Cherokee Culture And Beliefs

The Cherokee are another Native American tribe. While the Oneida originated in the Northeastern United States, the Cherokee are known to come from the Southeastern United States. They had villages in the areas of Appalachia, Georgia, the Carolinas, and Tennessee. The Cherokee were different than other Indian tribes of that same Appalachia region. The Cherokee were tall rather than short and stocky and their language was very similar to the language of the Iroquois tribes in New York.

To begin with, the Cherokee tribe was one of the three primary Native American tribes in South Carolina that called themselves “the real people.” Upward in the mountains, they lived in these villages called “longhouses.” For the girls, their daily lives consisted of doing work in the field, planting and hoeing corn, then harvesting it. On the other hand, the boy’s daily lives consisted of being taught to fish and hunt. Their food was examples of fruits, nuts, corn, pole beans, squash, pumpkins, bottle gourds, and tobacco. Next, the Catawba tribe was another one of the three primary Native American tribes in South Carolina that called themselves the “river people. They used Carolina clay to make their pottery which they were known for. The Catawba dwellers lived in villages that had an open rounding on the top. The Catawbas were primarily farmers because every day they planted crops by the river, fished and hunted. Therefore, the Yemassee tribe was the third primary tribe in South Carolina that was from Spanish Florida. Throughout the summer, they lived on a beach, staying in Wigwams concealed in palmetto leaves. However, during the fall, winter, and spring they stayed in wattle and daub homes with a roof of leaves like the Cherokee. Every day they would eat clams which were part of their diet and equip the land for crops. Women were obligated for child rearing, making clothes, and served food and the men congregated the rest of the food in fishing and hunting.

In this paper I will discuss the history of the Cherokee Indians in the United States. First by describing the tribes pre-Columbian history to include the settlement dates and known cultural details. Then a brief description of the cultural and religious beliefs of the tribe will be given, as well as the tribe’s history after contact with settlers. Finally discussing John Ross, who he was and how he affected the Cherokee Indians.

To begin with, the Cherokee name translates as “the real people” (Raley). This means they are indigenous people in

The American Indian History of the United States is always associated with the Cherokee Indian nation. The Cherokee's were by far the largest and most advanced of the tribes. This man was Hernando de Soto was the first European explorer to come into contact with the Cherokees, when he arrived in their territory in 1540. Then he went and came in contact with Native Americans Cherokee's since many of their ways and customs is my family that the Cherokees occupied a large expanse of territory in the Southeast. Their homeland included mountains and valleys in the southern part of the Appalachian Mountain chain. Their territory stretched from North Carolina to

The Cherokee are an indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands. Although they were not considered states at this time, they would have been in present day Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia. However, in 1938 the Cherokees found an abundant amount of gold which left the United States in a scramble. Thus, President Johnson signed the removal act, which forced the Cherokees East of the Mississippi into the Great Plains and then went into dig up gold. The Cherokees thrived in the Great Plains, becoming farmers and excellent hunters. They settled along the Arkansas River, becoming fisherman. Just as it happened in 1938 the Cherokees were eventually forced off their lands and into the Oregon Territory. This trail they walked along was called the trail of tears, many Cherokees died because of food deprivation or various diseases. Today, this Trail of Tears is seen as the worst displays of discrimination in the history of the United States. Thus, we gave the Cherokees Reservations to live on in the Western United States. This journey they faced is arguably the hardest journey any tribe has ever faced and the way the Cherokees overcame this and turned their tribe into what it is today is what makes it special.

The Iroquois had many interesting religious beliefs that were very important to their society and lifestyle. For example, according to Khaleel Mohammed, their religion was characterized by a monotheistic belief in an all-powerful creator known as the “Great Spirit.” (Mohammed, 24) They also believed in a brother of the Great Spirit, who was the evil minded brother whose specific purpose was to cause evil. (Mohammed, 25) Since they believe in spirits and things that are beyond our world, it would explain why the False Face Society fits into their belief system. The legend of the False Face is that a spirit medicine man, who had healing powers, encountered a stranger who he challenged to move a mountain. The stranger was unable too, but the medicine man did, but in doing so he hit the stranger with the mountain and disfigured

The Native American Indian tribe called the Iroquois contributed greatly toward America. They have many stories about the world, and how things came to be the way they are. They have one story about the creation of the world. They use oral traditional elements in this story which is represented by nature. They also use a romantic aspect, which is represented by God’s and the super natural.

     The Cherokee culture went through some drastic changes. Schools were set up to instruct the Indians. Men farmed instead of hunting. They established some of their own laws. In 1827, the Cherokees wrote a constitution that provided for a bicameral legislature, a chief executive, and a judicial system (Perdue 13). The Americans tried to make the Indians become Christians. They developed their own writing system. They even began to publish their own newspaper called the Cherokee Phoenix (Perdue 14). The Cherokees became more civilized than in the past. The Cherokees tried to become civilized to make their relationship with the Americans better.

The Cherokee nation is made up of five tribes that are involved in farming and have been cultivating in the fertile areas of United States. The trail of tears event is one event that will forever the change the lives of the Cherokee people. Although the white politicians and settlers perceive this trail of tears as a necessary step, this event will completely change the lives of the Cherokee people. The Cherokee people are peace loving hence they do not want to be drawn into conflicts with other people. This has been evident from the first time a Spanish man crossed came to the Cherokee territory and was replenished with foods and other supplies.

Like other nations of the world, the Cherokee people have their own beliefs on how the world was made. In their creation story, everything was covered in water and the animals lived in the sky. The animals grew restless of living in the sky and decided they needed something better. According to the story, a water bug also grew tired of his current living arrangements so he swam deep into the ocean and brought back up with him a peace of soft mud to the surface of the ocean. The mud was held at the surface of the water with seven cords and eventually became the world we know it today.

Bailyn notes, “No less for being invisible, these vital spirits inhered in the heavens, the earth, the seas, and everything within. They drove the stars in the sky and gave life to every bird, animal, and person that existed, and they were active within the earth’s material--rocks, hills, lakes, and rivers--and in the wind, the cold, the heat, and the seasons(Bailyn 1)”. When it came to their beliefs, they believed in nature and how if they were good to the Gods they would be rewarded with good harvests and successful huts to survive. Rituals like food preparation and dancing, dancing around the fire, asking nature for rain, were all actions giving veneration to the spirits of nature. They Believed that everyone was the same no one was better than anyone else, the chiefs of the tribes always tried to maintain order and made sure everyone was as happy and pleased as it was possible.

According to James Mooney, the author of Myths of the Cherokee, the Cherokee people believed, (and one can assume that some of them still possess this belief) that the earth was a great island that was just floating in a sea of water, and the earth was suspended at each of its four cardinal points by a cord that hung down from the “sky vault”, which the Cherokee perceived as a solid rock. They also believed that when the earth grows old and is dilapidated, everyone will die, the cords will break, and the world will return underneath the ocean. They were very afraid of this.

     This report will examine the interaction and effects of the European culture clashing with the Native American culture when these new people [Europeans] came to a land and decided to take what they thought was theirs. Discussed will be who these people were and are, their way of life, and how they lived then and now. This paper will explain the “religious bigotry, cultural bias, and materialistic view” (Perdue and Porter 7) the Europeans had that conflicted with the naturalistic and simple view these people called The Cherokee had.

Like other nations of the world, the Cherokee people have their own beliefs on how the world was made. In their creation story, everything was covered in water and the animals lived in the sky. The animals grew restless of living in the sky and decided they needed something better. According to the story, a water bug also grew tired of his current living arrangements so he swam deep into the ocean and brought back up with him a peace of soft mud to the surface of the ocean. The mud was held at the surface of the water with seven cords and eventually became the world we know it today.