Cherokee

=NORTH CAROLINA CHEROKEE INDIANS= Created by Dana St. Juliana and Andrea Wright



Wilkommen to our wiki that explores some of the first people to settle in North Carolina. There are facts and activities along the way to help you understand who these people were and what their life was like. Be sure to take notes along the way about the facts and resources that you learn and use. They will be needed in the final project at the end of this wiki page.

**WHO WE ARE**

 * American Indians, sometimes called Native Americans, are descendants of the first people to live in the Americas. They had been living there for thousands of years before any Europeans arrived. The Cherokee Indians settled in North Carolina and are one of many different types or tribes of Native Americans. The United States federal government recognizes 563 different tribes. Today there is nearly 300,000 members in the Cherokee Nation, which makes them the largest of all Native American tribes in the United States. **

The Cherokees believe they have always lived in North Carolina. They settled in villages and governed themselves democratically. The adults would gather to discuss important matters. They were led by a peace chief, a war chief and a priest. With the European discovery and arrival, the lives of these tribes would be changed forever. At first, the white settlers learned from, traded with and even married the Native Americans. Then, between 1777 and 1819, the tribes were forced to relocate and give up thousands of square miles of their homeland to white men. In the winter of 1838-39, they were forced out of the state altogether. Some Cherokee descendants remain in North Carolina because their families were able to hide and avoid being forced out. In 1889, North Carolina granted the Cherokee Indians a state charter thatA traditional Cherokee village has been reconstructed in part of their original homeland to preserve and celebrate the existence, culture and history of the Cherokee Indians in North Carolina.

When you think of a Native American, what images come to mind?

Draw a picture that predicts what you think a North Carolina Cherokee Native American might look like. Click [|here] to check your work.

**WHERE DID WE LIVE**
Here is an outline of North Carolina that illustrates where the Cherokee Indians settled:



Research what the land and weather is like in this Western part of the state using these links:

To research the land, view the pictures on the right of this [|link] To research the weather, click [|here] //(Note: Temperature is in Fahrenheit. To convert to Celsius first subtract 30 degrees, divide difference by 2, then add 2 degrees. Answer will be approximate.//**)**

**OUR LANGUAGE**
The name, "Cherokee," occurs in fifty different spellings and dates back at least to 1708. Today Cherokees, both East and West, refer to themselves as // tsi-tsa-la-gi // (I am Cherokee). Cherokees are the only Native American People who possess a writing system equivalent to the European alphabet. Sequoyah created the alphabet and finished it in 1821. He spent the rest of his life teaching his people how to read and spell. As a result, the majority of Cherokee people were literate (able to read and write.)

The Cherokee alphabet contains about 84 characters:



Here are some example of words in Cherokee:

**bed** ... ga-`ni-tlv-`di-`sti **beautiful** ... u-wo-du-hicow, cattle ... wa-ga **horse, horses** ... so'-qui-li **water** ... a-ma **people** ... yu-wi **happy** ... a-li-he-li-s-di **song** ... ka-no-gi-s-di **young child** ... a-yu-li

// Traditional Cherokee Dance //
The Cherokee used masks in numerous dances. One such dance, known as "The Booger Dance", was usually performed in the late Fall or Winter. It's intent was to make fun of the enemies of the Cherokee. The Booger masks were made to represent the faces of people who were the enemies of the Cherokee. Their first enemies were the Chickasa and Seneca people, who were other Indian tribes that were native to America. After interaction with the whites became prevalent some hostility started. The Cherokee began to make Booger masks that resembled a bald man with a very round face. This was because many of the white men of this era wore their heads shaved and generally had rounder faces than the Indian peoples. Today, the Booger mask is a popular item produced for the tourist trade, especially in North Carolina.



 Dances were also performed for religious, social reasons, and in times of war. Watch this YouTube video of another dance that was performed for religious and social reasons, the Cherokee Stomp dance:

// Cherokee Myths //
 Click [|here] for a myth about the the first strawberries Click [|here] for Cherokee taboos (Tabu)

// Cherokee Food //
The native Cherokee people survived by being farmers, gatherers and hunters. They would farm corn, potatoes, onions, beans, squash, and sunflowers. In addition, they would gather nuts, berries in fruits in their surrounding land. The women were responsible for the cooking. The women typically used fire and heated up stones. They traditionally made bread, soups and stews. The men were responsible for all the hunting. They would hunt for deer, wild turkey, fish and small game like rabbits or squirrels for the women to add to the soups and stews. They used weapons that they hand made. to kill the animals. Bows were made out of Hickory wood and braided animal hair. The Cherokee would carve bones and stone into sharp arrows, knives and spears.

Corn was an important ingredient for the Cherokee people. They discovered that it could be mashed into corn meal and used many ways, including bread recipes and as hominy.




 * Try this recipe below or click [|here] for more recipes.**

Traditional Cherokee Fry Bread Recipe:

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder • pinch of salt || • 1-1/3 cups warm water • vegetable oil for frying • honey || Here is the metric conversion link to substitute directions http://www.worldwidemetric.com/measurements.html
 * 3 cups all-purpose flour
 * Combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the water and knead the dough until soft. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured board until 1/4" thick. Cut out 4" rounds. Heat 1"-2" of oil in a saucepan. Fry the bread until puffed. Turn bread when edges are brown. own on both sides. Serve with honey. ||

Final Activity
Congratulations, you are on your way to becoming an expert on some of the first people to live in North Carolina, the Cherokee Indians. To celebrate, plan a pow-wow for your schoolmates. A pow wow refers to a gathering that includes singing, dancing, and socializing. The pow-wow event is also a way to remember heritage, culture, and traditions amongst Native American people. The pow-wow is still practiced today across North America by many different tribes.

Your pow-wow should first introduce the Cherokee people to your audience with an oral presentation. Write a draft of your oral speech and think about any visuals you want to show in this part. You may want to include what they look like, how they dressed, where they lived, and what they ate.

You must also include activities that celebrate the Cherokee culture. These may include telling a myth, performing a dance and speaking some of the Cherokee language in your celebration.

//**Your final pow wow project should:**//

1. Begin with a final draft of your oral speech introduction 2. Include a description, link or picture of the visuals that will be used. 3. Summarize the activities you want to include 4. Outline how you will use 15-20 minute time guideline. 5. End with a page that references the websites and sources used to gather information and plan pow wow

Cherokee culture. || Oral speech introduction is well written, relatively free of grammatical errors, and includes at least 5 facts about Cherokee culture. ||
 * Rubric for Pow-Wow:**
 * || Nicht So Gut! || Gut! || Sehr Gut! ||
 * 1 || Oral speech introduction is missing or incomplete. || Oral speech introduction is well written, relatively free of grammatical errors, and includes at least 3 facts about
 * 2 || Includes 1 or fewer visuals/pictures. || Includes 2 visuals/pictures. || Includes 3 or more visuals/pictures. ||
 * 3 || Includes 1 or fewer performances/activities. || Includes 2 performances/activities. || Includes 3 or more performances/activities. ||
 * 4 || Outline is missing, incomplete and/or does not fit within time guideline. || Outline is included and planning is within 5 minutes of time guideline. || Outline is included and planning meets time guideline. ||
 * 5 || References are missing, incomplete, and/or contain less than 3 sources. || References are included and include at least 3 different sources. || References are included and include at least 5 different sources. ||