Essay On The Cherokee Indians

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The Cherokee Indians were one of the many civilized tribes in the United States. The Cherokee settled in the southeastern part of the U.S, which includes the northern parts of Georgia and Alabama, the western parts of North and South Carolina, and southwest Virginia from 1000 A.D. to 1500 A.D. and their development took place in two stages. First was the Pisgah stage which took place from 1300 A.D. to 1540 A.D. Second was the Qualla which took place 1540 A.D. to 1750 A.D. As well as in the past the Cherokees are still around today, residing around the U.S. on Indian reservations. The main focus will be Cherokee life including marriage, daily life, government, and war.
Marriage is looked at as a lifelong venture. If a man wants to marry a certain woman he has to ask both his and her parents for their permission. If both parents agree then a priest is told. On the morning of the ceremony the priest prays asking for a sign as to whether a couple should marry or not. To get the sign that he is looking for he holds two roots in his hand. If the roots moved together in his hand then it was okay for a couple to marry. But if the roots did not move or moved together and one died then the marriage would be forbidden. When the roots came together with no problem, the ceremony went on. The priest prayed over the couple and warned them about being unfaithful because if they did then they would go to a “bad place” when they died. Divorce did happen but was a rare occurrence. All that had to be done was the dividing of blankets. Once a couple is married they can focus on having children.
Cherokee villages were made up of groups of relatives that included members of at least four clans. They grew their own crops outside their villages, alt...

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...he warriors not to be afraid for God would help them if they trusted him. A priest would pray and the war party would set out.
After returning home from battle, the warriors stayed at their own village council houses for twenty-four days. During this time they went under intense purification rituals before returning to their families. Being given a new name honored warriors, who fought well in battle. The new name usually gave them new status in the village.
The Cherokee life is full of traditions from the past and has helped them survive as long as they have in the present. Even though they don’t all live the same, or in the same place, they all still have close to the same past and traditions they live by that include marriage, daily life, government, and war. The life of the Cherokees have been studied for many years and will be continued for a long time to come.

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