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The Cherokee People

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The Cherokee People
Nicole Chappell
February 10, 2013

The Cherokee People A Native American tribe that resided within the continental United States at the time of first European contact was the Cherokee Indians. They are still around today and better known as The Eastern Band of Cherokees. They had a very unique and creative culture. Although they weren’t very educated and George Guess didn’t finish his development of their own written language until the early 1820s they were fantastic at everything they did in order to survive off of the nature of the land. Major events like the hidden enemy and the “trail of tears” is what demolished most of the original Native American Cherokee Indians. Since The Cherokees were discovered by European settlers when they thought they found what they considered “The new land” it is unsure of their settlement date. However, there are certain artifacts that were discovered that does place them approximately 11,000 years before the first European settlers. Archaeologists tell us that American Indians may have been on the North American continent for fifty thousand years (Kincheloe, J. 2005). The Cherokees were great explorers, hunters, farmers and artisans. They learned quickly to adapt to new and very different climates such as dessert, forest, prairies, and along the ocean. The men used bows and arrows to hunt deer, turkey and small game. The men also used spears and fishing poles to catch fish. The women did the farming harvesting such crops like corn, beans, squash and sunflowers. They were also great artisans designing things like baskets, clay pots, carved pipes, mask and beads. The tribes built their towns that consist of 30 to 60 homes and families within the tribes usually had two homes to help better adapt to the climate changes throughout the year. They lived in houses made of woven saplings,

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