Food
The Cherokee tribe had of lots things to eat. For meat and poultry they hunted bear, wild turkey, fish, deer, and small quality also harvested corn, beans and squash(known as the ''Three Sisters'') . As well as sunflowers qualities picked berries, found nuts and fruit. Some dishes they had were cornbread, soups/stews, bean bread, fry bread, grape dumplings, fried hominy, bread pudding, corn pones, Kanuchi, wild onions and eggs, old field apricot drink, leather breeches, a walnut mix and potato soup.
Theses are some beans they would have grown.
This is a picture of a heard of deer that the men would hunt.
The Cherokee believed in many things . The Beloved Woman/Ghigua was one of those beliefs. The Ghigua were chosen by their clan they lived with yearly. They were chosen because of their bravery in battle and/or their outstanding qualities. They headed the Council of Women and they had a voting seat in the Council of Chiefs. This was the highest honor they could receive. The Naming Ceremony was another one of those beliefs. A day or two after a birth in a community a priest will swing the infant four times over a fire and said a prayer for the infant. Then they named the infant . They named the infant by what he/her had done at birth.
Climate
They had a mix of weather in the southeast. In January it was cloudy and cool but mild and all their snow fell/falls well north and far inland. They can also get a lot of rain from Nor'easter. In July the weather is/was hot and humid . In July they also got lots and lots of rain but it is still sunny sometimes.
Entertainment
They had lots of games and arts but the Native Americans did not call it art, they just did it. They played lacrosse for fun. They also played A-ne-jo-di which is stick ball. They also played Di-ga-da-yo-s-di which means marbles. They would carve pipes not just for ceremonies but for everyday uses too. Beautiful bead work and river cane flutes. They also excelled in story telling.
Culture
The Cherokee had lots of culture. For arts and crafts they made bead work, weaving, masks, pottery, and star quilts. When someone died they would bury the people in the earth thinking that the people would return to the earth and feed the plants. They wore breech cloth only for warm weather and in cold weather they would wear fringed coats and leggings.
This is an example of some bead work that the Cherokee would have made.
Interesting Facts
Here I will tell you some interesting facts.An interesting fact is that the Cherokee tribe was one of the tribes to be forced on the Trail of Tears. Another interesting fact is that they were related to the Iroquois tribe. They also lived in chickees but they had council houses/round houses for ceremonies and council meetings. They also made gourd art.
I hope you enjoyed learning about the Cherokee tribe.
Sources :
garrynights photo stream
Maia C's photo stream
Vilseskogen's photo stream
All from Flickr.com
Sources for info:
The Encyclopedia of Native Americans (a book)
www.mce.k12.net/indians/
www.biggorin.org/cherokee_kids
www.nativelanguages.org/kids.htm
This is a Totem pole that my group made . We named it Red Leaf.
