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| Appalachian peoples | |
|---|---|
| Name | Appalachian peoples |
| Region | Appalachian Mountains |
| Countries | United States |
| States | Kentucky; West Virginia; Tennessee; Virginia; North Carolina; South Carolina; Georgia; Alabama; Mississippi; Ohio; Pennsylvania; Maryland; New York |
| Population | Variable by region |
Appalachian peoples are the diverse communities inhabiting the Appalachian Mountains region of the eastern United States, encompassing multiple Indigenous nations, colonial settlers, and more recent migrants. The population includes groups with roots in Cherokee, Shawnee, Iroquois Confederacy, Scots-Irish, German Americans, African Americans, and European Americans who established distinct regional cultures across states such as Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina. Appalachian communities have been central to debates involving resource extraction, cultural preservation, and regional politics, intersecting with events like the Coal Wars and movements such as the Highlander Folk School and the United Mine Workers of America.
Scholars and institutions define the Appalachian region using criteria from the Appalachian Regional Commission and cartographers associated with the United States Geological Survey, delineating areas across the Allegheny Mountains, Blue Ridge Mountains, and Great Smoky Mountains. Ethnographers reference work by figures such as Lillian Smith and Henry Glassie in mapping cultural zones that include communities in Appalachian Ohio, Piedmont (United States), and the Cumberland Plateau. Debates over definition involve historians connected to the Berea College tradition and demographers at the U.S. Census Bureau.
The region was home to Indigenous nations including the Cherokee, Shawnee, Iroquois Confederacy, Catawba, Powhatan, Delaware (Lenape), Muscogee (Creek), and bands of the Algonquian peoples prior to sustained European contact. Archaeologists referencing sites like the Cahokia Mounds and studies by the Smithsonian Institution document Woodland and Mississippian cultural phases. Colonial interactions involved treaties such as the Treaty of Lochaber and conflicts like Dunmore's War and the French and Indian War, affecting migration patterns of groups associated with leaders mentioned in papers about Tecumseh and Dragging Canoe.
European settlement included settlers from Scotland, Ireland, Germany, and England—notably Scots-Irish and Pennsylvania Dutch—who migrated via routes discussed in studies from Harvard University and Yale University. The transatlantic slave trade and domestic slavery brought African Americans into plantation and mining contexts, with genealogical links traced by historians at the Library of Congress and genealogists using Freedmen's Bureau records. Industrialization drew laborers tied to the Letcher County coalfield and cities like Pittsburgh, Birmingham, Alabama, and Charleston, West Virginia, while the Great Migration involved departures to Detroit, Chicago, and Philadelphia.
Appalachian cultures include musical traditions associated with figures and institutions such as Carter Family, Doc Watson, Ralph Stanley, The Stanley Brothers, and venues like the Grand Ole Opry and Folkways Records. Crafts and material culture are documented in collections at the Smithsonian Institution and museums like the Museum of Appalachia and Berea College archives, showing influences from Scotland and Ireland and Indigenous techniques from Cherokee traditions. Religious affiliations reference denominations including the Southern Baptist Convention, United Methodist Church, Eastern Orthodox Church in America congregations, and revival movements recorded by the American Baptist Historical Society. Foodways include regional products featured at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and culinary studies by the James Beard Foundation.
Dialects in the region include varieties studied by linguists at Oxford University and University of Kentucky researchers, with phonological features comparable to varieties recorded by Noam Chomsky-cited corpora and dialectologists such as William Labov. Lexical items and idioms are referenced in compilations like the Dictionary of American Regional English and in works by Michael Montgomery and Buell Kazee. Languages historically included Indigenous tongues like Cherokee language and colonial languages including German language influences, with bilingual histories addressed by the American Anthropological Association.
Economic histories highlight extractive industries linked to corporations and events such as the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company, the Pittston Coal Company, and strikes like the Matewan Massacre and the Battle of Blair Mountain. Agricultural practices and smallholder economies appear in research by John C. Campbell Folk School affiliates and initiatives from the Appalachian Regional Commission. Labor organizing involved unions and leaders connected to the United Mine Workers of America, activists associated with the Highlander Folk School, and legal actions referencing precedents from the National Labor Relations Board era.
Social challenges and responses have engaged public figures and institutions such as Bill Clinton's regional policies, studies from West Virginia University, and advocacy by organizations like the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy and the Appalachian Justice Project. Health disparities and public health initiatives involve programs at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while environmental activism is connected to campaigns against mountaintop removal mining and lawsuits involving the Environmental Protection Agency. Political mobilization includes electoral shifts observed by analysts at the Brookings Institution and movements tied to civil rights-era organizers who worked with groups such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and labor rights advocates in the Coal Wars.