Nimrod Jarrett Smith

Nimrod Jarrett Smith (1832–1893), also called Ꮳꮃꮧꭿ (Tsaladihi) (from the Cherokee pronunciation of the name "Jarrett"), was the fourth Principal Chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. He is credited with gaining approval by the North Carolina legislature for the band's incorporation as a legal entity, and for gaining federal recognition as an Indian tribe.

Early life and education He was born into a Cherokee family in 1832 located in western North Carolina, part of a band that remained in the state during and after the period of Indian Removal. Cherokee from most of the towns in the American Southeast were forced to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River.

His Cherokee mother was married to Henry Smith, a mixed-race Cherokee who owned land along the Valley River. Henry Smith served as an interpreter and translator for Reverend Evan Jones at the old Valley town mission.

A well-educated and well-spoken man, Smith was fluent in both Cherokee and English, having learned Cherokee as a second language. He was elected Principal Chief in 1880 upon the death of his immediate predecessor, Lloyd Welch. He exercised unprecedented power over and influence among the Eastern Cherokee. He worked actively to gain official U.S. government recognition for the band as a tribe under federal law and was successful.

In 1887, Smith was host to ethnologist James Mooney during Mooney's first visit to the Eastern Band in western North Carolina. During that year, Mooney observed a Green Corn Dance; it was the last such ritual to be performed by the tribe for over a century.