The Cherokee

"THE CHEROKEE"

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.

The Cherokee called themselves "Ani'-Yun'wiya" translated as "Principle People." (Perdue 13) Their native language was Iroquoian.

Cherokee's were a very naturalistic people. The reason they called themselves the "Principle People" cause they believed they were the ones who kept balance and harmony in nature, human and otherwise. "Cherokee religion centered on sustaining harmony." Because of the strong conviction in balance and harmony, "they tried not to exploit nature." They believed that if they abused nature in any way this would bring "disease and drought" and other misfortunes to the tribe. (Perdue 25) The reason they believed it was their duty to maintain balance is because they thought their "homeland was the center of the world." (Perdue 13)

Their home was made in the southern Appalachian Mountains of "western North and South Carolina, northern Georgia and Alabama, southwest Virginia and the Cumberland Basin of Tennessee, Kentucky, and northern Alabama." (Sultzman 1) There homes were usually located near rivers and communities were usually large. Every village had council houses where they went to "socialize, make political decisions, and conduct religious ceremonies." This Plaza was located in the center of the village and was mounted on an "earthen mound." Located around the Plaza was the private housing. These houses were large for the reason they held "several generations" this is why there homes also "consisted of several buildings." (Perdue 15)

During the summer months they "lived in large, rectangular, clapboard houses" and in the winter they "moved into their asi (winter houses), which were small, round, wattle-and-daub structures." (Perdue 15) This winter dwelling had no windows and had a "hearth" to keep warm by. (Perdue 17)

Their main source of food in the summer was vegetables from their crops. Women tended the crop's majority of the time. Men helped some in the fields by "clearing fields, planting, and harvesting" but the work was mainly one of the many chores that women had. "Their favorite food was corn"(Perdue 16) but the majority of their crops depended on the "three sister's (corn, beans, and squash) and also "supplemented by hunting and the gathering of wild plants." (Sultzman 2) Interestingly they planted their beans with their corn and let the vines from the beans travel up the stalks of corn. The beans which "produce nitrogen" which was a fertilizer for the corn plus the usage of the fertile ground near the rivers. Also grown were sunflowers, pumpkins, and other types of vegetables. (Sultzman 2) The winter months were the men's turn to gather food for the families. This was the time for hunting game such as turkey and deer. They also depended on fish from the rivers as a staple in their diets. They consumed bread from the cornmeal they made from the corn, which had beans and chestnuts in the dough as ingredients.

In the year of 1540 is when things for the "Principal People" began to change. During this time "Hernando de Soto, a Spanish conquistador, passed through Cherokee territory on his exploration" for gold and silver mines. (Perdue 27) There has been known encounters with Native Americans from the time of 1492 through the ages, but they were pretty sporadic in their encounters. It was not until Europeans decided that the America's land was rich with many economic ventures that changed the lives of the Cherokee.

This change to start with was disease. Native