The Cherokee Indians

By Hutch Lyman

geographic location

The cherokee lived in the blue ridge mountain region and the hilly western piedmont.

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• they built towns along the rivers, made up of villages that were connected to each other, and they made large dugout canoes to travel to other cherokee towns for trading.

dugout canoe

they also used a trail that ran from the mountains to the atlantic ocean for trading purposes.

culture

the cherokee were hunters, gatherers, fishermen, and farmers.

the men fished and hunted for bear, deer, and other wild animals to eat.

the women and children helped grow beans, corn, squash, sunflower, melons, and other crops.

boys and men wore simple loin cloths made of deer skin in summer, with robes added for winter. they did not wear big feathered headdresses.

girls and women wore dresses made of deer skin. they put bear grease in their hair and decorated it with red or yellow dust.

During the summer, they lived in rectangular longhouses made of wooden pole frames and tree bark.

in winter, they lived in smaller round houses made of wattle and daub (wood and clay). these were kept warm with small fires.

the cherokee celebrated several seasonal festivals. one was the green corn ceremony, held at the end of summer to celebrate the harvest season for corn.

governance

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• each village was run by councils, made up of elected leaders who made decisions for all the people who lived in that village.

villages contained a large council house that could fit 400-500 villagers.

they were also made up of about 30-60 homes and had a town square near the center.

they were proud of their written language and constitution. they considered themselves "The real people."

every village had two chiefs: the white chief, who ruled during times of peace, and the red chief, who ruled during times of war.

only men could be priests and chiefs, but women were important on village councils and helped make decisions about war.

my great-great grandmother, grace

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• she was cherokee and lived with her tribe as a young child. she lived to be almost 100 and loved to tell stories. Once, the cherokee chief scared her because she did not hear him ride up on his horse while she was playing with her dolls!

the End