Ross, John (1790–1866)

Cherokee leader who from 1823 to 1839 was principal chief of the eastern Cherokee nation. In 1828 he argued and won a case brought before the US Supreme Court designed to prevent US encroachments on Cherokee lands. Although opposed to land cessions, he signed the Treaty of New Echota in 1838 and led the Cherokee west on the ‘Trail of Tears’. He joined with the western Cherokee and was tribal chief from 1839.

He was born on the Coosa River at Tahnoovayah, Georgia. His mother was only part Cherokee, his father Scottish. Raised among Christians, he fought in the War of 1812. He became a member of the Cherokee National Council in 1817 and was its president 1819–26, during which time he helped draft the Cherokee constitution.