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Elias Boudinot

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The Resume

    (1802-June 22, 1839)
    Born in Calhoun, Georgia
    Also known as Buck Watie
    Journalist for 'The Cherokee Phoenix' newspaper (1828-32)
    Wrote 'An Address to the Whites' (1826)
    Brother of Stand Watie

Why he might be annoying:

    He held a leadership role within the Cherokee Nation despite marrying, and having been reared and educated, outside of the tribe.
    He was a vocal proponent of assimilation - arguing that white settlers enforcing Indian Removal was inevitable and had to be accepted.
    He clashed with Chief John Ross and other Cherokee leaders, and negotiated treaties with settlers that explicitly left Ross out of the loop; devoid of his signature.
    The feud between himself and Ross came to a head when he resigned from the Cherokee Phoenix newspaper, for what he claimed were personal reasons.
    Privately he made it clear that it had been because Ross had ordered him to stop publishing pro-Removal views in the newspaper (the publication folded two years later).
    He was one of the signatories of the Treaty of New Echota - which put Indian Removal into effect and set off the 'Trail of Tears,' even as almost ninety percent of the Cherokee people opposed it (1835).

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was an effective fundraiser for Cherokee education and causes.
    He spent the rest of his life as a pariah among the Cherokee people.
    He was assassinated outside of his home by a group of unknown Cherokee assailants (June 22, 1839).
    Chief John Ross denied any involvement in the assassination, but suspicions remained for generations.
    He felt that he was acting in the best interest of his people and felt he had been ignored about the dangers of resisting Removal policies.

Credit: Eddie Burphy & BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying