The Middle towns , including Kittuwa , were burned by General Griffith Rutherford , and several of the Overhill towns were burned by John Sevier . By 1805 , the Cherokee had ceded control of the Great Smokies to the U.S. government . Although much of the tribe was forced west along the Trail of Tears in 1838 , a few — largely through the efforts of William Holland Thomas — managed to retain their land on the Qualla Boundary and today comprise the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears
Great Smoky Mountains