Blog # 3

Pick an Indigenous group and write about their lifestyles, using primary sources (pictures, text, or videos).

THE CHEROKEE

            The United Sates has become a melting pot of different ethnicities, and has become home to a variety of cultures and customs; but, how often do we become aware of the history behind the peoples of each unique culture? The Cherokee are only but one group of Native Americans whose numbers have dwindled since the era of colonization. The Cherokee refer to themselves as Tsalagi which means “principal people”; the Cherokee are linguistically part of the Iroquoian language system. They had contact with the European traders during the 1700’s. Cherokee society was divided into two different classes; the “white” class led by the elders of the tribe and the “red” class lead by the younger men of the tribe, which was eradicated in the 18^th century. These elders represented seven different clans within the Cherokee Nation, the role as a white man was priestly and hereditary. The white class, consisting of elders, were basically medicine men who held religious activities; such as, healing, purification and prayer. IN contrast the “red” organization’s primary duty was war and was composed of young men within the tribe. However, war was considered polluted; meaning that members of the “red” organization had to be purified by the “white” organization in order to reintegrate into their communities. The Cherokee, like a copious amount of Indian tribes, were governed in a matrilineal system; where power and authority is passed down through the female side of the family. Most elite men, before the 1800’s, practiced polygamy; a marriage with more than 1 partner. Unlike European society women were allowed to divorce freely and once married, women lived around their families homes. During the 1800’s white settlers referred to the Cherokees as “one of the five civilized Nations”, due to the fact that the Cherokee assimilated into cultural and technological aspects of European society. Article 8 in the 1817 Treaty with Cherokees stated that Cherokees could become legal citizens, marking themselves as the first non-white European group to become legal citizens. Similarly to other groups including the Muscogee, Seminoles, Chickasaw and the Choctaw, were pushed out of their ancestral lands with the passing of the Indian Removal Act. This law caused the forced move of these five tribes during the 1830’s which became known as the Trail of Tears; suffering from disease and starvation.

Trail of Tear Map