The Cherokees: A Proud People

The Cherokee Indians are of the Iroquoian linguistic family. Their economy, like that of most of the other southeastern tribes, was based on intensive agriculture, mainly of corn, beans, and squash while the typical hunted animals were deer, bear, and wild turkey. Corn was so important to them they had a ceremony when the corn began to get ripe in hopes that the corn would continue to grow well. The tribe itself was divided into seven matrilineal clans that were dispersed in war and peace moieties (also known as half-tribes). The people lived in numerous permanent villages, some which belonged to the war moiety, some part of the peace moiety. The Cherokee lived in towns of 30 to 60 houses and a large council house. The houses in the towns, however, were not very large, being only one, two, or three room homes. Most of the residences were one story high as well, but a two-story house was not uncommon (Perdue).

The most used weapon for the Cherokees was the bow and arrow with the stone ax and club coming in second place. Male tribal members who did not hold special rank wore belted skin robes made from the hides of bear, deer, otter, beaver, and mountain lion. In the winter months, these men also w

. . .

View the whole essay, without interruption

The Cherokee Indians of Georgia, in order to protect themselves from removal, created a constitution stating the Cherokee Indians were sovereign and not subject to Georgia laws. Their actions were repudiated by more than ninety percent of the tribe, and therefore several members of the group were later assassinated (Leary).

The Cherokee Nation has also started handing out awards to citizens to gain tribal friendships. It recently established the Ga Du Gi Award to honor entities who put their fellow Cherokee people first by preserving, protecting, and promoting the well being and legacy of the Cherokee People. They were also less expensive, especially when dealing with taxes.

In conclusion, the Tahlequah Agency in Oklahoma has said there were 42,992 Cherokee living in Tahlequah in 1982. Also, most items in a Cherokee town were based on colors, where each color stood for an idea. But all this progress was stopped in the late 1800's when Congress voted to abolish the Cherokee Nation to open yet more land for settlement by whites. Most importantly, this group is not a federally recognized tribe, but instead one of more than 200 groups across the United States that claim to be Cherokee. The Cherokee people are a proud people with roots in American history, which go all the way back to where America had a history. The women wore short, sleeveless deerskin dresses, which were sewn together with fishbone needles.

To purchase tags, all Cherokee Nation tribal members have to do is bring their tribal membership cards (known as the blue card) and proof of residence of living within the Cherokee Nation’s 14-county jurisdictional area to be eligible (as well as the normal documents required for registering an automobile). The Jackson administration’s decision to remove the Cherokee Indians to lands west of the Mississippi River in the 1830's was more to reformulate the national policy than to change that policy that had been in effect since the 1790's. ON the very first day the tags became public, The line began forming at 7 a. Despite losing many of its people to the Trail of Tears and to sickness and abuse, their people have survived and prospered with their capital in Tahlequah.

Approximate Word count = 1711
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Simply subscribe to view this paper, and 100,000 others.