of speakers.[23]
The Yuchi people and language are featured in a chapter inMark Abley'sSpoken Here: Travels Among Threatened Languages (2003), a book onendangered languages.
