History of Migration

The Cherokee people are one the longest know tribes or groups to exist as far back as U.S. history goes. They were one of five of the largest Native American to settle in the Southwest portion of America. The Cherokee people originally came from the Great Lake region, which is present day Michigan. The people would migrate to North and South Carolina, Northern Georgia, Alabama, Southwest Virginia, Cumberland Basin of Tennessee, and Kentucky. The Cherokee people lived and hunted on their lands freely. They fought rival tribes to retain their sacred land. The Cherokee would thrive until the settlers had come.

Once communication and trade between the settlers had started the battles with the Cherokee and their enemies (Catawba, Shawnee, Iroquois, and Algonquin) began to escalate. The British settlers gave the Cherokee guns and made peace treaties with them, as did the French and Spanish. But with disputes among the settles and Native American over their territories. The Native American were slowly being killed off and removed from the lands in which they lived on. The Cherokee would be removed from the territories once gold was discovered.

In 1828, settlers had discovered gold in the Cherokee's Georgia territory. This lead to the forceful and cruel removal of the Cherokee. Andrew Jackson would authorize the "Indian Removal Act", the Native Americans who did not not leave by choice would be forced to be moved by his army. The Cherokee people would lose 4,000 of their own because of the removal. They would travel 2,200 miles to what is present day Oklahoma.

Today, The Cherokee still live in Oklahoma. But the people has split into three different groups: Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, Eastern Band Cherokee Indians, and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee. The Cherokee Nation is divided into 14 counties in the Northeastern corner of Oklahoma. The United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee also live in Oklahoma, but they live separate from the Cherokee Nation in their own counties they own. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians would purchase back their territory in western North Carolina. It is recognized as a land trust and is protected by the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs.

SPORTS

STICK-BALL-



Stick ball began in prehistoric times as a way for tribes to settle disputes without going to war. Although incredibly violent and fraught with danger, the death or severe injury of a few men was preferable to the more significant deaths and injuries sure to occur in full-fledged warfare.


Stick ball is similar in some ways to the historic game of lacrosse, except that the ball is carried and thrown with two sticks that grasp the ball rather than with a single stick as in lacrosse. The ball is made of a rock covered with hair, and then it is covered again with hide, which is sewn on with sinew, making a cover akin to that of a baseball.


The sticks are typically made of hickory because of its hardness and common occurrence in the eastern woodlands of North America, where the game originated. The top of the stick is thinned, heated, and bent back onto the neck to make a small frame not unlike that of a tennis racket, only much smaller.


A webbing is then made for the head of the stick, typically of sinew although leather can be used as well. The game was historically played on a large field, and teams scored by throwing the ball through a goal. Lacking referees or rules–other than the fact that women couldn’t participate–players were allowed to move the ball with their sticks in any way they could, and, more importantly, to interfere with the opposing team’s control of the ball. It was the equivalent of hockey where the stick was a legitimate implement for hitting the other team members. There were no time outs, and no substitutions. Games could last for days and were filled with injuries, as the players battered each other with their modified clubs.


The medicine men played a prominent role invoking the proper blessings, and also invoking counter-blessings against the opposing team. Medicine men would try to find the opposing team’s village trail to the playing field and hex the trail. Purification and fasting were also ritual elements of the game.


The game is still played throughout the Cherokee Nation, only now there’s a pole in the middle of the playing grounds that’s 25 feet tall, with a wooden fish on top of it instead of a goal. Players try to hit the fish, and get three points for each hit. Hitting the pole one foot below the fish scores a single point. Women are now allowed to play, but instead of sticks they play with their hands. The men may only use sticks, and may not hit the women.


The women are under no such rules, and can tackle, hit, push, or do anything necessary to get the ball. In most games of stick ball, the women almost always win.


In the East, stick ball is still only for men, and it is still an anything-goes sport. Today it is played at the Cherokee Heritage Center during special events like Cherokee National Holiday, and against other tribes in the region.


http://www.cherokeeheritage.org/attractions/stick-ball/

The Roles of Men and Women Within the Cherokee Culture

The women of the Cherokee are the one's who determine what clan children belong to. Each clan has their own " entities with names, traditions, oral history, and membership rules," making them all slightly different from the other ones. The Cherokee women's roles are much different than that of an average American women's roles. They are considered worriers and they are the owners of their homes, even though the men build them. The women have full control of their families and also participate in their government. They also had many of the same roles as other Native American women such as, skinning animals, gathering fruits and nuts, along with making baskets. The women of the Cherokee also had a big choice in who they has as sexual partners. Just because someone is married it does not mean that they are bound together. Women have a great sexual freedom.



The men of the Cherokee are equal to the women. But, the men's jobs are doing things such as building houses, cutting down trees and carving out canoes. They are also in charge of putting wood post fences around the villages. The men are responsible for hunting and fishing along with building traps and making nets for doing these things. They also will fix things such as shoe (moccasins) as well. Men would often marry women from other villages and then be expected to move to their new wife's village instead of staying in their own. Also fathers would not necessarily have a close relationship with their children due to the fact that their children will be a part of their mother's clan.


The role of an Uncle in the clan is actually pretty interesting. Since the father is not truly allowed to punish the child for doing anything wrong. So, the mother's brother is responsible for punishing the children. The children's education was also reliant on the mother's brother. All around the Uncle has a very big role in the children's lives in the Cherokee culture. The uncle would even teach young boys how to hunt and the idea of warfare.


The children of the Cherokee frequently participate in many of the social roles of the community. Young boys will hunt and go fishing with the other men. Young girls would learn from their mothers how to garden and take care of their home. But, when they were not doing that they did have things such as dolls and toys. The children actually like to play a lot of different games together. A very common and popular game for teenagers is lacrosse.


Bring this back into my own life, I've grown up around a family that is very different from this culture. In my family my mom stays home she cooks and she cleans. My dad works 5.5 days out of the week and isn't home at all those days. My aunts and uncles do not play much of a role in my families life. We only see them on holidays so they really do not have a role in the raising of me or my siblings. Although in our family the young guys are usually expected to get their licenses and go hunting and fishing with their fathers and cousins and uncles. The young women are not expected to learn to garden or take care of the home. They are encouraged to help cook once in awhile though. So, in many ways our cultures are different but some things are surprisingly similar.




http://nativeamericans.mrdonn.org/southeast/cherokee/roles.html


http://nativeamericannetroots.net/diary/1451





http://www.forsyth.k12.ga.us/cms/lib3/GA01000373/Centricity/Domain/94/documents/cherokee.htm