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