Road Scholars Speakers Bureau

William (Bill) Anderson, Ph.D.  

Professor Emeritus of History at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, author, editor

Cullowhee, NC H: (828) 293-7883

anderson@wcu.edu

Travel region: Statewide        

About William Anderson:

Bill Anderson, Professor Emeritus at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, specializes in Cherokee history and cultures. He is a graduate of the University of Alabama with a doctorate in history and did his post-doctoral work at the University of Tennessee. Dr. Anderson is the co-author or editor of four books and received the Gustavus Myers Award for the Study of Human Rights in the US for his book Cherokee Removal: Before and After, published by the University of Georgia Press in 1991. He has worked with Sesame Street, National Geographic, PBS, History Detectives and the Discovery Channel.

Cherokee Removal

The removal of the Cherokee Nation from its homeland in the Southeast to a new territory beyond the Mississippi remains a compelling and controversial event in United States history. The Cherokee, more than any other Native American people, tried to adopt Anglo American culture. In a remarkably short time, they transformed their society and modified their traditional culture in order to conform to United States policy, to fulfill the expectations of white politicians and philanthropists, and most importantly, to preserve tribal integrity. On the eve of Cherokee removal, many white Americans considered them to be the most “civilized” of all native peoples. In this program, Dr. Bill Anderson explores the questions of why the Cherokees were removed and whether removal was inevitable.

Program requirements: lectern

Cultural Impacts: Native Americans in America and Europeans Among the Cherokee

Although most people are familiar with how the Native Americans adopted white man’s culture and became Americanized, many are not aware of what we borrowed from the Indians. Native Americans affected virtually every aspect of our lives today, including language, government, literature, recreation, medicine, hygiene, and food. Europeans influenced Cherokee politics and society and threatened their entire belief system. Their influence also brought dramatic changes in population size, settlement patterns and men’s and women’s traditional roles. Although some European influences were positive, most were negative, and much of traditional Cherokee culture has been lost forever.

Program requirements: lectern

The Eastern Band of Cherokees in Western North Carolina

Why is there such a large group of Cherokees in western North Carolina? Why weren’t they removed with the over 16,000 Cherokees that were moved to Indian Territory in the 1830s? This program looks at the origin and legal basis of the Eastern Band of Cherokees and the problems they have had since, including additional threats of removal, the repeated loss of the lands they now occupy, the quest for citizenship, and the right to vote (which they did not get uncontested right to until 1945.)

Program Requirements: Lectern, Flip Chart or Blackboard