Redbird Smith
| Redbird Smith | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Chief of the Nighthawk Keetoowahs; Tribal councilor from the Illinois District of the Cherokee Nation, 1887, 1889 leader | |
| Succeeded by | Levi Gritts |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 19, 1850 Near Fort Smith, Arkansas |
| Died | November 8, 1918 |
| Resting place | Redbird Smith Cemetery, Sequoyah County, Oklahoma |
| Spouse(s) | Lucy Fields Smith |
| Relations | Great-grandson, Chad "Corntassel" Smith |
| Children | Sam Smith; eight sons, two daughters |
| Parents | Pig Redbird Smith, Lizzie Hildebrand Smith |
| Known for | Cherokee traditionalist and political activist, who helped found the Nighthawk Keetoowah Society and revitalized traditional spirituality; opposed the Dawes Allotment Act |
Redbird Smith (1850–1918) was a Cherokee traditionalist and political activist. He helped found the Nighthawk Keetoowah Society, who revitalized traditional spirituality among Cherokees from the mid-19th century to the early 20th century.
Redbird Smith was born on July 19, 1850 near the current city of Fort Smith, Arkansas. His father was Pig Redbird Smith, whose surname "Smith" was given to him by European-Americans since he worked as a blacksmith. Redbird Smith's mother was Lizzie Hildebrand Smith. His parents were removed from Georgia to Indian Territory. Both his parents were ardent traditionalists, and at the age of ten, Redbird Smith's "father dedicated him to the services and cause of the Cherokee people in accordance with ancient customs and usages."
The late 19th century the Dawes Commission sought to break up collective tribal land holdings into individual allotments and open up the "surplus" tribal lands to settlement by non-natives. Redbird Smith led a political resistance movement to the Dawes Allotment Act and sought to return to traditional Cherokee religion and values.
In 1887 and 1889, Redbird Smith served as a tribal councilor from the Illinois District of the Cherokee Nation.
Redbird Smith stated in the early 1900s:
Redbird Smith repatriated wampum belts belonging to his tribe. In 1910 he was selected as chief of the Nighthawk Keetoowahs. Previously he had served as their chairman. Also in 1910, Smith and fellow Nighthawks traveled to Mexico with an 1820 document supporting Cherokee lands claims but the Mexican government did not support their claims. In 1914, he petitioned President Woodrow Wilson to create a Keetoowah reservation but this was seen as a backward step in the US federal government's assimilation policy. In 1921, a hundred Cherokees from 35 families moved together to the southeastern corner of Cherokee County, Oklahoma, to create a traditional community — "the brainchild of Redbird Smith."
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