Fort Scottian discusses his Cherokee lineage

Floyd Feezel speaks about his Cherokee heritage during his presentation at the Old Fort Genealogical Society's "Genealogy: A Guide to Your Past" event in the Round Room of the academic building at Fort Scott Community College on Saturday. He is wearing a tear shirt, so named because garments of this style were created before scissors.(Ruth Campbell/Tribune)

Mixing the history of the Cherokee Nation with his own, Fort Scottian Floyd Feezel spoke about his background to a handful of people attending "Genealogy: A Guide to Your Past" on Saturday.

Put on by the Old Fort Genealogical Society, the conference, which featured several speakers, was held in the Round Room of the academic building at Fort Scott Community College.

As the American Revolution arrived, many Native Americans sided with the British, which turned out to be "a grave mistake."

Every time the Cherokees signed a treaty with the government, they lost more land. The tribe was encouraged to adopt the ways of the white man. In the 1700s-1800s, the tribe created a constitution similar to the U.S. document.

George Gist completed a Cherokee syllabary in 1821 that made reading and writing in the Native American language possible. The syllabary was also used for the Cherokee Phoenix (1828-1834), the first Cherokee Nation newspaper which was in Cherokee and English, Internet references said.

At the time the paper was being published, the Cherokees started living in houses. Feezel said there were some "onerous" laws against Native Americans. The tribe began moving west into Northern Arkansas and Southern Missouri, well before the Trail of Tears, the forced relocation of Native Americans from the Southeastern U.S. Members of many tribes died, including 4,000 of the 15,500 Cherokees, references said. In 1838-39, the government forced the remaining Cherokees to cede their land into Indian Territory. Gen. Winfield Scott, for whom Fort Scott is named, helped round up the Indians and place them in compounds. "It was summer. It was hot. There was lack of sanitation, disease and they began to die," Feezel said.

At this time, the government was taking a roll, like a census. "But they didn't get everyone," Feezel said. Some Native Americans, being wary of government treaties, hid.

During the Civil War, the Indians signed a treaty with the Confederate States and later on joined the Union.

Feezel, a member of the Northern Cherokee tribe headquartered in Clinton, Mo., and a member of its tribal council. His American Indian name is Gray Fox, which he said goes with his gray hair and eyes.

He told of how he found out about relatives from the Dawes and Guillen Miller rolls. He added he can trace his roots back to the 1850s in Dale and Polk County, Mo. Missouri wasn't very hospitable toward Native Americans, passing a law against Indians living in the state. If Native Americans were caught roaming or hunting, they could be fined or jailed, so they hid. Often when American Indians were questioned about their backgrounds, they would say they were Black Dutch.

It wasn't until the 1860s that Missouri repealed its anti-Indian legislation.

Old Fort Geneaological Society President Ken Lyon said about 15 people attended the gathering, which is convened once a year with a different program. "For those interested in family history and genealogy, it's worthwhile to have guest speakers come in," Lyon said, adding this was the first time a Native American program was offered.

"From time to time, we get questions from people asking about Native American heritage," Lyon said.

Mary Jo Pruitt said she enjoyed the program Saturday. "I'm interested in everything when it comes to genealogy," Pruitt said.