The Cherokee Indians were one of the four civilized tribes in the United States during colonial times. The Cherokee people were interested in the white men and their ways, and even using some of the new men's ways. The Cherokee played an important role in Colonial American history with help from Sequoyah and learning the ways of white men. The Cherokee were originally located in the southeast United States. This area included: the western sides of the Carolinas, the northern parts of Georgia and Alabama, southwest Virginia, and the Cumberland Basin. Around 1781 the Cherokee population was around 25,000. They had just lost around half of their population due to smallpox and other diseases. The population remained stable at 25,000 until the late 1830's when the Cherokee were forced to move to Oklahoma(Sultzman). On their way to Oklahoma many of the Cherokee committed suicide or died of hunger causing the population to drop again(Brandon 227).
             The Cherokee lived in towns of 30 to 60 houses and a large council house(Sultzman). The houses in the towns were not very large, only being one, two, or three room homes. Most of the homes were one story high, but a two-story house was not uncommon.
             The houses were built by the men and took a long time to build. The men began in early spring to get the boards from trees. When summer came around the men stopped with the houses and turned to planting crops and welfare. As fall arrived the men began to actually put the houses together. Often men from other towns came to help. Since the houses were so small they did not have much room for furniture. The little furniture that they did have was stools, storage chests, and three-foot-high beds. The beds were located in the back and sides of the house. The beds had white-oak foundations and mattresses covered with bear, buffalo, mountain-lion, elk, and deerskins, dressed with the hair on. Just outside the front door of each house was a smal...