The Rise and Fall of Cherokee Native American Culture

I chose the Cherokee Native American Culture because I have Cherokee Native American history in my family, but their culture, or way of life, has not been passed down in my family. What little I do know fascinates me, and I would like to learn more. The Cherokee Native Americans are part of the indigenous people of America. They originally resided in what is now the southeast United States and Southern Appalachia area until they were forced to relocate to what is now Oklahoma as a result of the Indian Removal Act during the 1830s. Material culture includes the objects associated with a cultural group, such as tools, machines, utensils, buildings, and artwork. The Cherokee Native Americans traditionally used their environment as their biggest resource. Their food came from vegetables that were frown, including: corn, pumpkins, tobacco, and watermelon. They also hunted and used the animals they killed for food as well as clothing. For example, they would use deer skin to make skirts for the women in the tribe to wear. Their homes were typically rectangular with a rounded roof or a slanted roof that came to a point. All of this is a part of their material culture.

Symbolic culture includes the language, beliefs, values, and communication used in a culture. Part of the Cherokee Native American symbolic culture is their language. The Cherokee speak an Iroquoian language called Tsalagi, and the written language is called syllabary. The Cherokee syllabary is made up of the characters that represent each sound used in the language. Although it is one of the largest written language for a Native American tribe, it is not widely used throughout the United States.

How does this affect their everyday life? According to the official Cherokee Nation government website, the beliefs of the culture vary from person to person and what was passed down to them. There is no specific definition for what the Cherokee belief system/religion is. Some Cherokee Native Americans adopted the Christian faith due to the early settlers in America; however, a part of the traditional Cherokee belief system is the use of a Shaman. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a shaman is a priest or priestess who uses magic for purpose of curing the sick, divining the hidden, and controlling events. Shamans in this culture can be men or women, and they are seen as the middle ground between the illness and the power that is used to heal it. They often use medicinal plants and prayers/manuscripts for these purposes.

The Cherokee Native Americans participated in the practice of residential burial. or burying those that passed away in and around houses. They do not view death as the end of a life, but rather a transition to the next, and that the soul of the deceased stays in this world as a ghost for a period of time. The deceased are also buried in the ground as a result of their belief that the body will provide nutrients to the earth.

As a woman in the Cherokee culture, I would take care of farming/gardening and gathering of crops as well as taking care of my children and the household. The women in this culture were respected as those who were able to give life and were treated as equal, so I would have a say in the community and decision making, both politically and economically. I would make materialistic things that I or my family needed, such as woven baskets, clothing made from animal skin, pottery, etc. In the winter when my husband would go off to hunt for food, I would stay home and take care of everything.

The Cherokee education was put on hold as a result of the Indian Removal Act and forced relocation of the tribes. This an example of ethnocentrism of Americans and their view of the Cherokee culture being abnormal because it is different from their own. According to the Oklahoma Historical Society, the Cherokee government crated a public-school system in 1841 in hopes that their children could be educated on their own culture and history and not disappear into the American culture. The Native American education system suffered many times at the hands of the U.S. Government. Cherokee education reflects their values and ways of life.