Indian Cemetery, Pope County, Arkansas
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Submitted by: Lina Boyd <linajaneboyd@hotmail.com>
        Date: 7 Sep 2007
Copyright.  All rights reserved.
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Indian Cemetery

From the junction of Highways 7 and 247 south of Russellville, go east 
on Highway 247 for 1.8 miles to the junction of Howell Road. Turn right
 on Howell Road and go south for 1.8 miles. Turn right and go .2 mile. 
Cemetery is on both sides of this road running in a southeasterly and 
northwesterly direction. This appears to be a levee from several years 
ago for the Arkansas River. This mound or ridge is probably 3/4 mile 
long and varies from 75 to 100 yards wide.

I have been told that during the 1930s there were representatives here 
from several museums across the United States buying pots and relics and 
that pots were dugout of here and sold by the wagon load. Relic hunters 
(including myself) and four wheeler riders have mad such a nuisance of 
themselves, that the land owners have banded together and posted the 
entire bottoms as off-limits.

I’m not sure that this burial is from the Cherokee tribe, but am including 
some information here on the chance that they are.

When Hernando De Soto came through Arkansas in 1541, he found three groups 
of indians living here. They were the Caddo, Osage, and Quapaw. The Osage 
lived in the northwest part of Arkansas and on into Missouri. They hunted 
and raided in Arkansas and Oklahoma. The Pope County area belonged to the 
Osage until the treaty of 1808 was negotiated by General William Clark. 
This treaty gave the United States territory east of a line drawn from Fort 
Clark near Kansas City to the Arkansas River at Frog Bayou near Alma, Arkansas.
The Cherokee started moving onto Osage lands in the late 1700s. Tah-lon-tes-kee 
was the principal chief of the Arkansas Cherokee and came to the Arkansas 
country in 1809 with a group of about 300 Cherokee. OO-loo-le-ka (John Jolly) 
upon the death of Tah-lon-tes-kee, his brother, John Jolly became principal 
chief of the Arkansas Cherokee.

Major Lovely, a Revolutionary War veteran, was appointed as the first Indian 
Agent for this area. He was appointed in 1813 and served until his death on 
24 Feb 1917. Major Lovely was succeeded by Reuben Lewis, who resigned because 
of ill heath in 1820. Mr. Lewis was succeeded by Col. David Brearley on 01 May 
1920. The site of his agency was at the Council Oaks below Dardanelle Rock. 
Major Duvall was the last Indian Agent and was in charge when the Cherokee 
were moved to Oklahoma in 1828.

When the Cherokee were moved to Oklahoma, they asked to retain a small strip 
of land in Arkansas. This strip of land included Norristown Mountain and a 
narrow strip of land extending eastward along the Arkansas River. This was 
granted and for nearly a century, they held title to this land, even though 
few indians remained here. Every year, for many years, they returned to this 
area to hold ceremonies near the Dardanelle Rock.
C. L. Boyd