Junaluska was born around 1775, [1][2] approximately 15 miles (24 km) south of Franklin, North Carolina near present-day Dillard, Georgia.

Junaluska is known to have informed Tecumseh that the Cherokee in his region would not join an Indian confederacy against the European-American settlers.

Junaluska's actions turned the tide when he swam the Tallapoosa River, retrieving Redstick canoes in order to ferry the Cherokee to the rear of the Creek.

According to the provisions of an 1819 treaty with the United States, Junaluska applied for 640 acres (2.6 km2) of land at Sugar Creek near Franklin, North Carolina.

Jackson reportedly met with Junaluska regarding the Indian Removal Act, but the president said, "Sir, your audience is ended.

"[3][5] During the infamous Trail of Tears in 1838, Junaluska and many other Cherokee people were incarcerated and held in nearby stockades prior to the march.

From this stockade, Junaluska and thousands of other Cherokee were forced to walk overland to the Indian Territory, in present-day eastern Oklahoma.

In 1847, after a plea by Col. William Holland Thomas, a white man who had been adopted into the Cherokee tribe, the state legislature rewarded Junalaska for his service.

[6] In 1910 the General Joseph Winston Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (Winston-Salem) erected a monument at his grave site.