Editing Nancy Ward (section)

== Changes to Cherokee society ==
In the early 1760s, the Cherokee entered an alliance with the British colonists who were fighting the French and their allies in the [[French and Indian War]] (the North American front of the [[Seven Years' War]] in Europe). Each side had Native American allies in North America. In exchange for their assistance, the British Americans promised to protect the Cherokee from their enemies: the Creek and [[Choctaw people]]s.

The British built military stations and frontier posts on Cherokee land. These posts gradually attracted more European-American settlers. A group of White frontiersmen killed a group of Cherokee in present-day West Virginia, who were returning from having helped the British take over [[Fort Duquesne]] (at present-day Pittsburgh). Outraged, the Cherokee killed more than 20 settlers in retaliation. Conflict broke out that lasted two years, during which the Cherokee captured Fort Loudon on the [[Tellico River]] in August 1760.<ref name=Waldman>{{cite book | last1=Waldman| first1=Carl| title=Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes| date=2006| publisher=Checkmark Books| location=New York| isbn=978-0816062744| edition=3rd| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WxomdGVLjZ0C&pg=PA53| access-date=28 March 2015}}</ref>

A decade later, In May 1775, a group of Delaware, [[Mohawk people|Mohawk]] and [[Shawnee]] emissaries formed a delegation that headed south to support the British who were trying to gain the help of the Cherokee and other tribes for war with their rebel colonies.