"This group--the tribal remnant in North Carolina that escaped removal in the 1830's--found their fortitude and resilience continually tested as the struggled with a variety of problems, including the upheavals of the Civil War and Reconstruction, internal divisiveness, white encroachment on their lands, and a poorly defined relationship with the state and federal governments. yet despite such stresses and a selective adaptation in the face of social and economic changes, the Eastern Cherokees retained a sense of tribal identity as the stood at the threshold of the twentieth century. "--Back cover.