One of our nation's oldest independent newspapers began in 1828. The Cherokee Phoenix was the first American Indian newspaper and is still published today.
The Phoenix was created to bring together the scattered Cherokee communities into a single tribe. Many articles were critical of U.S. government policies of removal. Writers debated land ownership in the eastern homelands weighed against opportunities west of the Mississippi River.
Ultimately, the Cherokee and the Phoenix moved to the territories now known as Oklahoma. The Cherokee Trail of Tears, conflicts with the U.S. government and the rise to economic success have all been chronicled in the pages of their tribal paper.
What's even more remarkable about the Phoenix is the fact that it was originally printed in the Cherokee language, using a writing system that was less than a decade old.
Wadoh.
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