The Cherokee

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“THE CHEROKEE”

This report will examine the interaction and effects of the European culture clashing with the Native American culture when these new people [Europeans] came to a land and decided to take what they thought was theirs. Discussed will be who these people were and are, their way of life, and how they lived then and now. This paper will explain the “religious bigotry, cultural bias, and materialistic view” (Perdue and Porter 7) the Europeans had that conflicted with the naturalistic and simple view these people called The Cherokee had.
The Cherokee called themselves “Ani’-Yun’wiya” translated as “Principle People.” (Perdue 13) Their native language was Iroquoian.
Cherokee’s were a very naturalistic people. The reason they called themselves the “Principle People” cause they believed they were the ones who kept balance and harmony in nature, human and otherwise. “Cherokee religion centered on sustaining harmony.” Because of the strong conviction in balance and harmony, “they tried not to exploit nature.” They believed that if they abused nature in any way this would bring “disease and drought” and other misfortunes to the tribe. (Perdue 25) The reason they believed it was their duty to maintain balance is because they thought their “homeland was the center of the world.” (Perdue 13)
Their home was made in the southern Appalachian Mountains of “western North and South Carolina, northern Georgia and Alabama, southwest Virginia and the Cumberland Basin of Tennessee, Kentucky, and northern Alabama.” (Sultzman 1) There homes were usually located near rivers and communities were usually large. Every village had council houses where they went to “socialize, make political decisions, and conduct religious ceremonies.” This Plaza was located in the center of the village and was mounted on an “earthen mound.” Located around the Plaza was the private housing. These houses were large for the reason they held “several generations” this is why there homes also “consisted of several buildings.” (Perdue 15)
During the summer months they “lived in large, rectangular, clapboard houses” and in the winter they “moved into their asi (winter houses), which were small, round, wattle-and-daub structures.” (Perdue 15) This winter dwelling had no windows and had a “hearth” to keep w...

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...erokee because of the “covetous” of the land by Europeans led to many things most of all their “removal” from the land so Europeans could occupy it and build colonies. The cruel treatment of the Indians during this time was sanctified because the Cherokee were not “Christians.” (Perdue 33) In “May 1838” (Sultzman 10) Soldiers forcibly started removing the Native Americans from their land towards Oklahoma, which the trail received the name the Trail of Tears.
Many are now on reservations and still try to incorporate the old ways with the ways acquired through the centuries. They have had a long progression through life and a cruel one at that, but they have kept their spirit and respect for mother earth and endured many conflicts such as disease, removal, torture, slavery, and being misunderstood because of our prejudices.

Work Cited
Perdue, Theda. Indians of North America The Cherokee. Ed. Frank W. Porter III. New
York. Chelsea House, 1989.

Sultzman, Lee. “Cherokee History.” 28 February 1996. 19 September 2002.
http://www.tolatsga.org/Cherokee1.html

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