The Cherokee by 5S

Who were the
Cherokee
Indians



 
 
Table  of  Contents  
 
 (1)  Geography:  Matthew  Ribeiro    
 
 (2)  Religion:  Maksim  Pachico  
 
 (3)  Achievements:  Caroline  Kelleher    
 
 (4)  Politics:  Alex  Walsh  
 
 (5)  Social  Structure:  Adeline  Riley  
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
Cherokee  Geography    
By:Matthew  Ribeiro    
 
 

 

This  is  a  map  of  the  Cherokee  land.  

 
 
 
 
 

 ​Where  Do  the  Cherokee  Live?  
 
         The  Cherokee  tribe  used  to  live  in  the  Smoky  

Mountains  which  are  in  Alabama,  Georgia,  South  

Carolina,  North  Carolina,  Virginia,  Tennessee  and  

Kentucky.  The  Cherokee  lived  in  woods  near  forests  and  

rivers.  They  lived  there  because  they  could  find  food  to  

hunt  and  fish.    

 

 

This  is  one  of  their  houses.  

 

The  Paths  Around  the  Village  
Across  and  around  the  villages  there  were  paths  to    
 
escape.  If  there  was  an  attack  they  used  the  paths  to  get    
 
up  onto  the  mountains.  Why  the  mountains?  Because  it    
 
would  be  easier  for  the  Cherokee  to  kill  their  enemies.    
 
Cherokee  enemies  would  have  a  hard  time  trying  to  find    
 
or  get  them.  Also,  the  Cherokee  would  chase  them  down    
the  mountain.

   

The  Weather    
   
The  Smoky  Mountains  were  very  cold.  That  is  why  the    
 
Cherokee  had  homes  that  were  warm.  That’s  also  why    
 
the  Cherokee  wore  warm  leather  clothes.  They  needed  to    
 
be  warm  enough  to  kill  in  the  cold.  They  would  have    
 

 

This  is  a  trail  when  it  was  winter    
 
 
 
   

Ch​ erokee​ Religion

by Maksim Pachico
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
This  is  a  Cherokee  man  worshiping  the  great  spirit​.    

 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 

Spirits

The Cherokees were very religious, they believed in a spirit called the great spirit. They
believed spiritual beings that created the sun, earth, moon and stars. They believed that
eagles, rattlesnakes, fire, smoke, corn, quartz crystals, sun, moon, and the number seven were
all sacred things. There was a unusual way to pick their priest’s. When they were young if
you were a twin you had a better chance to be picked. If you were a priest you would be
trained to use herbs and medicine. They would be trained differently than your companions.    

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

This is a pic of the great spirit
 

 
 

 
 

 W​ eddings Ceremonies

For a Cherokee to get married you and you soon to be spouses two
families would exchanged certain unique gifts. The bride would give her
groom an ear of corn. This showed that she was an excellent farmer and
also skillful cook. The groom would give the bride’s family venison a deer.
This show the new in-­laws that the groom was an exceptional hunter.
They even had divorce back then. In order to get divorce the wife would
take the husband’s belongings and place them outside the door. When
this happened he had to move out and move some place else​.  
 

-Naming Ceremony-
When​ ​you had a baby your family would have a special ceremony
which would be held four to seven days after the birth of the baby. In
your lifetime you could have numerous names. At first you parent’s might
name you a certain name because of your charm, the twinkle in your eyes
or the brightness of your smile. When you grow up you could pick a
different name or add another one to yours. How you did this depended
on what you were good at or if you could do something special. For
example , “If you were a good hunter you might choose the name ​Kanati:​
Lucky Hunter”.

     
 

-​ Sacred Fire-
In the most significant structure in the Cherokee village was
the council house. This is where they held sessions of religious ceremonies
and important government meetings and other various events. This was
not a small building but a rather gigantic structure.
 

   
 
This is a picture of a council house
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
Each  village  had  two  chiefs  

​ Peace Chief War Chief

One of the chiefs was the Peace
The War Chief (Red Chief)

Chief (or also known as the White soley was in control of times

Chief). This chief would give of war. He was voted in as Chief

guidance with the religious because of his expertise to

ceremonies. You could recognize him control his tribe. He had

because he wore a beautiful white seven members from his

deerskin outfit. He was given this

title because of his courage and clan to advise him.
knowledge.

 
 

-Hunting Ceremonies-
When the tribe needed to get more food they went on hugh hunt. The entire
village participated. They would have many different animal dances. They held
the dances to ensure that the hunters came back with food. They had particular
dances for particular animals. One of the dances is the beaver dance. They made a
play of the hunting, killing and the skinning of the beaver.

T​ his is a pic of a cherokee dance  

The Cherokee Achievements    

 ​ Have you ever wondered about the Cherokee achievements?

 
 

Caroline  The  Great  
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 

The  Cherokee  Homes  

Did you know that the Cherokee had summer and winter homes? They
do! Just like today!
 

                               
 
 

   

 The  Winter  Home   The  Summer  Home  
 
         ​Cherokee winter homes were made          ​The Cherokee summer home was
of hard dry mud and clay. That way they
could shape the house to be round. This made of logs or small trees. The summer
home was smaller than the summer
home, and it was pretty much sunk in in home was also made of grass and cane
the ground. They would have no
windows. The house would also be stalks. This home was bigger than the
coned shaped. In order to get in the
home they crawled through a small hole winter home.
in the front of the house.
It is a rectangular shaped home. The

summer home also had a door that had

deer skins tied to the door to let in the

cool summer breeze and sunshine.
 

           C​ herokee  Clothing  

The Cherokee wore very different types of clothing than we wear
today.

The Cherokee kids under 8 wore nothing In Winter, Cherokee women and girls

in the summer. They were completely wore long skirts made out of buffalo

naked. The Cherokee men wore breech calfskin. They also wore deerskin shirts

cloths with a belt that went around their decorated with turkey feathers. Men

waist. A breech clout long rectangular and boys wore bear panther and beaver

shaped. Breech clouts were made of skins. The Cherokee also wore fur cloaks

tanned deerskin. The women wore skirts and long deerskin capes. They tied the

down to their knees. The skirts were cape around them to keep them warm

made of deerskin and rabbit skin. They from the winter cold.

made the skirts sometimes by sewing all

the parts together.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
   
 
 
 

               ​Hunting  fish  

         ​The cherokee hunted fish instead of using a fishing rod to catch fish.    
 
 
 
         ​The Cherokee hunted fish by using bone hooks or box traps made of cane catfish
fish trout and other fish. There was a different way to catch fish, a dam.First, a dam
would be built. Then they would put horse chestnut juice into the dam. Horse
chestnut juice would put the fish to sleep. Then that way they could catch the fish
that they want and eat them. Later, the other fish would wake up and swim away!

 
 
 

 
 
 
   

 C​ herokee  Canoe  

 
                         ​ The Cherokee had canoes much like we have today!
   
    ​  To  fish  and  travel  the  Cherokee  needed  a  dugout  canoe.  A  dugout  canoe  was  
made  out  of  one  log.  A  dugout  canoe  was  also  made  in  many  sizes,  The  large  size  
could  hold  up  to  15-­20  people!  The  Cherokee  would  cut  down  a  tree,  than  they  
would  size  it  to  the  size  they  wanted.  After  that  they  would  burn  the  inside  to  get  a  
shape  to  seat.  In  the  end  they  would  put  the  fire  out.  When  they  are  all  done  they  
would  have  a  canoe!  They  would  use  the  canoes  mostly  to  fish  and  hunt.  
 

 

     
   
   
 
 
   

Cherokee  Tools    

Boys/Men Women/Girls

Boys  and  Men  used  sharp  rock  to   Women and Girls used sharp stone to

smoothen  out  wood  for  bows.   cut tall cane stalks. They would also

Arrowheads  were  chipped  from  stone   make their garden hoe.
called  flint.  Stone  axes  were  used  to  cut  

down  trees.  Men  also  used  bow  and  

arrows  to  hunt  animals.    

   
 
   
   
 

    ​  C​ herokee  Forest  trails    

  ​        T​ he Cherokee had trails that connected to all the Cherokee
villages. Most of the Cherokee trails were made of many animals feet
like deer that has walked thr0ugh the trails. Thousands of Cherokee
made the trails by their feet. The Great Warriors Path went north to
south in the Cherokee country. A lot of the trails led to other
Cherokee tribes too. Much trails went for miles into the Cherokee
territory!

                                             
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 T​ he  Cherokee  Knowledge  

 

The Cherokee children would not go to school they would
learn by stories!

 

Their family members would also teach them. The Cherokee
children also did not go into a building in a school. The children
would learn from old stories told by other Cherokees. There was all
types of stories such as, why a possum would play dead and how the
Cherokee people were made. The Cherokee stories were very nice to
listen to, but they also taught manners and good lessons as well.

 
 
   
 

 
 
 
 

 ​Cherokee  Language  

 

A man named Sequoia saw that when the new settlers came they had paper with
writing on them. Sequoia decided that he wanted the Cherokee to have paper with
writing on them. He called them talking leaves. Sequoia and his daughter tried to draw
a picture of every word in Cherokee, but then they realized that it was to hard. He was
trying to make written language for 12 years. They made a symbol for each Cherokee
sound. They took some letters from the English alphabet and created some words of
their own.
 
 

                                                   

   
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 D​ id  the  Cherokee  ride  Horses ​ ?​    

Did you know that there is a pony named after the
Cherokee? called the Cherokee Pony.
 

The Cherokee did not use horses that much because they lived in the
mountains. So the horses were not used that much. The Cherokee
did have horses though. The Cherokee didn’t really use horses until
later in the years.
 

                                                       
   

 
 
 
 
 

THE  END  

 

   

 By  
              ​                       C​ aroline Kelleher

   
T​ he Cherokee Indians  

Politics

by Alex Walsh
Have  you  ever  wondered  if  there  was  somebody  before  Columbus  well  here  was  
they  were  the  indian  tribes  of  america.  Today  I  will  tell  you  about  the  cherokee  
tribe.  
 
 

Village​ l​ eaders

 
Your  village  leaders  were  the  peace  chief  and  the  war  chief.  The  peace  chief  
helped  with  religious  ceremonies  and  other  sacred  things.  He  wore  white  clothes  so  
people  knew  who  he  was.  The  war  chief  was  in  charge  in  times  of  war.  He  wore  
red  clothes  so  people  knew  who  he  was.  Women  could  not  be  chief  but  they  had  
the  same  rights  as  a  man.    
 

Your jobs

 
Everyone  helped  in  any  way  they  could  no  matter  how  old  you  were.  You  
helped  in  your  family's  garden  harvesting  corn.  Your  mother  would  teach  you  
which  foods  to  pick  and  which  not  to.  You  could  help  build  your  summer  and  
winter  homes.    

 

 

Your enemies

Your  enemies  would  be  Choctaw,  Creek,  Chickasaw,  Shawnee  and  Seneca.  
You  would  only  kill  as  many  people  as  they  had  killed  from  your  tribe.  Warriors  
would  usually  go  to  war  to  seek  revenge.  If  you  were  a  respected  warrior  you  
might  earn  the  title  of  raven.    
 
 

This is a picture of a chief.

   

Did Cherokee scalp enemies

 
The  Cherokee  did  scalp  their  enemies  but  not  before  the  Europeans  arrived  even  
then  they  barely  scalped  an  enemy.  The  Cherokee  had  three  types  of  clubs.  One  
was  a  stick  about  three  feet  long  with  a  long  knob  on  the  end.Another  one  was  a  
short  stick  with  a  deer  a  deer  antler  on  the  end.  The  last  was  a  stick  with  a  sharp  
rock  on  the  end.  Brave  Cherokee  got  eagle  feathers  to  wear  in  there  hair.  
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
People  in  your  family  

 
The  people  in  your  family  would  be  your  mother,  father,  brother,  sister  and  
mother's  parents.  But  you  would  belong  to  a  larger  family  called  a  clan.  There  are  
seven  clans  they  are  Bird,Wolf,  Deer,  Wild  potato,  Long  hair,  Blue  and  paint.  You  
could  not  marry  someone  from  the  same  clan.  
 
 

A Cherokee village

 
 
There  are  about  200-­400  people  in  a  village.  There  are  about  60-­80  cherokee  
villages  stretching  along  rivers  in  Cherokee  country.  Rivers  gave  fish  to  eat  and  
freshwater  for  drinking  and  bathing.  Your  council  house  sat  in  the  middle  of  the  
village.    
 
 
 
 
 
 

What happened to the Cherokee​ ​ U.S.
formed

 
When  the  U.S  was  formed  the  U.S  wanted  the  cherokee  to  live  like  them.  The  
Cherokee  men  became  farmers  instead  of  hunters  and  owned  cows,pigs  and  horses.  
The  Cherokee  women  learned  to  spin  wool  instead  of  tanning  deerskins.  The  
Cherokee  children  went  to  christian  schools.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

this is another picture another of a​  ​chief.

 
 

sports  they  played  

 
Stick  ball  was  a  common  game  to  play.  This  picture  is  of  a  game  related  to  stick  
ball  but  a  lot  more  violent  there  were  no  rules.  Some  people  called  it  “war’s  little  
brother”    because  lots  of  people  got  injured  severely  or  even  killed.  When  they  
usually  played  it  was  usually  over  large    
areas  of  land.    There  were  sometimes  50  men  on  a  team.  If  someone  on  the  other  
team  got  killed  your  team  would  take  as  many  players  off  the  field  to  make  teams  
even.    

Social Structure
of the Cherokee

Indians

By: Adeline Riley

This is a picture of a cherokee family

What Did You wear /Look Like

If  you  were  a  Cherokee  Indian    you  would  normally  have  tan  to  dark  skin  
and  black  hair.  To  learn  more  keep  reading!  

 
                                                                             Summer  Clothing  

   In  summer,  Cherokee  children  (boys  and  girls)  under  the  age  of  eight  
went  with  no  clothes.In  summer,  men  wear  breach  cloath  around  their  waist  
with  no  shirts.In  the  summertime  Cherokee  wemon  were  shorter  dresses  in  
summer  than  in  winter  so  they  are  not  sweating.  The  clothing  the  cherokee  
wore  in  the  summer  were  made  of  lite  dear  skin.  
 
                                                                     ​Winter  clothing  
   In  the  cold  winter  months  men  and  younger  boys  wore  animal  skins  
like  bear,beaver  and  panther  the  fur  was  on  the  inside  for  warmth.  For  
shoes  they  wore  moccasins  and  long  deer  skin  leggings.  Women  wore  
long  skirts  made  of  buffalo  calfskin.    

 
 T​ his is a picture of a Cherokee Girl​.​            ​Cherokee  girls  
   If  you  were  Cherokee  Indian  girl  then  you  would  have    long  black  hair    that  

you  rarely  cut.  The  Cherokee  Indians  long  hair  was  beautiful  hair.    
 

                                                                                     Cherokee  Boys  
If  you  were  a  cherokee  boy  you  would  normally  have  1  patch  of  hair  left  on  
top  of  your  head.  

 

 

This is a picture of a Cherokee Boy

   
   
 
 
 
 
 
 

Cherokee Indian Men's Jobs
 
   Cherokee  indian  men  could  do  almost  any  job.  From  being  head  of  the  
tribe  Chief  to  helping  the  ladies  gather  food  like  berries  and  nuts.  Older  
men  helped  the  girls  gather  the  berries  and  corn  and  other  things  like  that.  
The  young  boys  also  helped  to  gather  food  for  the  family.    
 

                                                                                 ​Hunting    

   Most  often  the  men  hunted  they  would  get  lucky  if  they  caught  a  baby  
buffalo  because  buffalos  are  rare  where  they  lived.  They  mostly  went  for  
deer  seeing  as  that  was  what  their  clothing  was  made  and  was  a  very  

popular  thing  to  see  and  catch  summer-­winter.    

 

                                                               The  Chief  

 T​ here  was  ​not  o​ nly  one  chief.  The  chiefs  were  a​ lways ​  a  ​man.​  There  is  a  

war,  peace,  and  regular  chief.  The  peace  and  war  chief  both  had  w​ omen  

helpers.  The  war  chief  had  7  helpers  and  so  did  the  peace  chief.  

   

   

This is a picture of Cherokee chief  

 
   
   
 

    What They Ate!!

Corn   Calf  Buffalo     Deer  
They  grow  the  corn   The  buffalo  they  eat   They  would  catch  the  
near  to  their  homes   was  calf  buffalo  and   deer  near  their  homes  
and  pick  it  every   they  caught  it  while   unlike  the  buffalo  they  
spring.   they  were  traveling  far   would  also  use  the  
from  the  tribe.   deer  for  clothes.  
 

 

 
Those  are  the  3  main  foods  that  Cherokee  indians  ate.  C​ orn, ​  ​Calf  Buffalo  
and  D​ eer.    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
breech  cloth-­something  men  wore  in  the  summer  
scalping-­chopping  off  the  hair  and  some  of  the  scalp  with  a  machete  
spouse-­  husband  and  or  wife  
unique-­different  from  others  in  a  good  way  
moccasins-­like  snowshoes  they  wore  in  the  winter  

   

Bibliography  

Caroline  

 
Cherokee  Canoe  Picture:  
https://s-­media-­cache-­ak0.pinimg.com/564x/08/15/5e/08155e5b7e565561a8a3f67db1f88091
.jpg  

 
Language:  
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-­KyKdMDs1zKA/UEK3nAADnpI/AAAAAAAAL9s/bfpy84FTIt0/s1600/I
ndian-­Storyteller.jpg  
 
Front  Cover  Picture:  
http://www.warpaths2peacepipes.com/native-­american-­symbols/deer-­track-­symbol.htm  
 
Homes:  
http://www.danitadelimont.com/pix/US/37/US37_AWY0109_T.JPG  
 
http://quatr.us/northamerica/before1500/architecture/pictures/cherokeesummer.jpg  
 
Horses:  
http://www.donkeys.ie/img/news/Autumn_11/Cherokee.jpg  
http://thespiritofblackjackmountain.com/uploads/2/9/4/8/2948500/8276799.jpg    
 
Cherokee  men/women  tool:  
https://s-­media-­cache-­ak0.pinimg.com/564x/d1/86/55/d18655a34ab8c8cf43bd1a7d7d278bb6.jp
g    
   
"Our  History."  ​Our  History​.  N.p.,  n.d.  Web.  17  Feb.  2016.  
 
Roop,  Peter,  Connie  Roop,  and  Kevin  Warren.  Smith.  ​-­-­If  You  Lived  with  the  Cherokee.​  New    

York:  Scholastic,  1998.    Print.Hakim,  Joy.  T​ he  First  Americans.​  New  York:  Oxford  UP,    
2005.  Print.  
 
Cherokee  Women  tool:  
 
http://cantonasylumforinsaneindians.com/history_blog/wp-­content/uploads/2014/04/Native-­A
merican-­Woman-­Using-­a-­Scapula-­Hoe-­in-­Kansas-­circa-­1930s-­courtesy-­Illinois-­State-­Museum.
jpg  

 
   
 
 
 

about  the  author                                                                ​
 

Alex  is  a  11  year  old  boy  who  lives  in  martha’s  vineyard  in  Massachusetts.  
He  lives  in  the  town  of  Edgartown  on  Dodgers  hole  rd.  He  has  a  lizard  
named  Smaug  who  is  a  bearded  dragon.  He  likes  to  play  sports  such  as  
hockey  and  lacrosse.  He  was  born  december  31st  2004.    
 
 

this  is  Alex    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

About the author

Caroline Kelleher lives on Marthas Vineyard and goes to the
Edgartown School. She is 11 years old. Caroline has 3 sisters,
and a dog named Liberty. Caroline’s favorite sport is hockey,
she plays on a Marthas Vineyard hockey team. Caroline wants
to be an actor when she grows up. She hopes to be in shows.

                                 ​About the Author

 ​  Adeline  Riley  is  a  10  year  old  girl  in  5th  grade.She  was  born  on  August  
10th  2005.She  is  the  youngest  in  her  grade.She  has  2  dogs  and  2  cats.  
She  love  to  dance  and  sing.  Her  favorite  song  is  same  old  love  by  Selena  
Gomez.  Adeline’s  favorite  artist  is  Ariana  Grande.  Her  favorite  sport  is  
basketball.  She  has  moved  6  times  that  she  can  remember  she  now  lives  
on  Martha's  Vineyard.  She  loves  tacos  they  are  her  favorite.  Addie  
(Adeline)  loves  to  write  little  story  books  for  her  little  brother.  Addie’s  little  
brother  is  8  years  old  and  love  doing  her  makeup.  Her  favorite  animal  is  a  
wolf.  She  plays  the  cello  and  has  been  playing  since  the  beginning  of  5th  
grade.Addie  also  L-­O-­V-­E’s  fashion!!!  She  is  good  with  most  hair  styles.  

 

About the author

Maks is an 11 year old boy who goes to Edgartown school on martha's
vineyard massachusetts. he enjoys hockey,lacrosse and skateboarding he has
an 14 year old big brother named jackson. Maks’s birthday is february 11th
2005.

this is Maks