ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ

or

Tsalagihi AyeliCHEROKEE NATION

Native Americans who are original residents of the American

southeast region, particularly Georgia, North and South

Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

Here is a map showing the location of the original Cherokee

territory.

CHEROKEE PEOPLE

The Trail of Tears is a name given to the forced relocation

of Native American nations from southeastern parts of

the United States following the Indian Removal Act of 1830.

The removal included many members of the following tribes,

who did not wish to

assimilate: Cherokee, Muscogee, Seminole, Chickasaw,

and Choctaw nations, among others, from their homelands to

Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River.

They were sent to Oklahoma.

TRAIL OF TEARS

TRAIL OF TEARS

Many Native Americans suffered from exposure, disease and

starvation on the route to their destinations. Many died,

including 2,000-6,000 of 16,542 relocated Cherokee.

TRAIL OF TEARS

There are three federally recognized Cherokee tribes: the

Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, the United Keetoowah Band in

Oklahoma, and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North

Carolina.

Other Cherokee communities in Alabama, Georgia, and other

states are considered unofficial by the US government.

The Eastern Cherokee people live on a reservation . Indian

reservations are lands that belong to Native American tribes

and are under their control.

Each Cherokee tribe has its own government, laws, police, and

services, just l ike a small country. However, Cherokee Indians

are also US citizens and must obey American law.

THREE MAIN CHEROKEE TRIBES

CHEROKEE NATION

is the largest of three Cherokee federally recognized tribes in

the United States. It was established in the 20th century, and

includes people descended from members of the old Cherokee

Nation who relocated from the Southeast due to increasing

pressure to Indian Territory and Cherokee who were forced to

relocate on the Trail of Tears. The tribe also includes

descendants of Cherokee Freedmen and Natchez Nation.

Over 299,862 people are enrolled in the Cherokee Nation,

with 189,228 living within the state of Oklahoma.

Headquartered in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, the Cherokee Nation

has a tribal jurisdictional area spanning 14 counties in the

northeastern corner of Oklahoma.

CHEROKEE NATION

Wild potato clan

Wolf clan

Long hair clan

Eagle clan

Deer clan

Fish clan

Blue stone clan

The Cherokee cannot marry a person from the clans of their mother and father!

CLANS

women controlled property, such as their

dwellings, and their children were

considered born into their mother's clan,

where they gained hereditary status.

Advancement to leadership positions were

generally subject to approval by the women

elders.

In addition, the society was matrifocal;

customarily, a married couple lived with or

near the woman's family, so she could be

aided by her female relatives. Her oldest

brother was a more important mentor to

her boys than was their father, who

belonged to another clan.

MATRILINEAL CULTURE

The Cherokee speak a Southern Iroquoian language, which

is polysynthetic and is written in a syllabary invented

by Sequoyah (ᏍᏏᏉᏯ). It contains 86 characters. Around

20000 people speak this language.

LANGUAGE

Cherokee men wore breechcloths and leggings.

Cherokee women wore wraparound skirts and poncho-style blouses made out of woven fiber or deerskin.

The Cherokees wore moccasins on their feet. After colonization, Cherokee Indians adapted European costume into a characteristic style, including long braided or beaded jackets, cotton blouses and full skirts decorated with ribbon applique, feathered turbans, and the calico tear dress.

CLOTHES

The Cherokees didn't wear long headdresses like

the Sioux. Cherokee men usually shaved their heads

except for a single scalplock. Sometimes they would

also wear a porcupine roach.

Cherokee women always wore their hair long, cutting

it only in mourning for a family member. Men

decorated their faces and bodies with tribal tattoo

art and also painted themselves bright colors in

times of war. Unlike some tribes, Cherokee women

didn't paint themselves or wear tattoos, but they

often wore bead necklaces and copper armbands.

HAIR

Porcupine Roach Scalplock

The Cherokee Indians lived in

settled villages, usually located

near a river. Cherokee houses were

made of rivercane and mud, with

thatched roofs. These dwellings

were about as strong and warm as

log cabins.

The Cherokees also built larger

seven-sided buildings for

ceremonial purposes, and each

village usually had a ball field with

benches for spectators. Many

Cherokee villages had

palisades (reinforced walls) around

them for protection.

HOUSES

Hunting (esp.

deers)

pipe

carving,

River cane

baskets,

gourd art,

and

pottery.

OCCUPATIONS

The Cherokees were farming people. Cherokee women

harvested crops of corn, beans, squash, and sunflowers.

They also gathered berries, nuts and fruit to eat.

Cherokee men hunted deer, wild turkeys, and small game and

fished in the rivers. Cherokee foods included cornbread,

soups, and stews cooked on stone hearths.

FOOD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_CP3I9GNEc

CHEROKEE HERITAGE CENTER