Native Americans of the Southeast: Cherokee  Creek  Chickasaw

1. Native Americans of the Southeast:Cherokee  Creek Chickasaw Mrs. Walker 4th Grade

2. Southeastern Woodlands

3. Words To Know: • Cherokee • Creek • Muscogee • Chickasaw • Tribe • Village • Clan • Confederacy

4. Cherokee • The Cherokee (CHAIR-uh-kee) are a Native American tribe that lived in the Southeastern Woodlands. • A tribe is a group of people who share the same language, tradition and ancestors. • Cherokee tribes in Tennessee were located in East Tennessee. Cherokee

5. Cherokee • The Cherokee lived in small villages located near rivers. • A village is a small group of houses and the people who live there. • Tennessee was named after the Cherokee village Tanase, which was located near present day Monroe County.

6. Cherokee Villages • Cherokee villages were located near rivers. • Most Cherokee lived in log cabins or earth lodges. • Cherokee villages had a circular Council House for meetings.

7. Cherokee Clans • Every Cherokee belonged to a clan. • A clan is a particular group of families that share a common ancestor. • There were 7 Cherokee clans: Wolf, Paint, Deer, Bird, Wild Potato, Blue, and Longhair. • People in a clan treated every member of the clan like brothers and sisters, even if they lived in a different village.

8. Cherokee Clothing • Cherokee wore clothing made from deerskin. • Men commonly decorated their bodies and faces with tattoos or paint.

9. Cherokee Daily Life • The Cherokee were farmers and hunters . • They grew corn, beans, and squash along with other crops. • Corn was their most important food. • The most important animal was the deer.

10. Cherokee Daily Life • Men taught boys how to make blow guns, darts, and weapons from flint. • Boys helped build cabins and carve canoes from wood. Note: Picture is hyperlinked to a video of a blowgun demonstration.

11. Cherokee Daily Life • Women taught girls how to make jewelry and cook. • Girls practiced weaving baskets from strips of wood.

12. Trail of Tears • Most Cherokees were forced to move to Oklahoma in the 1800's along the Trail of Tears. • Trail of Tears was the Cherokee name for what the Americans called Indian Removal.

13. Sequoyah • One of the best-known people in Cherokee history is Sequoyah. • Sequoyah is also known as George Gist. • His mother was Cherokee, a member of the paint clan, and his father was white. • Sequoyah grew up in the village of Tuskegee, Tennessee and did not speak English.

14. Sequoyah • He became fascinated with the way the English communicated with written words. • Sequoyah called the English system of writing “talking leaves”. • Some say he used this name because he believed the white man’s words dried up and blew away like the leaves when they changed their minds.

15. Sequoyah • One day, Chief Charles Hicks taught Sequoyah how to write his name so he could sign his work like other silversmiths did. • Sequoyah wanted the Cherokee to be able to communicate and preserve their traditions through writings like the white man. • Sequoyah decided to create written words for the Cherokee language.

16. Sequoyah • At first he used Pictographs but realized that there would be thousands of symbols in Cherokee language. • Instead he decided to create symbols for each syllable the Cherokee spoke. • Over 12 years, Sequoyah invented about 85 characters for various Cherokee syllables.

17. Sequoyah • Sequoyah’s system of written communication for the Cherokee language became known as Sequoyah’s Talking Leaves.

18. Nancy Ward • Nancy Ward is another famous Cherokee. • Her Cherokee name is Nanye-hi. • Nancy Ward is famous for helping her husband fight during a battle between the Cherokee and the Creek. • When her husband was shot and killed, she picked up his rifle and urged the Cherokee to fight harder.

19. Nancy Ward • Due to her bravery, the Cherokee made Ward a ghighau, or a Beloved Woman. • The Cherokee believe that the Great Spirit speaks through a Beloved Woman. • A Ghighau is very powerful in the Cherokee community. • Ward believed that the Cherokee and the white man could live together in peace and was involved in many peace talks with whites. • Ward died in 1822.

20. Talking Leaves Activity Use a leaf pattern to tell the story of Sequoyah.

21. Creek • The Creek are a Native American tribe that lived in the Southeastern Woodlands. • Creek tribes in Tennessee were located in Middle Tennessee. Creek

22. Creek • The Creek were originally called the Muscogee (muss-KOH-gee). • Muscogee is the original name for the Creek. • Today, many people use the two words together: Muskogee Creek • They are descendants of the Mississippi Mound Builders. • Like the Cherokee, they lived near rivers.

23. Creek Villages • At first, the Muscogee were a union of several tribes. • These tribes lived in settlements were called towns. • As the populations grew, new tribal towns grew out of “Mother towns.” • By the early 1800’s there were about 20,000 Muscogee living in 50 towns.

24. Creek Villages • Each town had a square, or plaza, for gathering together. • Ceremonies for peace, war and harvest time were all held in the square. • Some towns also had a temple built on an eight foot high earth mound.

25. Creek Confederacy • Eventually the towns formed a confederacy. • A confederacy is a union of states, tribes or towns with a common goal. • This confederacy was the most complex political organization north of Mexico.

26. Chickasaw • The Chickasaw (CHICK-a-saw) are a Native American tribe that lived in the Southeastern Woodlands. • Chickasaw tribes in Tennessee were located in West Tennessee. Chickasaw

27. Chickasaw • The Chickasaw was a much smaller tribe than the Cherokee or Creek (Muscogee). • They were great hunters and warriors. • During time of war, the Chickasaw gathered into more crowded and protected settlements and would spread out during peacetime.

28. Chickasaw Villages • Chickasaw villages circled a Council House that was used to gather for meetings, ceremonies, and celebrations. • Each Chickasaw family had two homes, one for cold winters and another for hot summers.

29. Chickasaw Villages • Summer homes had a thatched bark roof and walls covered with woven mats that allowed air to circulate through the home. • In the winter they lived in a circular dugout that dropped about three feet below the surface. Winter homes were made from wattle and daub. • Wattle and daub is a mixture of clay and dried grass.

30. Chickasaw Daily Life • Like many Native American tribes, work was divided between the men and the women. • Men hunted, fished, built houses and boats, and made tools. • Women farmed, gathered nuts and berries, and did household chores.

31. Chickasaw Daily Life • Chickasaw men were skilled hunters. • They used poison made from buckeye or green walnut hulls for fishing. They would toss the poison into a deep hole in a stream. As the drugged fish floated to the surface, the men grabbed or speared them.

32. Chickasaw: Warriors • Chickasaw men were great warriors and often captured their enemies during battles. • Prisoners were enslaved.

33. Focus Questions: Which Native American group did not live in Tennessee? • Cherokee • Aztec • Chickasaw • Muscogee

34. Focus Questions: Where did many Native Americans of Tennessee build their villages? • In the mountains • On plateaus • In the forests • Near rivers

35. Extended Writing: Imagine what it would be like to grow up in a Cherokee village. Write a paragraph or two describing what an average day might be like.