What did the Cherokee do when they got to Oklahoma?

What did the Cherokee do when they got to Oklahoma?

Under the legal authority of this Act, in 1838-1839, the United States military forcibly and brutally force-marched thousands of Cherokee to their new home in what would become Oklahoma. The American officials generally portrayed Chief John Ross as a villain and the recent arrivals as “savages.”

What did the Cherokees do?

Cherokee men did most of the hunting, shooting deer, bear, wild turkeys, and small game. They also fished in the rivers and along the coast. Cherokee dishes included cornbread, soups, and stews cooked on stone hearths.

Why did the Cherokee tribe move to Oklahoma?

Originally located in the southeastern United States in parts of Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina, the Cherokee Nation was forced to relocate to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) in 1838 after gold was discovered in our homelands.

Were there Cherokees in Oklahoma?

About 200 years ago the Cherokee Indians were one tribe, or “Indian Nation” that lived in the southeast part of what is now the United States. During the 1830’s and 1840’s, the period covered by the Indian Removal Act, many Cherokees were moved west to a territory that is now the State of Oklahoma.

Why are the Cherokee important?

The men were responsible for hunting and war. Living in the East, the Cherokee had early contact with the American colonists. They made many treaties with the colonists over the years. They also fought alongside the French in the French and Indian war in 1754 against the British.

How were the Cherokee treated in Oklahoma?

Beginning on May 26, 1838, soldiers under the command of General Winfield Scott rounded up the majority of the Cherokee along with 1,500 slaves and free blacks, forced them to leave behind most of their possessions and herded them into wooden stockades and internment camps.

What did the Cherokee make?

Traditional Cherokee art included pipe carving, rivercane basket weaving, gourd art, and pottery. After moving to Oklahoma, the Cherokees couldn’t get the materials they used to use for traditional crafts, so they concentrated on other crafts like American Indian beading and textile arts.

Where did the Cherokee settle in Oklahoma?

Today, the Cherokee people live primarily in 14 counties in northeastern Oklahoma. In the 18th century, the Cherokees numbered about 10,000, occupying about 60 villages on the southern frontier of English America.

What did the Cherokee live in?

The Cherokee were southeastern woodland Indians, and in the winter they lived in houses made of woven saplings, plastered with mud and roofed with poplar bark. In the summer they lived in open-air dwellings roofed with bark. Today the Cherokee live in ranch houses, apartments, and trailers.

What was Cherokee culture like?

Cherokee culture encompasses our longstanding traditions of language, spirituality, food, storytelling and many forms of art, both practical and beautiful. Many Cherokees embrace a mix of both modern and traditional aspects of our culture, and our people today follow many faiths.

What did the Cherokee invent?

Sequoyah was one of the most influential figures in Cherokee history. He created the Cherokee Syllabary, a written form of the Cherokee language. The syllabary allowed literacy and printing to flourish in the Cherokee Nation in the early 19th century and remains in use today.

How did Cherokees govern themselves?

Each Cherokee village had two governments: a white government which governed when the village was at peace, and a red government which governed during times of war. The colonial governments and the United States dealt almost exclusively with the War Chiefs and were often unaware of the existence of Peace Chiefs.