Indian Info Tidbits

Matriarchal Society

The Cherokees had a matriarchal society whereby descent was traced strictly through the
mother's side of the family. A person belonged to his mother's clan and the most
important and powerful man in a child's life was not his father, but the mother's brothers.
The maternal uncles had responsibility for discipline of the child and taught him about
hunting and warfare. The women owned the dwellings and were in control of all the
property.

Clan affiliation was inherited through the mother's line and marriage within a clan was
strictly forbidden. The household was the basic unit of the Cherokee social organization
and a newly married couple usually lived with the wife's family.

What type of clothing did the Cherokee used to wear?

The Cherokee wore clothing made from animal skins before the Europeans introduced
cloth to the tribe. Even into the 1800's the men wore the leggings made of deer hide in
order to protect their legs from thorns and underbrush.

The introduction of the turban indirectly came from the Muslim people. When a
Cherokee delegation went to visit the Royal Family of England, the men were thought to
be very frightening with their tattooed heads and bodies. It was decided to cover their
upper bodies with the English smoking jacket, which became our hunting jacket and
cover their heads with a shorter version of the turban of the Muslim house servants of the
Royal Family. These introduced styles were well received among the men of the Five
Civilized Tribes and continue to be a part of our cultural dress styles.

Chasing Indians

Some Cherokee Background:

The Cherokee are a people native to North America, who, at the time of European contact
in the sixteenth century, inhabited what is now the Eastern and Southeastern United
States. Most were forcibly moved westward to the Ozark Plateau in the 1830s. They are
one of the tribes referred to as the Five Civilized Tribes. According to the 2000 U.S.
Census, they are the largest of the 563 federally recognized Native American tribes in the
United States.

The Cherokee refer to themselves as Tsa-la-gi ( pronounced "Zah la gee" or "Tsa lah gee"
in the eastern Giduwa dialect or pronouced "ja-la-gee" in western dialect) or A-ni-yv-wi-
ya (pronounced "ah knee yuh wee yaw" (western) or "Ah nee yuhn wi yah" (Eastern
dialect), literal translation: "Principal People.
The English first had contact with the Cherokee in 1654.By the late seventeenth century,
traders from both Virginia and South Carolina were making regular journeys to Cherokee
lands, but few wrote about their experiences

The trade was mainly deerskins, raw material for the booming European leather industry,
in exchange for European technology "trade goods" such as iron and steel tools (kettles,
knives, etc), firearms, gunpowder, and ammunition. In 1705, these traders complained
that their business had been lost and replaced by Indian slave trade instigated by
Governor Moore of South Carolina. Moore had commissioned people to "set upon,
assault, kill, destroy, and take captive as many Indians as possible". These captives would
be sold and the profits split with the Governor. Although selling alcohol to Indians was
made illegal by colonial governments at an early date, rum, and later whiskey, were a
common item of trade.

The Cherokee people never lived in tipis. The Plains Indians lived in these, as they were
able to be moved when following herds and hunting. The Cherokee people historically
lived in houses made of mud and clay with roofs of brush and river cane. In the winter
time, they lived in even smaller clay and mud houses which included the construction of
the roof, as well, in order to keep warm. By the late 1700’s, many Cherokees were living
in log cabins while some even lived in clapboard houses like their non-Indian
counterparts.

The Cherokee Nation is a 7,000 square mile jurisdictional area located in all of eight
counties and portions of six counties in Northeastern Oklahoma. It is not a reservation.
As a federally recognized Indian tribe, the Cherokee Nation has both the opportunity and
the sovereign right to exercise control and development over tribal assets which include
66,000 acres of land as well as 96 miles of the Arkansas Riverbed.

Cherokee Clan Names - English Clan Name

Ani-Wa-ya -Wolf Clan
Ani-Wa-di -Paint Clan
Ani-Ka-wi - Deer Clan
Ani-Tsi-s'qua - Bird Clan
Ani-Ga-ta-ge-wi - generally "Blind Savannah" but more likely "Wild Potato"
Ani-Gi-la-hi - Long Hair Clan
Ani-Sa-ha-ni - Blue Clan

Sources: Cherokee Registry and Wikipedia

http://thejamesscrolls.blogspot.com/2009_03_01_archive.html