The CherokeeThe Cherokee
Tsalagi: Speakers of Another Language
Cherokee Territory
Georgia
North Carolina
South Carolina
Virginia
Kentucky
Tennessee
The Cherokee are the original residents of the Southeast American states of:
Cherokee Men’s Clothing
Cherokee men wore breechcloth aprons, a decorated piece of leather or cloth worn
over their breechcloth, and leggings.
Cherokee Women’s Clothing
The traditional dress of the Cherokee women is called the tear dress. Worn
for everyday use, it was made of cotton with dark background and lighter colored figures within the
pattern.
The Cherokee lived in wattle and daub houses made by weaving river cane, wood, and vines into a frame, then coating the frame with plaster. The roof was either thatched with grass or shingled with bark.
Cherokee Homes
The Cherokee Household
The house was usually large, because Cherokees lived with their children,
the mother's parents, and unmarried siblings of the mother. A husband
joined the family of his wife.
Cherokee Government
Cherokee Indians divided power between men and women. Both men and women took part in
music, storytelling, artwork, and medicine.
www.cherokee.org
The Role of Cherokee Men
Cherokee men were in charge of hunting, war, and diplomacy.
They were chiefs and made political decisions for the tribe.
The Role of Cherokee Women
Cherokee women were in charge of farming, property, family, and were the
landowners.
They also made social decisions for the clans.
Cherokee Indians used to make long dugout canoes from hollowed-out logs.
They used canoes for transportation as well as fishing.
Transportation by Canoe
Transportation by the Travois
Over land, the Cherokees used dogs as pack animals.
There were no horses in North America until colonists brought them over from Europe.
Cherokee Farming
Cherokee women grew crops of corn, beans, squash, and
sunflowers.
Cherokee Hunters
Cherokee men hunted deer, wild turkeys, and small game
and fished in the rivers.
Cherokee Gatherers
Cherokee women also gathered berries, nuts and fruit to eat.
Cherokee Hunting Tools
Cherokee hunters used bows and arrows or blowguns to shoot game.
Fishermen generally
used spears and fishing poles.
Tools used by the Cherokee Indians included stone hand axes for woodworking, flint knives for
skinning animals, wooden hoes for farming, and pots and baskets for
storing corn.
Cherokee Gathering Tools
The Cherokee Nation
The Cherokee Nation was one of the most advanced Native American
tribes in the 1500’s. They thrived for thousands of years.
Discovery of Gold
After gold was discovered in Georgia in the 1830s settlers
decided they wanted Cherokee lands and Indian Removals began.
The Trail of Tears
In 1838, thousands of Cherokee men, women and children were rounded up and marched 1,000
miles to Oklahoma. Thousands died in the internment camps, on the
trail, and after arrival.
Resources
Cherokee Nation, The (1998). The Cherokee Nation Seal. Retrieved on
November 17, 2008 from http://www.cherokee.org
Coats, C. (2007). Cherokee Double Woven Basket. Creative Commons
Attribution 2.0. Retrieved on November 22, 2008 from
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:IMAG0006.jpg
Hedges, Kathryn. (2007). Inside the Native American Home. Retrieved on
November 17, 2008 from http://pics.tech4learning.com/dsc02776.jpg.
Kronsell, J. (2000). Statue of Sequoyah outside the Museum of the
Cherokee Indians, Cherokee, North Carolina. Free Software
Foundation, Inc. Retrieved on November 18, 2008 from
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:SequoyahCarv.jpg
Lindsey, H. (2006). Cherokee-Creek Site. A modern Cherokee Tear
Dress. Retrieved on November 18, 2008 from
http://www.freewebs.com/creekandcherokeeinfo
Lindneux, R. (1942). The Trail of Tears. The Granger Collection, New
York
Mooney, James. (1992). History, Myths, and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees. Asheville. Bright Mountain Books Inc., Fairview
Olesh, D. (2006). Crazy Horse Monument. Pics4Learning. Retrieved on November 23, 2008 from http://pics.tech4learning.com
Redish, L., and Lewis, O. (1998). Native American Facts for Kids.
http://www.bigorrin.org/cherokee_kids.htm
Rubinic, J. (2007). Ecuadorian Rainforest Blowgun. Creative Commons Attribution 2.0. Retrieved on November 22, 2008 from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Ecuadorian_Rainforest- blowgun.jpg