Agriculture: The Cherokee were farmers, hunters and gatherers. They grew corn, squash and beans, along with pumpkin, melons, sunflowers, tobacco, and other crops. Corn was the most important food. The women made sure they planted enough crops to provide food for two years.

Hunting & Fishing: The Cherokee were wonderful hunters. Legend says ... They could hit a fly from 30 feet away. They did not hunt for sport. The men only hunted what they needed to feed their families. Every part of the animal was used. The most important animal for their needs was the deer. They hunted turtles for food, and used turtle shells for rattles.

Tools: They made blowguns, bows and arrows, animal traps, nets to catch fish, and spears.

 

Clothing: Women wore deerskin tops, skirts, and moccasins. Men wore deerskin loin clothes in the summer, and added leggings, shirts, and robes in the winter, all made of deerskin.

Tattoos and Body Paint: Men commonly decorated their bodies and faces with tattoos or paint.

Jewelry/Beads: They made jewelry of shells and silver. Women made painted clay beads.

 

Red Chief, White Chief: The Cherokee lived in villages. Each village had two chiefs - a "white" chief who led in times of peace, and a "red" chief who led in times of war. Unless the Cherokee were at war, the war chief had nothing to do except drill and keep himself and his warriors fit. This was very smart. The Cherokee could response instantly to a war threat with able leadership.

Village Council: Peace chiefs did not rule alone. They had able council. In peacetime, his right-hand and his speaker, along with six other men, helped the chief. These 9 men made up the Village Council. The Council made important decisions for the village.

Village Council House: The council met in the Council House. The council house was the most important building in each village. It was large enough to hold all the villagers, including the children. When the council had an announcement to make, everyone in the village could hear them.

Role of Women in Cherokee Village Government: Women have always been part of Cherokee government. Only men were priests and chiefs, but women could offer advice, and later on, participated as council members when chosen, just like the men.

Cherokee Nation Council: The Cherokee Nation was ruled in the same way. It had a chief and a council who made decisions for the Cherokee Nation.

 

Village Life: The Cherokee lived in villages. Each village was home to about 400-500 people. In each village, there were 30-60 homes, a plaza, a town square, and a council house large enough to hold all the villagers during a village meeting.  A wall of tall poles tied together surrounded each village. There was a summer village and a winter village.

Homes:  Each family had two homes. These homes were located in the two different villages, the summer village and the winter village.

Winter Round Homes: Round homes were made of wood, and covered with mud for additional protection against the cold. Homes had bark roofs. The homes were decorated with colorful rugs, baskets, and wall hangings. Each home had a fire burning in the center. Homes had smoke holes at the top to let out the smoke.

Summer Rectangle Homes: Summer homes were bigger. They were made in the shape of huge rectangles. Cone shaped roofs were made of bark, covered with long grass. The house was made with long sticks. These homes were cool and airy, and let in light.  

Roles of Men and Women: In the Cherokee culture, men and women were considered equals.

Cherokee Men: Men cut down trees to clear land for planting. They used the wood to build canoes, homes, and the pole fences around the villages. They hunted and fished. They made traps, nets, and other tools. They fixed moccasins. Sometimes a man would move in with his wife's family, and sometimes he might build a home for his wife.

Cherokee Women: The role of Cherokee women in the past was very different than the role of other American women. In the Cherokee Nation, women were warriors. Women ruled the home. Although the men built the homes, the women owned them. Women had power over their families, participated in government, and fought as warriors. Very few women had these rights in Colonial America.

They also did the same jobs as did other Indian women. They were very proud of their colorfully designed baskets. Baskets were used to gather nuts in the fall, and store goods. The women were the farmers. They planted seed and harvested crops. They stored food. Young girls pounded corn into flour. Women used the skins of animals to make clothing and other goods. They also raised the children.

7 Clans: The Cherokee Nation was divided into seven clans. A clan is a family of related people. The seven clans are: Long Hair, Paint, Bird, Wolf, Wild Potato, Deer, and Blue. When a child was born, he or she became a member of the mother's clan.

Villages were a mix of clans. This was good because Cherokee law clearly stated that you could not marry someone from your own clan. There were many ways to meet people. Villages helped each other. They got together for local festivals. Relatives visited. Often, there was a different mix of people in the summer villages than in the winter villages. Plus, all the clans got together for annual festivals. There were many chances to meet people from other clans.

Marriage

The rules were clear. You could not marry someone from your own clan. But once you found someone from another clan that you wanted to marry, there were other rules you had to follow.

First, you had to ask a family member if this was a good decision. You had to get a positive answer. You might have to hunt through several family members before you found someone who agreed with you that yes, this would be a good decision. If you could not find someone to agree with you, then you could not marry that person.

Second, you had to ask the chief of the woman's village to determine if your marriage would be a good one. The chief would put two roots in his hand, and say a prayer. If the two roots moved at the same time, it meant good luck, and yes, you could marry. If only one root moved, it meant bad luck, and no, you could not marry.

These steps ensured the people in small villages would get along. That was important.

 

The Cherokee were and are still famous for their art. In olden days, their talent was used in making clay pots, carved pipes, canoes, masks, rattles, clothing, baskets, and beads.

Canoes: Canoes were carved from wood. The men first cut a log. They hollowed out the log by using burning coals from the fire. They scraped the insides with sharp stones. Canoes were decorated with designs made with burnt sticks and sharp stones.

Clay Pots: The Cherokee dug clay. They used the clay to make handmade pots. While the clay was still wet, they decorated the pots with designs made with sticks and stones. Then pots were baked in the fire to give them strength. They used clay pots as cooking utensils, liquid holders, and planters. Planters were placed near their homes and filled with flowers, spices, and food items. No tribe used a potter's wheel. Everything was shaped by hand.

Carved Pipes: The Cherokee carved pipes from clay, wood, and soapstone. Pipes used in religion ceremonies and peace ceremonies were carefully decorated. They also made pipes for everyday use. They smoked tobacco in their pipes.

Masks & Rattles: In olden days, only the men made masks. Cherokee men carved ferocious masks from wood. They painted them. Sometimes they added fur decorations. Warriors used these scary masks to make fun of their enemies. Before a battle, the warriors would dance around wearing scary masks, and laugh and laugh. This type of mask was called a Booger Mask.

They made rattles to scare away evil spirits, and at the same time, to invite the attention of good spirits. Rattles were made with turtle shells filled with corn kernels. Some rattles were made from gourds and squashes.

Double Wall Baskets: In olden days, only the women made baskets. Baskets had fancy designs, and were made in a special way, with double weaving, using river cane, so that they were very sturdy. Designs were handed down from mother to daughter. Some baskets were painted as well as dyed. The Cherokee created paints from berry juice, nuts, and roots. Although their baskets added color and gaiety to the appearance of their homes, they were also useful. Baskets were used for just about everything - to gather the crops, to store food, to store belongings, to haul.

River Cane Items: The Cherokee used river cane for weaving split dyed gathering baskets, but they also used river cane for making blow guns, shields, masks, and painted flutes. They were and still are famous for the many beautiful and useful items they made with river cane.

 

Preparation for Battle: The Cherokee have many traditions. In olden times, they did not eat before a battle. In preparation for battle, they took a long bath. They drank special tea. And they danced at the Booger Ceremony.

Booger Ceremony: The Booger Ceremony was held on the day before a battle. All the warriors wore the booger masks they had carved. They danced around and made fun of each other. The masks represented their enemy. If you are familiar with the stories of Harry Potter, this is similar to what you do with a Bogart - if you laugh at him, his power is gone.

Battle Techniques: They fought with other tribes, but they also fought amongst themselves.

War Parties: They did not have armies. Instead, they had bands of war parties that each had 5-100 warriors.

Weapons: They used hand-to-hand combat as well as arrows.

Hit and Run: Their technique was to hit and run. Once they hit, the band scattered in several directions. You could only chase after a couple of the groups, and the rest could be following, ready to catch you in a trap. Cherokee enemies soon learned not to follow the scattered band. Later, the band would regroup and return. Just because they scattered did not mean you had won.

Traps: The Cherokee were brilliant at setting up traps to lead their enemy into places where they could be killed without endangering Cherokee warriors. One such trap was to send in slaves and captives dressed like Cherokee warriors. An enemy army would think they had a Cherokee band surrounded, when actually, they were the ones being surrounded as they moved in on the fake Cherokee band.

 The Darkening Land: The Cherokee did not like to lose a single warrior. They believed anyone who killed a Cherokee was a murderer. The Cherokee believed that after a person died, his or her spirit could not rest until their murderer was captured and killed. The Darkening Land was the place Cherokee spirits went to rest. The Cherokee believed that torturing captives helped to send the spirits of dead Cherokee warriors to the Darkening Land. Captives did not have an easy time. Lucky captives were sold into slavery. Others were first tortured and then burned at the stake.

 

The Deer God: The Cherokee worshipped the Deer God. They told him, "We only kill what is needed to feed our families, and we are sorry." This was important to do. They did not want the Deer God to be angry with them, or the Deer God might make all the deer disappear. Just as the buffalo was important to the Plains Indians, the deer was important to the Cherokee.

Animal Spirits: The Cherokee believed in many animal spirits. They wore animal skins as clothing so the skills of those animals would be shared with them. They believed everything in nature had a spirit. They prayed to the spirits for good health.

Medicine Men: The Cherokee medicine men were very skilled. They knew how to use bark to cure many diseases that the white man's doctors could not cure. They knew how to use roots to make medicine. Some actually studied with white doctors. The more they knew, the better they could cure their own people.

Festivals: They held many festivals. Some, like the Green Corn Festival, was held annually. The Cherokee thanked their gods for their good fortune, and prayed to their gods for continued good luck.