Native American Culture and the Cherokee Tribes of North America

North America as it stands today is a large and very diversified continent made up of many peoples and cultures. These cultures, while dominant, are not native to this area of the world. The peoples we refer to as Native American are actually descendants of Siberian tribes that dwelled upon the northeastern continent we know as Asia. They reached the North American continent via the great land bridge that stretched between Siberia and Alaska some eleven to twenty eight thousand years ago (Hudson 36). While that is a long period of time to travel from one continent to the next it is believed that several tips, at different periods of time, were made to North America (Rozell). These early Native Americans were thought to have followed their food source across the land bridge, which may have consisted of horses, wooly mammoths, or any other large prey they could find (Hudson 41). After arriving in what is present day Alaska some of these tribes migrated south in search of food and means to sustain them. These tribes would eventually spread across all of north and South America inhabiting a variety of different environments and landscapes.

One of the more dominant tribes that established itself in the northeastern part of what is now the U.S. is the Iroquois. The Iroquois were one of the early nations to settle in that region of North America making way for other tribes to progress down the eastern shore. The Iroquois settled around 1100 A.D. making long houses and beginning the rudimentary aspects of farming (Sultzman). Having become a sedentary people the Iroquois prospered and developed proficient hunting skills as well as a taught social structure that influenced other tribes throughout the north and southeast region (Sultzman).

Some of this social structure the Iroquois had was due to their long-standing oral tradition. The Iroquois passed on their lessons of how the world was created and where they came through stories that were passed on from generation to generation. These stories have a great impact on how the Iroquois and many other Native Americans view nature and the world around them. One such of these stories is the "The Iroquois Creation Story" (Norton 54). This story attempts to explain the natural occurrence of the world coming into being. In the very beginning of the story there is a single woman who is pregnant with twins (Norton 54). This woman accompanied by all the animals of creation join together in a semblance of unity to seek out and discover the predicament they find themselves in (Norton 55). This initial situation of teamwork and relation shows the Iroquois' close relationship to nature and it's inhabitants. The animals all working together achieve a balance for the woman, much akin to the balance we receive from the resources that animals provide us today. Next, comes the entrance of the twins, good and evil, or morale and immoral would be more appropriate to the Iroquois (Norton 55). The twins are another example of the balance the Iroquois believed was essential to prosperous life. These twins are complete opposites from each other (Norton 55). The first twin is an example of hasty, rash, or unthinking decisions. The first twin bursts from his mother's womb killing her through great pain. The consequences of his action mean little to he and his impatience. This is a lesson to the people of the Iroquois that balance cannot be attained through rash decisions and that nothing good comes from acting without thinking. After the twins grow to adulthood through the support of the animals they begin to make changes upon the world that was made for them. The "good-minded" twin began creating the moon, sun, and earth from the body of his fallen mother (Norton 56). This again shows the close kinship between the Iroquois people and nature. Then the "good-minded" twin creates the rest of the world in anticipation of a people to inhabit it (Norton 56). Once the real people are created the ill-tempered twin creates negative aspects within the earth such as mountains, great falls, and harmful reptiles (Norton 56). These things create a balance for mankind and nature so that life will not be easy or taken for granted. This commands a respect for all things whether negative or positive they are all part of a whole. Finally, the good and bad twin have an argument and agree to duel to the death (Norton 56). This duel results in the bad twin being vanquished by the good (Norton 57). They both separate, one to control the souls of men once they die, the other to watch over man and sustain the living (Norton 57). Once again the balance is achieved and things are put in a logical order. The Iroquois passed on stories like this for hundreds of years in order to help preserve their heritage and culture. The closeness of the Iroquois to nature and the way they personify animals in their story shows the ultimate relationship they believe they have with the world.

The Cherokee are direct descendants of the Iroquois nation, having migrated southward instead of settling in what is now upstate New York. The Cherokee are a noble people that settled in the southeast around Bryson City, North Carolina (Martin). The Cherokee, being the largest of all five southeast tribes, covered approximately 40,000 square miles at the height of their civilization (N Georgia). The Cherokee being much like other Native American tribes had excellent hunting and fishing skills due to their time spent adapting to the North American environment (Hudson 56). Like most other Native Americans the Cherokee were very conscious of nature and the world around them. Because they had lived in harmony with their environment for so long they believed that balance with man and nature was very important (Hudson 272). There profound respect for the world is also recognized in many of their stories and tales.

Social structure within the tribe was also an important factor in Cherokee life. Women controlled all the material possessions and made all the daily decisions required to maintain life, while the men were in charge of such problems like war and migration (Hudson 173). Another aspect of society giving women more influence was that of family and marriage. All familial relations were tracked through the mother's side of the family (Hudson 185). Somewhat different from other Native American tribes is the Cherokee outlook on marriage. Women were especially free in their society, even if they were married they were allowed to see or have relationships with any man they wanted to (Hudson 201). Another concept of Native American culture that is prevalent in the Cherokee society is that of the mother's brother playing the dominant male role in the life of any of her son's. It was not uncommon for the boy's father to not be around so the responsibility was left with his uncle. While these things are strictly understood in their society without the development of oral tradition these practices might have been lost or discarded long ago.

The Cherokee relied on oral tradition to pass on their histories as well as to teach social and moral lessons to the tribe (Hudson 97). Having no written language the Cherokee passed these stories down through the generations to help maintain a certain level of organization and understanding to all of their people (Hudson 97). These stories would not only develop a sense of right and wrong for the individual, but it would also give them a feeling that all things have balance to maintain which is an essential part to native American belief. Many social roles are also defined in the telling of these stories.

The Cherokee tribe endured much prosperity until around 1540 when Hernando de Soto discovered some of their villages in the far southeast of Georgia or Florida (Sheppard). De Soto proceeded to abuse and enslave all the native Americans he came across in his voyage to discover more treasure for Spain (Sheppard). There was another expedition into Cherokee territory in 1566 when some soldiers from fort San Filip encountered several villages in their travel. However, these Spaniards were not looking to enslave the Cherokee or to take their goods (Martin). The first contact with English settlers that the Cherokee had was in 1654 at the falls of the James River in Richmond, Virginia (Martin). Although the settlers there decided to expel the Cherokee through violence they were soundly defeated and issued a statement of peace immediately (Martin). After that there were several wars with neighboring tribes and a war with the colony of South Carolina that diminished the population of the Cherokee slightly (Martin). Throughout the next two hundred years the Cherokee would be at war with many enemies including the English and French. Although the toll on their society from war was great the amount of casualties from disease was much worse. The Cherokee faced many hardships not the least of which was the Trail of Tears in 1839 when they were forced to move from their homeland to reservations set aside for them by the United States (Martin). After the 1839 the Cherokee rapidly assimilated European culture, given no other choice (N Georgia).

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