C H E R O K E E N A T I V E A M E R I C A N S

Madi

Treshawn Kayden

Food

The Cherokee ate squash and beans and cornbread.

They hunted rabbit, turkey, and bears. They also ate stew.

There were lots of nuts and fruits available on the trees and bushes near their shelters.

Customs and Traditions

• Cherokee is the largest tribe in the United States.• The Cherokee would be part of a larger Cherokee Clan such as the

Wolf Clan or the Bird Clan. • The women were responsible for the house, farming and the family.• The men were responsible for hunting and war.

Cherokee Location

The Cherokee tribe is located on the land we now call North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee.

Cherokee Shelter - Daub

The Cherokee lived in homes called Daub. These homes were framed with tree logs and then covered with mud and grass to fill in the walls. The roofs were made of bark.

Trail of Tears was the Cherokee name for what the Americans called Indian Removal. During the 1800's,

the US government created an "Indian Territory" in Oklahoma and sent all the eastern Native American tribes

to live there. Some tribes willingly agreed to this plan. Other tribes didn't want to go, and the American army forced them. The Cherokee tribe was one of the largest

eastern tribes, and they didn't want to leave their homeland. The Cherokees were peaceful allies of the

Americans, so they asked the Supreme Court for help. The judges decided the Cherokee Indians could stay in their

homes. But the President, Andrew Jackson, sent the army to march the Cherokees to Oklahoma anyway. They

weren't prepared for the journey, and it was winter time. Thousands of Cherokee Indians died on the Trail of

Tears. Many Native Americans from other tribes died too. It was a terrible time in history.

Trail of Tears