Past and Present for the Cherokee in NC
Over 11,000 years ago Cherokees were believed to live in western North Carolina where legend says they once hunted the mastodon. This was after the final ice age but nobody knows how ancient the Cherokee were (Cherokee Smokies).
In the 1500's when Europeans first arrived in the Americas, the Cherokee had small villages ranging from 30 to 60 homes along with one large meeting house. Mud and plants were the materials used to create their structures. The meeting house often had a memorial fire burning which was often located on a high hill (Cherokee Smokies).
Southwestern Virginia, Alabama, northern Georgia, eastern Tennessee, northwestern South Carolina, and western North Carolina belonged to the Cherokee by the start of the 18th century. The agriculture in this area were great for using in crafts, medicines and foods. The animals of the area provided food, shelters clothing, and medicine. The plants and trees also provide more of these useful materials (Cherokee Smokies).
Beans, corn, sunflowers, and squash were three of the biggest crops for the Cherokee, which was mainly farmed by the women. The Cherokee men usually used arrows, fishing poles, blowguns, and spears to get fish, deer, turkeys, and small game. Cherokees ate stew, soup, and cornbread with baskets, utensils, and pots (Cherokee Smokies).
A constitution, schools, and courts were all employed by the Cherokee by the early 1800's. The Cherokee even used a written language developed by a scholar named Sequoyah in 1821. It only took a few years for the entire Cherokee nation to become literate and a newspaper was even made which was called the Phoenix in 1828 (Cherokee Smokies).
The Cherokees were not needed as allies by the federal government by the 1830's and their land was valuable for use as plantations along with gold which was discovered in northern Georgia. Oklahoma was where the Cherokee in the East were being forced to move. Out of over 16,000 between one half and a quarter died during the march there now known as the "Trail of Tears" (Cherokee Smokies).
There are currently decedents of the Cherokee in western North Carolina who were able to either hide in the hills, keep the land they already owned, or come back to North Carolina. There is currently a sovereign Nation held by over 13,000 enrolled Cherokee on 100 square miles of land. These Cherokee preserve their history and culture every way they can (Cherokee Smokies).
In the 1500's when Europeans first arrived in the Americas, the Cherokee had small villages ranging from 30 to 60 homes along with one large meeting house. Mud and plants were the materials used to create their structures. The meeting house often had a memorial fire burning which was often located on a high hill (Cherokee Smokies).
Southwestern Virginia, Alabama, northern Georgia, eastern Tennessee, northwestern South Carolina, and western North Carolina belonged to the Cherokee by the start of the 18th century. The agriculture in this area were great for using in crafts, medicines and foods. The animals of the area provided food, shelters clothing, and medicine. The plants and trees also provide more of these useful materials (Cherokee Smokies).
Beans, corn, sunflowers, and squash were three of the biggest crops for the Cherokee, which was mainly farmed by the women. The Cherokee men usually used arrows, fishing poles, blowguns, and spears to get fish, deer, turkeys, and small game. Cherokees ate stew, soup, and cornbread with baskets, utensils, and pots (Cherokee Smokies).
A constitution, schools, and courts were all employed by the Cherokee by the early 1800's. The Cherokee even used a written language developed by a scholar named Sequoyah in 1821. It only took a few years for the entire Cherokee nation to become literate and a newspaper was even made which was called the Phoenix in 1828 (Cherokee Smokies).
The Cherokees were not needed as allies by the federal government by the 1830's and their land was valuable for use as plantations along with gold which was discovered in northern Georgia. Oklahoma was where the Cherokee in the East were being forced to move. Out of over 16,000 between one half and a quarter died during the march there now known as the "Trail of Tears" (Cherokee Smokies).
There are currently decedents of the Cherokee in western North Carolina who were able to either hide in the hills, keep the land they already owned, or come back to North Carolina. There is currently a sovereign Nation held by over 13,000 enrolled Cherokee on 100 square miles of land. These Cherokee preserve their history and culture every way they can (Cherokee Smokies).
Photo
Calhoun House Properies. (n.d.). Cherokee, NC. Retrived from http://www.calhounhouse.com/area.htm
Content
Cherokee Smokies. (n.d.). Cherokee History & Culture. Retrived from http://www.cherokeesmokies.com/history_culture.html
Calhoun House Properies. (n.d.). Cherokee, NC. Retrived from http://www.calhounhouse.com/area.htm
Content
Cherokee Smokies. (n.d.). Cherokee History & Culture. Retrived from http://www.cherokeesmokies.com/history_culture.html