Cherokee Indians were in the southeast part of our country before the explorers arrived. They were one of the largest Native American tribes in the area at that time. It was an area that went from the Chattahootche River in North Georgia to Kentucky and from the western side of North Carolina to the Mississippi River. The Cherokee spoke an Iroquoian language. They traded and talked to other Indian tribes around them. The Mound people were the ancestors of the Cherokee tribes.
The Cherokee had different friends and neighbors over the years. The Creek Indians were neighbors to the south. When the colonists and settlers started coming, these two tribes fought each other over the control of trade. During the French and Indian War, the Cherokee fought on the same side as the British. But the British did not treat the Cherokee well. Then, the Cherokee started attacking British settlements. The British fought back and destroyed many Cherokee towns.
When the explorers and colonists came, disease became a big problem. Many Indians died. Augusta and Charlston were main places where they did trade. Some traders also stayed in Cherokee villages. This was one way that diseases were spread from the old world. Many Cherokees died because their bodies could not fight off the diseases. In 1759, smallpox broke out and many more Cherokee died.
When the Revolutionary War started, many Cherokee tried to stay out of the war. Many Cherokee joined the British against the colonists. Cherokee raiding parties attacked some frontier settlements. Southern militia then attacked Cherokee towns. For 10 years after the war was over, some of the younger Cherokee kept fighting the United States.
The colonists made and signed treaties with the Cherokee. Then new settlers moved in. One of the treaties opened a federal road. Roads made it easier for settlers to move west. More and more settlers kept arriving. New settlers then began hunting in the spaces where the Cherokees hunted. The valuable deerskins that the Cherokee used in trading became harder to get. It became harder and harder to protect their way of life.
In 1827, the Cherokee wrote and began using their own constitution. It was patterned after the U.S. Constitution. They set up a council, a police force, and organized their own government. Their capital was in New Echota, Georgia (North west).
New ways of doing things were beginning to take place for the Cherokee. They began farming and herding. They even started plantations and had slaves. The Cherokee adopted the ways of life of the white Americans.
A written language of the Cherokee was created by Sequoyah, a member of their tribe.
The population of Georgia grew with new settlers, and the state took over more and more land. Then, the Cherokee were pushed back. The state divided up sections of land. They had a lottery to decide who would get the land. In 1829, there was a gold rush in Dahlonega, on Cherokee land. Many gold miners moved in. The Cherokee did not like it.
The next year, Congress (in Washington) passed the Indian Removal Act. This law let the President make agreements with the Indians. The president was Andrew Jackson. He wanted to let more settlers move west and have the Indians moved out and further west.
Some Cherokee leaders wanted to move away. They secretly signed a treaty with the President. The rest of the Cherokee government did not agree and tried to stay, but it was too late. Thousands of the Cherokee people loaded up 645 wagons as winter was coming on. The were forced to move to the Oklahoma Territory. More than 4,000 died on that trip. This was called the Trail of Tears. It happened in the winter of 1838-39.
What were Cherokee homes like before 1830?
The Cherokee usually lived in villages near a river or creek. Their homes were made of the river canes, reeds, and mud. Roofs were covered with bark and grasses. They made their houses out of the things that were in the environment. In the winter their houses were made of saplings (small, young trees). They wove flexible branches back and forth between the saplings. Then they would cover the branches with mud. In the summer, they used houses without walls. They did not need walls in the hot weather. They lived by water because they needed it for drinking, cooking, and cleaning. If they lived on a river, they could travel by water. As time went on, the Cherokee made homes like the settlers.
What did the Cherokee eat?
They hunted for wild game that was available. Deer, rabbit, turkeys, and other wild animals were what they could get. They would also fish and gather berries and nuts. Farming was another way they would get their food. The three main things they grew were corn, beans, and squash.
What kinds of clothes did they wear?
The Cherokee did not wear feather headdresses. Sometimes the men would wear one or two feathers on their head.
They wore cotton trade shirts, loin clothes, leggings, and moccasins (early 18th century). They also wore beaded belts and a blanket over one shoulder. The women wore mantles of leather or feathers, skirts of leather or woven mulberry bark, and moccasins. As time went on, the Cherokee dressed more and more like the settlers.
What did they make?
The Cherokee wove baskets, made pottery, and carved things. They also did finger weaving and beadwork.
Text Credits:
www.cherokeemuseum.org;
https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/cherokee-indians;
The Cherokee Nation: The Story of New Echota a video by the Department of Natural Resources;
-Constitution was written after the pattern of the U.S. Constitution
-Sequoia wrote their language out
-Dahlonega Gold Rush takes place on Cherokee land
-Trail of Tears
ATOS- 5.1
Flesch-Kincaid Level- 4.73
SMOG Index- 6.94