 From the late 1700s to the 1860s, the Five Civilized Tribes in the American Southeast began to adopt some colonial and American customs.Some men acquired separate land and became planters, buying African-American slaves for laborers in field work, domestic service, and various trades.The 1809 census taken by Cherokee agent Colonel Return J. Meigs, Sr. counted 583 "Negro slaves" held by Cherokee slaveowners.