The Cherokee tribe had an exceedingly flourishing culture which spread from the Southern Atlantic to the Mississippi Valley regions of the North American continent. “Most scholars and tribal elders agree that the Cherokee came to the Southeast from the Great Lakes, where conflict among tribes threatened their vitality”(Treuer 84). With this migration in mind, by examining the geography of what tribal peoples dwelt in the North along with their cultural practices/traditions, we may discover insights regarding what influences impacted the Cherokee lifestyle.
To open, the Great Lakes region in the Northeast provided the tribal populations with plenty of land for agricultural farming, hunting, fishing, and family life. One of the most noteworthy inventions from the Northeast region was the canoe which transformed cultural life from communication, travel, and trading with other tribal peoples. “The technology and craftsmanship behind the invention evolved among the Ojibwe, but was shared and mastered by their allies and immediate neighbors, including the Ottawa, Potawatomi, and the Menominee”(Treuer 26-27). To clarify, the significance of the canoe invention establishes the theme of cultural community among relationships between each tribal group and their neighboring societies throughout all aspects of life. The best example of this is illustrated through the acts of statesmanship between neighboring groups. In the Atlas of Indian Nations Anton Treur states, “In diplomacy, the birchbark canoe made it possible for the Three Fires Confederacy to maintain a sophisticated political and cultural arrangement for generations across the largest confederated region in the Northeast”(Treuer 27).
Moving forward, one additional illustration surrounding the invention of the canoe and the theme of cultural community relationships among neighboring societies exists within the formation of confederacy alliances. “In the Northeast, it was not simply the strong individual tribes that survived-it was those who leveraged greater strength from alliances with other tribes and with Europeans who were able to dominate the territory and emerge from the colonial era intact”(Treuer 27). In brief, by peering through the historical binoculars, we can see paralleled mannerisms of interaction among the Iroquois Confederacy and the Wabanaki Confederacy that behaviorally coincides with how the “Five Civilized Tribes” of the Southeast evolved to adopt political and economic relationships with the European colonists. The Cherokee (in the Southeast) for example, who approached life with balance (aka the duyuktv doctrine) were open to the technologies and ideologies of the Europeans. In similar fashion, the tribal confederacies of the North traded weapons, furs, and clothing with the Dutch, British, and French. “All the players needed things from one another, and the accommodations they all made forged a new culture in diplomacy, war, and trade”(Treuer 39). As a result, the biggest cultural impacts on tribes in the Northeast involved religious views shifting from missionary preachers, political systems evolved into representative councils, and educational/teaching practices began to focus on writing. Ultimately, by spreading disease and land grabbing, European contact just as in the South, severely damaged the tribes of the Northeast. “In the end, white settlers and their governments in the United States and Canada ended up with most of the land, and the tribes fell into abject poverty”(Treuer 39).
Given these points, it is worth mentioning the commonalities among the Cherokee (Southeast) and the Iroquois Confederacy from the North. Two of the largest identifying culture traits shared by these groups are language and the three sister crops consisting of corn, beans, and squash. “The Cherokee language is linguistically related to the language of the Iroquois, whose historic homeland was the area of what is now upper New York State.”(Watkins) Historically, this holds significance because the tribes of the Northeast were comprised from the Algonquian, Iroquoian, and Siouan people. Furthermore, the Cherokee migration to the South adamantly links their culture to the confederacies of the North. “The Cherokees came so suddenly and unexpectedly into the coastland that the Senecas and many other tribes thought that they came from the earth and called them “cave men” or “the people that came from a hole in the ground,” The ancient Delawares, who called themselves “Lenni Lenape” or “The People,” called the Cherokees, “Allegans”(Cherokee Heritage ).
Finally, the Plains/Midwestern region of the North American continent noted for harsh winters provided the “Siouan, Caddoan, Algonquian, and Uto-Aztecan language families” with contrasting culture styles from their Northern and Southern neighbors”(Treuer 117). Hunting for example, was essentially the central focus of life culture in the Plains region because of the large population of buffalo. “That one species would supply food, shelter, clothing, writing material for Winter Counts that document oral histories, and spiritual inspiration for countless thousands of tribal people”(Treuer 117). The Winter Count is a very telling custom because the oral and written stories illustrate a sense of community and spirituality among the Plains tribes. “Winter Counts were at first kept in the memory of a person specially designated to remember for a tribe or a band of a tribe”(North Dakota Studies -Winter Counts ) .
In similar communal fashion, religious practices were a staple of culture among the Plains tribes involving tobacco pipes. “All Plains tribes embraced vibrant religious beliefs that usually focused on a creator and a pantheon of helping spirits placed in the winds, the earth, the sky, and water-listening, helping, and keeping the world in balance”(Treuer 118). One important dual identity the Plains tribes shared with the Cherokee of the Southeast was the emphasis of a life balance among land, religion, nature, and societies. Perhaps the most compelling evidence of this life balance intertwining with spirituality can be seen in the Sacred Pipe Ceremony. “When a pipe is filled, the Powers of the Four Winds are called upon, as is Grandfather Spirit above, and
Grandmother Earth below, as well as other powers, such as the Creator of all, the ancestors, and
specific spirit powers the pipe carrier is working with”(Wood 3). Here is a link to an article with pictures on the Sacred Pipe http://nicholasbreezewood.me/Articles/Pipe-Ceremony.pdf
In closing, contact with the European colonists in the Plains resulted in military struggles for land just as within the North and South. “Land loss meant loss of lifeways, adaption to fewer resources, less access to whatever resources remained, and a declining standard of living”(Treuer 127). Resistance militarily or culturally was successful for the Lakota and Cheyenne, but the tactics of the government were beyond tragic. “One key strategy used by the U.S. government was to slaughter the buffalo population to starve the tribes into submission”(Treuer 126). All in all, colonial incursions combined with government inflicted atrocities changed the Plains region forever. “Today, the Plains are home to thousands of Native people with growing populations, vibrant culture traditions, and sovereign governments, represented by many inspiring leaders and citizens –praying,working,and building for a brighter future”(Treuer 127).
Works Cited
Cherokee Heritage . n.d. 08 December 2017. <http://cherokeeregistry.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=285&Itemid=357>.
North Dakota Studies -Winter Counts . 2017. 08 December 2017. <http://ndstudies.gov/gr8/content/unit-iii-waves-development-1861-1920/lesson-3-building-communities/topic-7-telling-our-story/section-2-winter-counts>.
Treuer, Anton. Atlas of Indian Nations . Washington DC: National Geographic , 2013.
Watkins, Thayer. History of the Cherokees . n.d. 08 December 2017. <http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/cherokee.htm>.
Wood, Nicolas Breeze. “Walking With the Sacred Pipe .” n.d. 08 December 2017. <http://nicholasbreezewood.me/Articles/Pipe-Ceremony.pdf>.
