CHEROKEE

The turn of the century from the late 1700s into the early 1800s was a period of great change along the Appalachian Mountain frontier of North America.Earlier, the American colonists prevailed over an English monarchy and created a new nation. Now pioneers pressed westward through the Appalachians into lands that were inhabited by Native American people-among them the Cherokee-for centuries.The Cherokee, who lived west of the mountains in what is now Eastern Tennessee, had warred off and on with other Indian tribes of the area since time immemorial. Now they confronted another potential adversary in the white settlers who poured into their ancestral lands.And this was a very different adversarya and the Cherokee had to confront the way in which they would react to the newcomers: fight or accept.Hair Conrad, although a young warrior, is entrusted with unusual leadership responsibilities as his people encounter the first whites to cross the mountains and settle in ancestral Cherokee lands.Hair soon becomes the point of contact between his people and the white settlers. He learns much from the whites that will in time be of help to his people.And a young white girl, whom Hair saves from a would-be rapist, becomes a major point of contact with the white settlers. In time, a romantic interest builds between them.But Hair has a young Cherokee girl who has commanded his heart since childhood and is presumed to become his marriage companion.It is a time of adjustment for the Cherokee people and a young warrior who is called to lead them.