The Cherokee Tribe

The Native American tribe that originally lived in the southern Appalachian Mountains was the Cherokee. The life of the Cherokee before the Europeans arrived was supposedly a highly advanced civilization. The Cherokee were excellent farmers and homebuilders. Hunting was the men's job, while the gathering of wild plant food was the women's. In 1540, Hernando De Soto's expedition was the first recorded contact with the Cherokee. The English colonists came into the lives of the Cherokee around 1654. The Cherokee were the first tribe to begin the Trail of Tears in 1838.

The life of the Cherokee Nation before the Europeans arrived was in perfect harmony. A typical Cherokee town had a large square or plaza and around that were several large mounds. The mounds were where the homes of the Cherokee were clustered. The mounds were sometimes served as a platform for the important people in the town, like the chief. The other Cherokee would live in smaller houses on the ground. The houses were often made of lightweight materials such as tree bark, grasses, and weeds. A ceremonial hall was a large round council house that could seat 400 to 500 people. The Cherokee were expert farmers. Their farms grew corn, squash, beans, sunflowers, pumpkins, and tobacco. The circle around the town was where the farms were.

Hunting and gathering in the Cherokee Nation was an important role to help keep the Nation well supplied. The women had the job to gather wild berries and nuts. The men were the ones to hunt, fish, and chop down trees for the Cherokees dugout canoes. When hunting, the men used bows and arrows, spears, blowguns, snares, and other types of traps. The most important game animal was the deer. The deer was used for both food and clothing. The Cherokee made most of their clothes from animal skins or from the woven fibers of the hemp plant. The women wore skirts while the men wore a breechclout--a piece of fabric that passed between the legs and was held at the waist by a belt. Both the men and women wore moccasins that reached halfway to the knee.

In 1540 Hernando De Soto's expedition was the first recorded contact with the Cherokee. In April of 1540, De Soto was looking for gold, so he crossed through the Cherokee country. The exposition quickly moved out after finding nothing and moved to the north in the search for food. Across the Blue Ridge, De Soto entered the Cherokee country again. The Cherokee were very happy with De Soto and gave his expedition their much needed food. The fall of 1566 was the next reported contact with Europeans. Fort San Felipe was where the Spanish had settled next, and a small expedition was sent into the interior of the region. The expedition found gold and continued to smelt gold into the mid to late 1600s.

In 1654 the first reported contact of the Cherokee with the English colonists. Abraham Wood, a Virginia trader, sent James Needham and Gabriel Arthur to the Cherokees' Overhills capital of Chota for establishing trade. Contacts

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