Food

The Cherokee had one large garden in which they grew beans, corn, squash, pumpkins, and sunflowers. They also had small individual gardens. The women tended the gardens after the men cleared the fields and helped plant the crops. The men provided the meat for their families. They used traps, bows and arrows, blowguns, and darts to help kill game. Deer was the most important animal the men hunted. They also hunted for bear.

Customs

Five Civilized Tribes

The Cherokee were one of the "Five Civilized Tribes".  The other tribes included in this group were the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Natchez. Approximately 20,00 people in at least 50 towns in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida were included in this group.

Corn Festivals

The Cherokee people had a great respect for nature. They asked the spirits of the sun, moon, starts, plants, animals, and elements to help them. Several festivals were held each year to celebrate planting and harvesting corn. During these festivals the people painted their faces white to represent happiness.

Lacrosse

Lacrosse was a sport played by the Chickasaws, Cherokees, and Creek tribes. The game was played in two teams with 60 players on each team. Two sticks were held by each player to catch and throw a ball. Each stick had a small thong basket at one end. No player was allowed to touch the thong leather lacrosse ball, except with the stick or basket. The object of the game was to score points by scooping up the ball in the basket and sending it through a pair of goal posts. The first team to score twenty goals was the winner.

Tools/Weapons

The Cherokee women wove mats and baskets. The women also planted, tended, and harvested the crops. They cooked, made clothing and pottery, and gathered nuts. The men made tools and weapons. The also built canoes.

The men made tools and weapons. Weapons included tomahawks and blowguns. The hunters used blowguns for small game and birds. They built canoes and house frames and roofs.

Art

The people made drums and rattles. The women made pottery and baskets.

Enjoy these links.

The Trail of Tears