1. T h e y a r e a g r o u p o f s o u t h e a s t e r n p e o p l e w h o s e a n c e s t o r s m a y h a v e b e e n f r o m t h e O h i o R i v e r V a l l e y. W h i c h e a r l y A m e r i c a n g r o u p w a s f r o m t h e O R V ? Cherokee We will learn about the location, homes, and lifestyles of the Cherokee. At the end of this lesson you should be able to explain what each of these pictures are!

2. Location Once their homeland was in western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and northern Georgia. Some still live there, although most of the Cherokee were forced to move to what is now Oklahoma. This was called the Trail of Tears. Schema-what do you remember about the Trail of Tears from second grade? How do you think it got the name “Trail of Tears”? Compare and contrast the Trail of Tears to reservations.

3. Homes They lived in wood-frame houses with walls made of woven vines or branches plastered with mud.

4. Two Chiefs?!? Each group of Cherokee had two chiefs. One ruled during peacetime, and one ruled during war. The chiefs helped to guide the people and make decisions, but they did not have complete control over the people. The people had a say in how they were ruled. Does this type of government remind you of anything?

5. Food The Cherokee women harvested crops of corn, beans, squash, and sunflowers. They also gathered berries, nuts, and fruit to eat. The men hunted deer, wild turkeys, and small game and fished in the rivers. This makes them.... Hunter-Gatherers!

6. Story Tellers Like all other Native American people, the Cherokee told many legends to explain how their world came into existence.

7. Sequoyah In the late 1700s and early 1800s, the Cherokee became the ONLY Native American people in the United States that also kept written records. For this, they thank Sequoyah.

8. Thanks Sequoyah! He heard many stories growing up, and became worried that the stories may get lost. How could stories get lost? He then invented a set of symbols so that the Cherokee language could be written and read. It was not an easy task! This was a great achievement. The giant sequoia tress is named to honor him. The tree stands as a symbol of the strength and power of the written word.

9. Can you explain each of these pictures and why they are important to the Cherokee people? Sequoyah is the man who invented the Cherokee language. The Trail of Tears is where many Cherokee people lost their lives on their forced march out west. The Cherokee language. Let’s watch a quick recap of what we’ve learned this lesson.