CHEROKEE

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Cherokee is one of the Largest American Indian Tribes

Cherokee is the largest Native American group in the United States, population: 370,000

The Census Bureau estimates that Asheville's population is 72,789

Weather averages for Asheville, North Carolina

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year

Average high °F (°C)

47 (8) 50 (10) 57 (13) 68 (20) 76 (24) 82 (27) 84 (28) 83 (28) 77 (25) 68 (20) 57 (13) 48 (8) 67 (19)

Average low

°F (°C)

28 (-2) 30 (-1) 35 (1) 45 (7) 53 (11) 60 (15) 63 (17) 62 (16) 56 (13) 45 (7) 35 (1) 29 (-1) 45 (7)

Precipitation inch (cm)

2.6 (6) 3.1 (7) 4.0 (10) 3.3 (8) 2.9 (7) 3.5 (8) 3.4 (8) 4.0 (10) 3.1 (7) 2.7 (6) 2.6 (6) 2.7 (6)38.1 (39)

North Carolina's geography is usually divided into three biomes: Coastal, Piedmont, and the Appalachian Mountains.

The Appalachian Mountains and the Gulf Stream influence climate and, hence, the vegetation (flora) and animals (fauna).

There are The Appalachian Mountains with elevations between 1500 to more than 6000 feet.

HISTORY

•The Paleo Indian Period (13000 BC to 7000 BC)

•The Archaic Period (8000 BC to 500 BC)

•The Woodland Period (800 BC to AD 1200)

•The Late Prehistoric Period (AD 1200 to circa AD 1650)

•The Historic Period (AD 1650 to AD 1843)Paleo Indian

The Woodland

http://www.mysteriousworld.com/Journal/2002/Autumn/EffigyMounds/#TheMysteryBegins

HISTORY CONT…

http://www.angelfire.com/sc3/smmindex3/CherokeeTimeline.html

•The Great Smoky Mountains

•1540 everything changed

•Columbus discovered America

•The first recorded European, Hernando De Soto

HISTORY CONT…De Soto

•The Cherokee made many war treaties; ended up starting the Indian Wars

•Europeans brought along many diseases

•Native American grew worse and worse

•Seventeen thousand Cherokee started west on the Trail of Tears in 1938

“Place where they cried”

CULTURE

•“Cherokee” is Creek for 'people with another language. There are 350,000 Cherokee people today, mostly in Oklahoma and North Carolina.

•Language: Cherokee--more properly spelled Tsalagi--is an Iroquoian language with an innovative written syllabary Tsalagi is spoken by 22,000 people, primarily in Oklahoma and North Carolina

•Tsalagi is still in imperiled condition because of government policies as late as the fifties which enforced the removal of Cherokee children from Tsalagi-speaking homes, reducing the number of young Cherokees being raised bilingually from 75% to less than 5% today.

•The first dance is by invitation, tribal elders, elders, medicine men and clan heads while they dance around the fire

•Dance is a holy place to worship God

•Feathers are believed by the Indians to be a symbol of power, strength, and spirituality

•Indians believed that the feathers were a good protecting

Four Sacred Directions in the Universal Circle of Life, are observed in the Cherokee Tradition. Each represents a specific color, direction, attribute of learning focus, and path to follow.

This clockwise circle represents the spiral of life, with the directional energy that influences it. The Center is for the Creator, and the Four Directions of the Universal Circle. The Four Directions provide guidance in understanding our behaviors and directions. The Directions provide us balance and we must find the harmony in relationship to all that exists in our environment.

The Four Directions also connect us with the spirit of the animals and birds as our brothers and sisters in the Universal Circle. In traditional teachings, the circle represents an omni-present energy that exists in the universe - which is, the never-ending Circle of Life.

EAST SOUTH WEST NORTH

Color - RedDirection - Spiritual

Path of Sun

Color - WhiteDirection -

NaturalPath of Peace

Color - BlackDirection - PhysicalPath of

Introspect

Color - BlueDirection - Mental

Path of Quiet

The Four Directions of the Universal Circle

COLORS FOR FACE/BODY PAINTING

RED was the color of war

WHITE was the color of peaceBLACK was a "living" color, worn on the face to prepare for war

GREEN worn under the eyes was supposed to empower the wearer with night vision

YELLOW represented death, as it is the color of "old bones."

Seven Clans of the Cherokee

Bird Blue Deer

Long Hair Paint

Wild PotatoWolf

http://www.cherokee-nc.com/history.php?Name=Seven%20Clans

*The Wolf Clan is the largest clan and the most prominent clan, providing most of the war chiefs. The wolf clan is Keepers of the wolf and the only clan who could kill a wolf

*The Blue or Panther Clan made blue medicine from a special plant to keep our children well. They were also known as the Wildcat Clan;

*The Long Hair Clan are also known as Twister Clan, Hair Hanging down Clan or Wind Clan. Peace chiefs are usually from this clan and wore a white feather robe.

*The Bird Clan are the Keepers of the birds and they are our messengers;

*The Paint Clan made red paint and were sorcerers and medicine men

*The deer Clan are the Keepers of the Deer (our sacred animal), and are known as fast runners

*The Wild Potato Clan are also known as the Bear Clan, Raccoon Clan or Blind Savannah Clan. They were known to dig wild potatoes to make flour or bread.

Animals are considered to hold certain powers and represent different traits..

Wolf-A lot is to be learned from this sacred animal about family life. He is loyal and perseveres in the most harsh of times always providing for his family. He is considered a great hunter who never fails by the Cherokee….

http://pyesetz.furtopia.org/sozont/cherokee-animal-totems.htmlLook up for some more animals meant

The Cherokee Nation hosts the Cherokee National Holiday on Labor Day weekend each year and 80,000 to 90,000 Cherokee Citizens travel to Tahlequah, Oklahoma for the festivities. The best-known episode in Cherokee history was also the worst: the Trail of Tears.

http://hooahwife.com/images/chris/Cherokee%20Morning.jpg

Seven Clans of the Cherokee

Bird Blue Deer

Long Hair Paint

Wild PotatoWolf

•Dance has always been a very important part of the life of the Cherokee Indians. Indian has a very rich tradition of dance. Dancers are very important figures in the Indian culture and Indian dance have many varieties which reflects all aspect of life from religious to war to social. Some Cherokees have joined in the pan-Indian practice of powwow dancing

•Feathers mean a lot to Native American Tribes

•Cherokee Art

•The five civilized tribes

•Medicine men & women

•Cherokee Wedding

•Religion

•Feathered headdresses are a sign of power and strength

•The feather is still a very important symbol in the Native American world today. Indian feathers contributed to a large part of Native American culture, and represent an appreciation for our natural world

•Today, the roach is worn by most male dancers. There is no society association today, but some dancers do wear certain colors for various personal or religious reasons. Most of the time, the colors are chosen to match the dance clothes.

•Roach made out of porcupine guard hair and deer hair and sometimes made out of skunk hair

•Today, Cherokee Indian People wear modern clothes like jeans instead of breechcloths, but still wear moccasins or beaded shirts are still worn by some Cherokee people. These people wear feathers in their hair only on special occasions or on traditional dances. 

•Porcupine roaches are what essentially every modern Native American powwow dancer wears on their head, except for the women and not all Southern Straight dancers (who wear a hat made out of otter fur).

•Most roaches are between 15″ and 24″ long

http://www.native-languages.org/cherokee_colors.htm

Colors languages: