Carson Pace

Ms. Katsanos

LBST 2102

7 April 2017

Mini-Paper: American Cherokee Culture Through Clothing

American Cherokee Indians have been present in the United States for

hundreds of years, and are one of the most well-known Indian affiliations in

our country as well. We have discussed in class how people often try to

impersonate this indigenous group on holidays, like Halloween, and wear

tribal outfits that are offensive to people who are Cherokee in their heritage.

They have continuously been othered throughout the history of their

culture, and this has mainly been done through the way their outfits and

clothing has been displayed to society. Their unique clothing and outfits are

used to make money for businesses in the United States, disrespecting and

offending American Cherokee in the process.

As we begin to look at Cherokee traditional dress, it is important to

know that these unique patterns in their clothing date all the way back to the

Trail of Tears, an emotional and painful movement from their original land.

The women are known to wear what is called a tear dress, which simply

means that instead of a clean cut from a blade, their dresses were torn by

hand. The designs commonly found on the tear dresses are triangles, circles
and the seven-sided star, historically known to be the Cherokee sacred

symbol. These dresses had a design that was created to serve many

purposes, including 3/4 length sleeves, which did not get in the way of

dishes, grinding corn and nuts and other household duties (Manner of

Cherokee Dress).

As for men, they are known to wear a ribbon shirt, which also includes

the many symbols found on the womens tear dresses. They are also still

known to wear the traditional turban, which is constructed from the material

calico. Further back in history, closer to the 1830s, men were known to wear

these ribbon shirts with a beaded belt also, most certainly in the winter.

When it comes to footwear, both men and women are known to wear

moccasins. In battle, Cherokee never wore headdresses, but did shave their

own heads.

When you think of American Cherokee Indians with the typical modern

idea of their culture, you picture people wearing huge headdresses and

extensive face painting. This only further portrays them as aliens to our

society, when in reality, they have helped to shape our culture and further

our diversity as a nation. When we other this indigenous group, it portrays

us as having no respect for them or the culture they have developed. This

creates a divide in our nation when it comes to respect and dialect about

political, social and cultural issues. Their way of dress is an interesting

storybook explaining their history and the struggles they endured to be

where they are today, something we should respect.

 What I find most interesting regarding their traditional dress and

clothing is that it has not changed dramatically over the years. It maintains

the same symbolic and unique history. This is something that is incredibly

hard to achieve in the modern world, where everything, including fashion,

changes on a daily basis. Also, their clothing was made with a purpose and

with the consideration of the tasks they would need to complete daily,

meaning they did not create these clothes to impress others, but in order to

get a job done. They were influenced by others, however.

When the British migrated over to North America, they were infatuated

with their methods of clothing, and began to model their dress after theirs.

They began doing business with them, creating similarities in their clothing

and the products they used to make their outfits. This created some

crossover between the two customs. Also, when Cherokee people began to

hold higher positions in their communities that were separated from the

traditional government, they slowly began to fade away from their more

traditional dress, such as turbans and feathers.

In our society, the way American Indians have been displayed has not

always been in a positive way. Commonly, school systems attempt to

downplay the tragedy that the Cherokee faced on behalf of the United

States. In elementary schools across our nation, children only learn about

American Indians through the Trail of Tears, a portrayal of a weak Indian

community, in their time of desperation. This cannot be our only way of

communicating this intriguing and unique culture to our country, and it

begins with our school systems. Most people only know accurate information

regarding American Cherokee members if they have ancestors who are

Cherokee. When Halloween stores and other money-making businesses use

Cherokee othering to sell merchandise, it is only contributing to the

problem of judgement and othering in our society.

Cherokee dress is one of the most important and influential pieces of

the Cherokee culture because it expresses their needs, wants and jobs

through clothing. They are hard-working people who are not looking to

impress others with their feather and face paint. They want to live in peace

within their communities and raise families in the customs and traditions

they were raised in as well. It is also important that our society begins to

respect their culture, and stop using their unique clothing to make money or

attract business.
 Works Cited:

Manner of Cherokee Dress. (n.d.). Retrieved April 06, 2017, from

http://www.cherokee.org/About-The-Nation/Culture/General/Manner-of-
Cherokee-Dress

Cherokee Tribe. (n.d.). Retrieved April 06, 2017, from

https://www.warpaths2peacepipes.com/indian-tribes/cherokee-tribe.htm