Rsearch Paper Of Cherokee Indain

Barbara Huston

History 17A

Mrs. Sanchez

September 05, 2005

Way The Cherokee have live through good time and some bad time

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 Virginia to Tennessee, South Carolina, Alabama and Okalahoma..

The name the Cherokee's had for them was Ani-yun-wiya which has means, real people.

Villages were along rivers and streams so they have better advantage of the rich black soil for farming as if the corn was their was the sources.

In Hunting and fishing they use this weapon for different ways like spears, traps, and fishing lines with hooks to catch many different kinds of fish. They also used an interesting method of poisoning an area of water to kill the fish and gather them up as they floated to the surface.

The Cherokees were also skilled hunters. They hunted large animals, such as deer and bear, with bows and arrows. They covered themselves in entire deerskins, antlers and all, and used deer calls to lure the animals to them.

The products of their hunts were not only used for food, but for clothing as well. They dressed in buckskin shirts and skirts, made moccasins, capes and other items using their animal resources.

Cherokee families usually had two houses- a large summer home and a smaller winter home.

The Cherokees practiced a variety of crafts, including basketwork and stamped pottery,

carved, out from woods.

These masks were used during their many hunting, agricultural and healing rituals. They held these ceremonies

Festivals of the Cherokees.

The Indians believed the earth was created at that season, and their year began at that time.

The six main festivals held by the Chief each year were the first New Moon of spring, then when the new Green Corn Festival, when the leaves began to turn yellow and fall. It was held in honor of the Great New Moon (Nuwtiegwa), friendship and brotherhood and "Bouncing Bush" Festival. Messengers were sent through the nation to notify the people of the Festivals. Although there was some variation in the number of days of a Festival, they were always completed within seven days of the dances and the eating Prayers were said that God might bless the corn and meat during the year and make the people healthful. The preliminary Green Corn Feast was held in August and the main Corn Feast was held in the middle or latter part of September, when the corn was ripe.

It was believed that at this festival each person might look into a crystal to see if he would live through the next year. If they could see themselves erect as they looked into the stone, it was believed they would live, but if they appeared to be lying down, they would die before the first spring moon. Those who were to die fasted all day and then had the priest consult the crystal again. If on the second trial he appeared standing erect, he was ordered to the river and bathed several times and he would be safe.

Beliefs of the Cherokees

. The White Chief or Most Beloved Man helped the villagers make decisions concerning farming, lawmaking, and disputes between individuals, families, or clans. He also played a large role in religious ceremonies. The Red Chief gave advice concerning warfare. One such decision was choosing who would be the War Woman, an honored woman is chosen to accompany braves on their war parties. The War Woman did not fight, but helped feed the men, offered them council, and decided which prisoners would live or

die.

1738 - Smallpox eradicates 25% of the Cherokee Nation,one of the tribe member getting the chicken pox then it spread out to whole tribe.

1753 - Smallpox epidemic

1820's During his tenure as chief he opposed displacement of the tribe from its native lands, a policy of the United States government known as Indian Removal. However, Ross's political rival Major Ridge signed an unauthorized removal treaty with the U.S. in 1836. Ross unsuccessfully lobbied against enforcement of the treaty, but those Cherokees who did not emigrate to the "Indian Territory" by 1838 were forced to do so by General Winfield Scott, an episode that came to be known as the Trail of Tears.. Accepting defeat, Ross convinced General Scott to have supervision of much of the removal process turned over to Ross. n the Indian Territory, Ross helped draft a constitution for the entire Cherokee nation and in 1839 I was chosen as chief of the nation. He would remain chief until his death.

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"In 1770 Thomas Jefferson's income as a lawyer is figured to have been three thousand dollars, and his income as a planter using his 5,000-acre estate about two thousand. These figures up to establish a comparison of monetary value between today and 1770: was in a ratio of thirty to one. "(1)

In fact, a Cherokee chief named Junaluska personally saved the life of President Andrew Jackson. In 1820, they established a republican form of government and founded the Cherokee Nation under a constitution, with an elected principal chief, a senate and a house of representatives.

http://www.main.nc.us/graham/junaluska.html

A man was name Sequoyah who developed a way of writing in their own language so the Cherokee, that could keep record and documents to prove their government. But his only person in history to single handedly invent an