The Keetoowah Society

The few men who gathered on April 15, 1858, in the chapel of the Peavine Baptist Church in the Goingsnake District faced grave decisions, both of a political nature and a personal nature. A deep chasm was once again opening up within the Cherokee Nation and bringing to the surface old tensions best left buried. It was also ripping asunder the very religious institutions that had become the foundation of a new form of collective identity.¹³⁰ Furthermore, the very culture that formed the basis of Cherokee identity was being challenged by an alien ideology that asserted the rights of the individual over the rights of "the people."

Among the Cherokee men gathered in the chapel that evening were Lewis Downing, Budd Gritts, Smith Christie, Thomas Pegg, and James McDaniels; all were religious leaders among the conservative Northern Baptists. Evan Jones and John Jones were also present. Little did these men know that what they were about to do would profoundly affect Cherokee history for the next one hundred years. From these few men gathered in the Peavine Baptist Church would come the leadership of the Cherokee Nation through the most troublesome period in Cherokee history. The vehicle through which this religiopolitical force found expression was the Keetoowah Society.

Derived from the Cherokee term "Ani-kituhwagi" meaning "people of the Kituwah," the name Keetoowah has become synonymous with the conservative "fullblood" element of the Cherokee Nation.¹³¹ It is believed that the Kituwah settlement was the original nucleus of the Cherokee people in the mountains of North Carolina along the highland regions of Cherokee homelands.¹³² Benny Smith, Cherokee Elder, agrees with this definition, "It is highly probable that Keetoowah was derived from `go-doo,' a Cherokee word meaning on top, on the surface, or uppermost. The mother settlement of the ancient Cherokees was called Kituhwa, which is now Keetoowah, and was located in the uplands... `Go-doos' is often used to refer to the highlands in relations to the low bottomlands or prairie lands."¹³³

Although Kituwah was synonymous with the oldest of the mother towns, the legend of the origins of Kituwah goes much farther back in Cherokee history. According to legend, the Cherokee people originated from an island somewhere east of South America in the Atlantic Ocean, where they were continually plagued by attacks from neighboring peoples. However, in spite of the fact that they were heavily outnumbered, the Cherokee were victorious in their struggles. One enemy saw in the plume of smoke from the Cherokee encampment an eagle bearing arrows in its claws, and thus became convinced that the Cherokee were the divine's chosen people. The assault was halted and the enemy withdrew.¹³⁴ According to the same legend, the Breathgiver did indeed grant the Cherokee unlimited and mysterious special powers. Their wise men were accorded a special status as those who could interpret and report upon the Breathgiver's wishes.¹³⁵

As time passed, this ancient and mysterious clan of wise men became known as the Ani-Kutani; because of their mysterious powers and control over the forces of nature, the Ani-Kutani totally controlled the religious functions of the Cherokee Nation. At this point, the Ani-Kutani was known as a clan, as opposed to a society, because their power and position had become hereditary.¹³⁶ As the powers granted to the Ani-Kutani were granted by special dispensation from the divine Breathgiver, the powers were to be used only for the best interests of the people.

As power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. The Ani-Kutani became selfish and began to use their powers in ways other than that which God had intended. One legend tells that one of the Ani-Kutani used his magical powers to seduce the wife of a young warrior while the warrior was away on a raid. When the warrior returned and discovered what had taken place, he led the warriors and the people in an uprising in which all of the Ani-Kutani were slain.¹³⁷ Another story tells of the corruption of the Ani-Kutani due to the abuses of power, but relates that the people entered into cycles of prayer to beseech the Breathgiver for deliverance from their collective malady. However, as the people had fallen from grace, the divine Breathgiver refused to acknowledge their invocation.¹³⁸

It was revealed to one of the didahnvwisgi¹³⁹ that they were to go to the top of a high mountain where they were to fast and pray for the deliverance of their people; each day for seven days a different didahnvwisgi from each of the seven clans joined the others on the mountain.¹⁴⁰ On the seventh day, when all of the clans were represented, the medicine men observed a loud noise followed by a bright light and a voice that spoke to them, saying:

Members of the Keetoowah Society believe that this messenger from God gave them the name "Keetoowah" to them, and that the name bespeaks a special relationship with the divine.¹⁴²

The didahnvwisgi returned to their respective clans and reported the message that God had given them, but only the true believers followed their instructions and made preparations to leave their fellows and follow the will of the Great Spirit. The small band set forth from their island and proceeded west. As they turned to take one last look at their homeland, the island sank into the ocean taking with it the remainder of their people and the last vestiges of their ancient civilization. The survivors traveled west through Mesoamerica and up the Atlantic Coast, and settled among the Iroquois; in the winters, the Keetoowah migrated south into the Carolinas and Georgia, and returned each spring. Eventually, the Keetoowah settled permanently in the Carolinas and Georgia, making this area their permanent home until the coming of the Europeans in the eighteenth century.¹⁴³

The name Kituwah also refers to an ancient Cherokee settlement formerly on the Tuckasegee River just above the present Bryson City, in Swain County, North Carolina. It was one of the "seven mother towns" of the Cherokee. The inhabitants of Kituwah, the "Ani-kitu-hwagi," exercised a controlling influence over all of the towns along the Tuckasegee and Little Tennessee River. The people of this region became known as the Kituwah. Because the Kituwah were responsible for the protection of the Northern border from the Iroquois and the Algonquian, the name became synonymous with the Cherokee among these people.¹⁴⁴ As early as the 1750's, the "mother town" of Kituwah had a status and independence not granted less ancient settlements; town debates and political actions were kept a "profound secret."¹⁴⁵

From the very beginning, the mother towns were known as a place of refuge where those fleeing enslavement could run. Christian Pryber, a German Jesuit among the first Europeans to live with the Cherokee, described one of these mother towns as "a town at the Foot of the Mountains among the Cherokee, which was to be a City of Refuge for all Criminals, Debtors, and Slaves, who would fly thither from Justice or their Masters."¹⁴⁶ It was open to all who sought refuge and was thus a place of diversity.

Tom Hatley describes the Kituwhan dialect itself in his The Dividing Path: Cherokees and South Carolinians through the Revolutionary Era as being the product of multicultural synthesis, "from the beginning the Kituwhan dialect was mixed with the English of white Tories, traders, and black refugees."¹⁴⁷ It was also with this most conservative element that the opposition to enslavement first spread; many conservative Cherokee having been slaves themselves in the mid-eighteenth century, opposition to slavery ran deep. ¹⁴⁸

A critical element in the above story of the Ani-Kutani is the existence of what is called "the Kituwah Spirit." The presence of divine power among God's chosen people, the Keetoowah, is a gift, provided that the power is used only to the benefit of the collective body and not for purely personal or selfish ends. "The Kituwah Spirit" is a sense of identity tied to a bond of collective responsibility; "its members are obligated under a highly secret ritual to assist each other always and to work constantly for the aims of the organization."¹⁴⁹ This "strong band of comradeship" is a central element in the belief system of the Keetoowah Society and in its focus upon national/spiritual identity and the preservation of cultural integrity.¹⁵⁰ This Keetoowah "believe this is the moral way. These Indians believe in a Great Spirit who cared for his people and who desired that they care for each other."¹⁵¹

Placing the good of all above self-interest is called "the white path of righteousness."¹⁵² This "white path of righteousness" is laid out for the Keetoowah in seven sacred wampums made of shells from the Atlantic coast. These wampum vary in length from two to seven feet and in width from six inches to a single strand of beads. Interwoven in the sacred language of the beadwork of these ancient wampum are the sacred teachings that the Great Spirit gave to the seven wise men regarding "the white path of righteousness."¹⁵³ Benny Smith describes the importance of these wampum, "These wampums have served the Keetoowahs in the same way that the Ten Commandments have served the Christians. For generations, these wampums have been read to the Keetoowah once each year...The Cherokee name for the wampums is De'-ka-nuh-nus' which means `a way to look to' or `keep looking in this direction.' " ¹⁵⁴

J.R. Carselowey, as quoted by T.L. Ballenger, states that the purpose of the Keetoowah Society was the "perpetuation of the full-blood race" and to stand for unity and brotherly love among the Cherokee and, in every way possible, to work for the best interests of the tribe as a whole.¹⁵⁵ The Keetoowah Society stands for community solidarity in the face of change, "they entered into a solemn pact that whatever measure or mans a majority, the band should agree on should be advocated and stood up for by all members of the society...such is their loyalty to one another and their steadfastness to keep inviolate any pledges of honor they make." ¹⁵⁶ The Keetoowah Society also sought to "conserve the purity of Cherokee Indian customs and traditions."¹⁵⁷

For the Keetoowah from time immemorial, the Great Spirit and national patriotism seemed to be synonymous terms. The "Kituwah Spirit" stands for the autonomy of the Cherokee people and the sovereignty of the Cherokee Nation -- a religious nationalism that sought to keep the Nation pure from within and free from outside influences and their ultimate control of the Cherokee destiny.¹⁵⁸ In addition, the Keetoowah believe that as the Cherokee Nation is a sacred and sovereign nation, its relations with other nations are of ultimate value, "Along with the wampums the Keetoowahs have in their possession relics held sacred because they were received through agreements with the United States. Some of these are a peace pipe used in signing treaties, flag of the United States which the Keetoowahs agreed to uphold, and the seal of the Keetoowah Society. the significance of these relics is related as often as the wampums." ¹⁵⁹

So when these men sat down on April 15, 1858 in Peavine Baptist Church to formerly articulate the aims and the purposes of what was to become the Keetoowah Society, the rupture of the Cherokee Nation and its loyalty to the United States were pressing concerns, "On April 15, 1858, a small number of the leading members of the Keetoowahs got together and discussed the affairs of the Cherokees, the purpose and objectives for which they had always stood....The Cherokees were situated too far in the South and the men were becoming reckless and seemed to be taking sides with the South, but the leading cause was those who owned Negro slaves. It was plain to be seen that Cherokee people without a full understanding were taking sides with the South. It seemed certain that the states of the South were entering into a conspiracy to abandon the union of states to set up a separate government. Keetoowahs had already studied their means of defense and knew the business followed by them." ¹⁶⁰

The Cherokee Nation was divided, and the institutions that guided the course of the nation were equally divided. The issue of slavery and the larger denominational fracture now split the Baptist churches that had rebuilt community in the new land and served as a point of cohesion among the conservatives over the issue. The schools had become increasingly segregated, as those who read and spoke in the native Cherokee were isolated within a process of socialization that promoted assimilation. The government had become further dominated by the progressives, and continued to act in the interests of those slaveholders and large scale agriculturists that were moving Cherokee society away from its traditional culture. Even the Freemasonic lodges, which had also been actively encouraging a spirit of brotherhood, citizenship, and collective responsibility, found themselves ruptured to the point that it would take decades for them to recover.¹⁶¹

Reverend Budd Gritts, Reverend Lewis Downing, and the senior leadership of the Peavine Church considered the options and came to the conclusion that only a reemergence of the "Kituwah Spirit" and following the "white path of righteousness" could resolve this national crisis. In Chapter One of the Constitution of the Keetoowah Society as approved on April 29, 1859, they articulated the problem and the solution, "As lovers of the government of the Cherokees, loyal members of Keetoowah Society, in the name of the mass of the people, we began to study and investigate the way our nation was going on, so much different from the long past history of our Keetoowah forefathers who loved and lived as free people and had never surrendered to anybody: They loved one another for they were just like one family, just as if they had been raised from one family. They all came as a unit to their fire to smoke, to aid one another and to protect their government with what little powder and lead they had to use in protecting it."¹⁶²

The following year, what it meant to be a Keetoowah was further defined:

Although the focus of the Keetoowah Society was upon the "fullbloods," a proper understanding of this term must be seen within a cultural context, as opposed to a biological or racial one.¹⁶⁴ One can see "fullblood" as a connotation for traditional/conservative and "mixed-blood" as implying assimilated/progressive. Many of those commonly referred to as fullbloods, including many of the leaders of the Keetoowah Society itself, were the products of Cherokee/white intermarriage. John Ross, leader of the full bloods, was only one-sixteenth Cherokee; Stand Watie, leader of the progressives, was a full blood Cherokee. The term "mixed-blood" often meant intermarriage with whites, but those intermarried with free blacks and slaves were nearly always classified as black. However, it also seems likely that those Africans who intermarried Cherokee and clung to traditional beliefs could have also been classified as "fullblood."

When the Keetoowah Constitution describes its members as being "only fullblood Cherokees uneducated," it is referring to those fluent in Cherokee who are "uneducated" in the sense of European language and culture, but educated in the sense of being literate in Cherokee language and culture.¹⁶⁵ It was not a race-based form of identity for, as discussed above, there was no race-based understanding of identity within the "old ways" of Cherokee culture. In Keetoowah cosmology, all races descended from a common one, "Finally God took compassion on them and heard their prayers and directed them to take the white fire and move away from place to place. Some went to Asia, some to India, and others to North America, leavng all the wise people behind."¹⁶⁶

If one were literate in the Cherokee language and integrated into Cherokee culture, as many African-Americans were, then there were the transcendent bonds of the "Kituwah Spirit" that made one effectively a "full-blood." Thus, the Cherokee Nation, as understood by the Keetoowah in the "old way," would be one open to all people regardless of race. It is antithetical to those on the "white path of righteousness" who believed that the "Great Spirit who cared for his people and who desired that they care for each other" would exclude ones whose history and destiny was so linked to their own. Keetoowah meetings opened with the expression, "We are all Keetoowah people."¹⁶⁷

Thus, the center of the Keetoowah Society was an appeal to the "old way," an ancient Kituwah ideal of a "beloved community" where each "loved one another, for they were just like one family, just as if they had been raised from one family." This idea of a "beloved community" has been the basis of the Cherokee social order dating back to long before the first European contact. This "beloved community" is rooted in the monogenetic ideal of Cherokee mythology that all humanity descended from a single set of parents, Selu, the corn mother, and Kane's, the hunter father. The "Kituwah Spirit" was a way to transcend the differences between political parties, religious beliefs, and even clan affiliations. The goal of the Keetoowah Society was to define a true Cherokee "patriot" as one who clung to traditional lifestyle that included the white path of righteousness," the ancient spirituality of the "old way," and the sacred power of "beloved community."

The "reorganized" Keetoowah Society of 1858 was essentially a political organization but "it was directly associated with the original Keetoowah Society."¹⁶⁸ It sought to preserve Cherokee sovereignty and solidarity as expressed in the Keetoowah Constitution: "They all came as a unit to their fire to smoke, to aid one another and to protect their government with what little powder and lead they had to use in protecting it." The centrality of national identity, the sacred fire, and sacred ceremonies of traditional religion are critical elements in the Keetoowah Society.¹⁶⁹ The meetings of the Keetoowah were held at the gatiyo, or stomp grounds, centered on the sacred fire that was reportedly brought with them from the East and kept constantly burning.¹⁷⁰ Critical to the meetings of the Keetoowah Society was the sacred fire, "The sacred ritualism of the original Keetoowah is performed only with the sacred ceremonial fire. When the council of the Keetoowah is about to go in session, the fire keepers start the fire at the council grounds before the sun appears in the east. The fire must not be started with a match but through the old custom." ¹⁷¹

The fire-keepers built earthen mounds two to three feet high and six feet across topped with four logs surrounded by seven arbors in a circle for seating the seven clans.¹⁷² The four logs pointed in each of the four cardinal directions representing the four original Indians selected by the Great Spirit to start the sacred fire.¹⁷³ It also signifies that the power of the Keetoowah path extends to all four corners of the earth. ¹⁷⁴ Benny Smith states a similar view, "the sacred fire extends its guiding light to people in all directions."¹⁷⁵ The fire is a sacred fire; it may be used for no other purpose than its sacred one; even Keetoowah children respect the fire and do not play in or near it.¹⁷⁶

Meetings were often highly ceremonial with opening pipe rituals, sacrificial offerings to the sacred fire, songs and dances, and explanations of the sacred mysteries of the wampum belts.¹⁷⁷ The ceremonials are usually begun with a speech by the Keetoowah leaders addressing a common concern and urging followers to walk the "white path of righteousness;" sometimes those individuals in crisis or with particular needs are brought to the community's attention. Levi Gritts states that there are speeches "admonishing them to be loyal to God, and instructing them what to do to be a real Keetoowah."¹⁷⁸ The Keetoowah Chief fills next the sacred pipe with tobacco and taking seven puffs, he then passes the pipe to each leader of the seven clans who, in turn, also take seven puffs.

What follows is one of the more controversial elements of the Keetoowah ceremony; following a solemn prayer, a burnt offering is made of "a small game animal or a white chicken: each signifies purity."¹⁷⁹ Some have claimed that this white chicken represents white people, but the Cherokee believe the act represents "the visible living actual personification of the Great Spirit, Creator, and Father who alone has the power to give life and take life." Following the sacrifice, the members form a square surrounding the altar with two men on the eastern side creating a space "known as the door to the temple." Once admitted to the temple each person takes seven puffs from the sacred pipe. This ritual signifies a "commitment to be true to the seven clans and seven wampums of righteousness."¹⁸⁰

Following this ceremony, the "stomp dance" begins; this dance is both a highly religious ritual and one of the Cherokee's highest art forms.¹⁸¹ The dances are conducted to the beat of drums and the rattle of tortoise shell leggings the women wear;¹⁸² the dances are centered on songs and chants of a time so ancient that they have lost their meaning.¹⁸³ They signify "the singing and raising of the name of God to the highest."¹⁸⁴ Eva Horner notes "The leaders, however, call constant attention to the lost portent of the songs in their awkward gesturings toward the fire."¹⁸⁵

After dancing all night, the Keetoowah drink a "black drink" made from seven types of wood taken from the eastern side of the trees. They also wash their hands and faces in the drink as an act of external and internal cleansing to help maintain purity.¹⁸⁶ In addition, large areas were kept adjoining the central meeting place for ball play.¹⁸⁷ The ball play is a modified version of ancient Indian ball that has traditional significance.¹⁸⁸ All of these practices combined to make up the traditional religious ceremonies associated with the Keetoowah Society.

However, in spite of its relationship to traditional culture and religion, the organization sprung up within the Northern Baptist churches, and its leadership were the same men who were the leadership of the Northern Baptist churches. The Head Captains of the Keetoowah Society -- Levi Gritts, Smith Christie, and Lewis Downing -- were all Baptist ministers. In framing the Constitution of the Keetoowah Society, Budd Gritts "allowed broad religious interpretation, for there had been white missionary teachers among them and it was found that they all worshipped the same God and that prominent men of Bible history told of the same people that they knew of." ¹⁸⁹ "The same God who gave them their religion has always taken care of them, takes care of them now and they are expecting him to do so. All of their work is carried on by the guidance of their God; it is strictly forbidden by the Society for any officer or member to use their own wisdom without the guidance of God."¹⁹⁰

The Keetoowah spread its message and its organization through the nascent Baptist churches in the Cherokee Nation and in the Mvskoke Nation as well. Conservative Cherokee sympathetic to the Keetoowah cause were encouraged to attend the meetings in the churches whether they were Baptists or not; from these organizational meetings Captains and sub-Captains were appointed and Keetoowah meetings scheduled. Trusting their native preachers, the ministers Evan and John Jones allowed Gritts, Christie, and Downing to spread the Keetoowah message by utilizing Baptist organizational principles, the affinity between traditional meetings and Baptist camp meetings, and congregational tendencies of the Cherokee society to build a potent force for religious revitalization.¹⁹¹

It is also critically important to recognize the affinities between the structure and function of the Keetoowah Society and the same within fraternal orders and mutual benefit societies that had proliferated among white and blacks before the war.¹⁹² A provision was made in the Constitution of the Keetoowah Society to collect a general welfare fund to provide for the relief of the sick or distressed; for the benefit of poor fullbloods, Cherokee scrip (similar to Confederate money in the proverbial sense) was accepted at face value. Section 23 of Chapter II of the Constitution of the Keetoowah Society also states, "Be it resolved by the Keetoowah Convention, if any Keetoowah should get sick, or unable to take care of himself, all members of Keetoowah Society who live nearby, shall look after him and visit him. And in case of the death of any Keetoowah they immediately must notify those that live afar and those that receive the message, it shall be their duty to come. All brother Keetoowahs shall march in line to the grave following the dead. And each shall take a shovel full of dirt and put it in the grave." ¹⁹³ There is a striking similarity between the burial ceremony of the Keetoowah Society and that of Freemasonry; Master Masons are called from throughout the district, parade in formation to the gravesite, and each cast a spate of dirt upon the grave.

There were also other similarities between the Keetoowah Society and Freemasonry. The positioning of three officers -- a religious figure, a secretary and a treasurer within each lodge is also identical to that of the organizational structure of a Freemasonic lodge. Within the Keetoowah ceremony, the participants form a square around the central altar and the "door to the temple" located and guarded on the East side. When a person appeals "of his own accord" for membership to the Society, his initiation involves standing before the "sacred fire" and being led around the square, having been accepted. Accepted as he is, the secretary records his name, and he is offered the right hand of fellowship.

The organizational structure and function of the Keetoowah Society in both the lodge and the district bears a close relationship to the same in Freemasonry. In addition, the practice of transferring lodge membership upon moving from one district to another following explicit procedures with respect to references and recommendations from the previous lodge is also quite similar to that of Freemasonry. Regarding nearly every aspect of organizational structure and function, the Keetoowah society is strikingly similar to that of American Freemasonry.¹⁹⁴

In addition, it is important to understand that, just as there seems a gender-specific nature to modern Freemasonry, but that in actuality there are female Freemasons and even mixed lodges, the same is true for the Keetoowah Society. It would be antithetical for the Keetoowah Society to be dedicated to traditional religious beliefs and yet gender-specific. As women played a critical role in traditional society, they played the same role in the Keetoowah Society. The historical record of the Keetoowah Society describes them as gender specific, but the rituals and practices of the Society must have included women, as well as children. The descriptions of the rituals in Tyner describe the listing of family members in the rolls of the Keetoowah and their admission into the lodge.¹⁹⁵ In the modern Keetoowah ceremonies, women dance, smoke the pipe, and engage in ball play; though their participation is often on different terms, it is complimentary to the male roles.¹⁹⁶ From an understanding based on the modern period, we can only reflect back through history and attempt to put together an image of a diverse Keetoowah Society.

As much as it was a religious society, the Keetoowah Society was also a political one dedicated to the promotion of "patriotism" and "nationalism" within the Cherokee Nation. Believing that their national identity had come from the divine and that there was a special bond between the "Giver-of-Breath" and the Keetoowah, there was an intense religious nationalism: "With them the Great Spirit and national patriotism seemed to be synonymous terms."¹⁹⁷ In Cherokees and Christianity 1794-1870: Essays on Acculturation and Cultural Resistance, William McLoughlin describes the movement: "one key to the power of the movement was that it brought together both full-blooded traditionalists and full-blood Christians in the higher interest of unity and patriotism...[and] demonstrates that religion and politics cannot be separated but they can be transcended in the greater interest of national survival."¹⁹⁸

The rituals and activities associated with the Keetoowah Society were designed to unite the conservatives for political action. The primary goal was to create a nationalist organization that would conservative power in the National Council and preserve Cherokee sovereignty.¹⁹⁹ In the holistic worldview of the Cherokee people, religion and politics could not be easily separated, "A few members of men of the society met secretly and discussed the condition of the country where they lived. The name Cherokee was in danger. The Cherokee as a Nation were about to disintegrate. It seemed intended to drown our Cherokee Nation and destroy it. For that reason, we resolve to stop it from scattering or forever lose the name Cherokee. We must love each other and abide by treaties made with the federal government. We must cherish them in our hearts. Second, we must abide by the treaties made with other races of people. Third, we must abide by our constitution and laws and uphold the name of the Cherokee Nation. Right here we must endeavor to strengthen our society. Our society must be called Keetoowah." ²⁰⁰ T.L. Ballenger reaffirmed this position, "It was then that they conceived the idea of forming the full-blood Cherokees, the anti-slavery Keetoowahs, into a large political entity that might be able to salvage the Cherokee lands and other possessions and perpetuate the nation, in case of a Northern victory. Thus came about the writing of the constitution of the Keetoowahs." ²⁰¹

William McLoughlin, in his After the Trail of Tears: the Cherokees' Struggle for sovereignty, 1839-1880, stated that the "ultimate goal of the Keetoowah Society was to define a `true Cherokee patriot' as a full blood, true to national values, national unity, and Cherokee self-determination through consensus."²⁰² Its organizational structure having spread throughout the Cherokee Nation, the Keetoowah Society was able organize a grassroots political movement among the dispossessed conservatives. It provided for majority rule within the Cherokee Nation and attempted to end the rule of the plutocrats. As its activities were carried out fully in the Cherokee language, the message of the Keetoowah Society carried both a cultural currency and a relative insularity from the larger political discourse.

The Keetoowah Constitution was read and approved, revised and amended, and updated nearly a dozen times between 1858-1861 at Keetoowah conventions spread throughout the Cherokee Nation. Each lodge was responsible for keeping a copy of the Constitution, thoroughly indoctrinating their membership in it. They also provided for the implementation of the political organizing strategy expressed in the Constitution. At the conventions, political candidates were recruited to run for national office and the grass roots membership was organized into a populist movement to redefine the political soul of the Cherokee Nation. Those who had lost their voice suddenly found it in a reaffirmation of the "Kituwah Spirit." ²⁰³ A new nation was being born.

In discussing the political idealism of the Keetoowah Society, many recent authors mitigate against the abolitionist nature of the Keetoowah Society with curious statements such as "it was not an abolitionist or antislavery organization, although its members strongly believed that the mixed-blood, educated slaveholders were usurping power and trying to lead the Nation into a fatal alliance with the South,"²⁰⁴ or "It would probably be more correct to describe the society as not being pro-slavery, rather than being anti-slavery."²⁰⁵ However, contemporaries viewed the society quite differently:

The Keetoowah Society itself never stated explicitly in its Constitution that it was opposed to slavery, for to do so would have violated the "neutrality" contained within the articles of the Constitution. However, it made quite clear its position on the issue.The Constitution of the Keetoowah Society also articulated that a nation based upon the institution of slavery was inimical to the interests of the "Kituwah Spirit. In expressing that the Keetoowah forefathers "loved and lived as free people who never surrendered to anybody. They loved one another for they were just like one family..." the Keetoowah Constitution was dedicating itself to the notion of liberty and egalitarianism as understood within the "old ways" in the Cherokee Nation. Any notion of slavery or inequality was contrary to the "Kituwah Spirit." ²⁰⁹

Federal officials in June of 1858 wrote to Evan Jones charging him with "abolitionist teaching and preaching in opposition to the institution of slavery."²¹⁰ Though Baptist missionaries get credit for espousing abolition among the Cherokee, notions of liberty and egalitarianism extended far back into Cherokee history. Prior to contact with whites, there was no evidence to support any racial identity-based prejudice or mistreatment within the Cherokee Nation.²¹¹ Many of the conservatives having been slaves themselves in the colonial period and having seen the destructive influences of the slave trade among their own people, it is likely that opposition to slavery existed prior to contact with Christian ministers. Finally, the deep historic relationship between conservatives and Africans that existed within traditional religions as well as the Protestant churches of the Southeastern United States would have even further supported a society based upon freedom and liberty. The Keetoowah Society believed that the more the Cherokee Nation disestablished its ties with the institution of slavery, the better it could sustain its own national identity and control its own sovereignty.²¹²

The Keetoowah Society was a secret society dedicated to preserving the interests of conservatives within Cherokee society. However, at its very heart it was a traditional religious response to the modernist impulses found in the developing racialist ideology, emerging capitalist economy, and militant Americanist identity of the nineteenth century. The conservatives that made up the Keetoowah Society sought to promote traditional beliefs regarding a monogenetic theory of human origins, an egalitarian political system, communal ownership of property, collective responsibility, and cultural integrity among the Cherokee. In the face of the tremendous changes that swept through the country in the nineteenth century, the Keetoowah believed that in tradition lay the power of the "old ways" to overcome assimilation and accommodation to the forces of modernity.

Arising from the cauldron of religious, social, and political forces that shaped the Cherokee Nation in the late 1850's, the Keetoowah Society quickly became a potent force in the Cherokee Nation. Arising from just a few members within the Peavine Church, its membership spread rapidly, and by the end of the decade as many as 1500 men belonged to the Keetoowah Society.²¹³ With the formal establishment of the Keetoowah Society in the Spring of 1858, that which had been a critical factor in Cherokee mythology and religion moved from a secret society shrouded in mystery to the forefront of Cherokee civilization. In the coming years, that which had been a secret was to be even further revealed. The message would spread beyond the Cherokee Nation and set into motion forces that would dramatically alter the face of Indian Territory.