Cherokee leaders, while often internally factionalized, have consistently manipulated federal and state policies to the overall advantage of the Band, keeping their tribal land base and federal services when threatened. In the first comprehensive account of the Cherokee Band's modern history, the author demonstrates how they have integrated the burgeoning tourist economy into their overall plans for economic development. The Cherokee Reservation in North Carolina's scenic Smoky Mountains has attracted millions of visitors in the 20th century.
Finger's meticulous research and thoughtful analysis provides a model that may prove applicable to the study of other native peoples. Yet the issues raised by this debate are not exclusively Cherokee. These conflicts are the focus of Cherokee Americans: The Eastern Band of Cherokees in the Twentieth Century. Conflicts over ideology, life-style, and even worldview gave rise to a tribal debate that provides a window on Cherokee social and political dynamics. In the twentieth century, however, the Eastern Band became increasingly drawn into a market economy, and some Cherokees began to advocate individualism, assimilation, and detribalization. Finger demonstrated in his earlier work, The Eastern Band of Cherokees, 1819-1900 (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1984), those Cherokees who remained in the East used their geographic isolation and economic marginality to maintain political and cultural integrity.
Cherokee history did not end with the "Trail of Tears." As John R.
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