Cherokee IndianWho Were They?
Cherokee Indians were a big tribe in NC, as well as all over North America. These people basically traveled everywhere before settling in North Carolina. Here they discovered land, forests, mountains, rivers and streams, and valleys. The wildlife was abundant and the Cherokee's were happy. They stayed here in NC for thousands of years.
Then, later on in life in the mid 1800's, the Indians were forced out of NC from the US government and pushed from their land. They were then introduced to a new home- a place located in an area they had left 4000 years before. They were forced to walk all the way to Oklahoma, leaving many of them to die. This became known as the "Trail Of Tears".
How Did They Live?
The Cherokee Indians were basically a right hand tribe. They lived in villages and in each village, there were 30-60 homes, a plaza, a town square, and a council house big enough to hold all the Indians in that village during a village meeting. A wall of tall poles tied together surrounded each village. There was a summer village and a winter village.
In this culture, the men and women were considered equal. They both did an equal share in work and lived almost the same, except men cut down trees and used the wood to built canoes, homes and pole fences to go around the villages. Women were warriors, they ruled the home. Men built the homes, but the women owned them. They also made colorful baskets and they were the farmers. So in a nutshell, the women of Cherokee houses were the top of the food chain
Cherokee Religion
The Cherokee worshipped the "Deer God". They never wanted the deer god mad at them and they only killed what they thought the deer god wanted them to kill, and what they needed in their families.
The Cherokee also believed in many animal spirits. They wore animal skins as clothing so they had the skills of the animals they wore. They believed everything in nature had a spirit, and prayed to the spirits for good health.
Also, Cherokee Tribes held a bunch of festivals. In these festivals, the Indians thanked their gods for their good fortune, and prayed to their gods for continued good luck.
What About The Kids?
The kids had easy lives. In past times, the children of Cherokee families had many chores to do and less time to play, but a couple years later they just lived it like normal kids. They played, went fishing with their fathers and went to school just like us today. They had dolls and toys and played some neat sports.
Marriage
You could not marry someone from your own clan, but once you found someone from another clan that you wanted to marry, there were other rules you had to follow. First, you had to ask a family member if this was a good decision and you had to get a positive answer. If you couldn't find someone to agree with you, then you could not marry that person.
Second, you had to ask the chief of the woman's village to determine if your marriage would be a good one. The chief would put two roots in his hand, and say a prayer. If the two roots moved at the same time, it meant good luck, and yes, you could marry. If only one root moved, it meant bad luck, and no, you could not marry. These steps let the people in small villages know they would get along. That was important.
Below is a myth about the Cherokees.
Cherokee Origin Story - Ye ho waah
You could not marry someone from your own clan, but once you found someone from another clan that you wanted to marry, there were other rules you had to follow. First, you had to ask a family member if this was a good decision and you had to get a positive answer. If you couldn't find someone to agree with you, then you could not marry that person.
Second, you had to ask the chief of the woman's village to determine if your marriage would be a good one. The chief would put two roots in his hand, and say a prayer. If the two roots moved at the same time, it meant good luck, and yes, you could marry. If only one root moved, it meant bad luck, and no, you could not marry. These steps let the people in small villages know they would get along. That was important.
Below is a myth about the Cherokees.
Cherokee Origin Story - Ye ho waah
Cherokee Picture-
By: Native.net
Sites-
http://nativeamericans.mrdonn.org/southeast/cherokee.html
Heres a video of a cherokee indian dancing. It was part of their culture to have neat dances like these.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWMYXZCmg50
http://nativeamericans.mrdonn.org/southeast/cherokee.html
Heres a video of a cherokee indian dancing. It was part of their culture to have neat dances like these.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWMYXZCmg50
