Cherokees to attend clan gathering

Scots link to Native American tribe celebrated

By Laura SeawrightAn extraordinary link between Scotland and a Native American Indian tribe is set to take centre stage at an International Clan gathering.

It is believed that up to a half of the Cherokee Nation could be descendants of Ludovick Grant, who was a laird's son from Creichie in Aberdeenshire.

A delegation from the tribe are planning a visit to the Clan Grant International Meeting this summer to discover the roots of their celebrated ancestor.

Ludovick Grant was captured while fighting for the Jacobite army in the battle of Preston in 1715 and was due to be hanged.

However, he escaped death and instead was transported to South Carolina, where he was an indentured servant.

Following his release from his seven years of servitude, he began working as a trader for the Cherokee people.Comment:  The article doesn't say if Grant is related to all Cherokees or only members of a particular Cherokee nation. There are several Cherokee tribes, you know, not just one.

I wonder how much of Grant's story infused Charles Frazier's Thirteen Moons. The part about a white man becoming a Cherokee trader seems similar.

For more on the subject, see Indian Stereotypes at Fyvie Festival.