Indigenous people are those who are native to a land and typically belong to a specific

tribe. Within each tribe, there are smaller groups(sometimes known as clans). Throughout the

United States, there are countless numbers of Native American Indian Tribes. Each of these

tribes have different homes in which they have stayed throughout their existence, although some

may have been forced to move west during the time of Andrew Jacksons presidency and

leadership. One specific tribe that is going to be looked at a little closer during this assignment is

the Cherokee Indian tribe.

It is traditional for the Cherokee to practice a monotheistic Animism; which made the

original contact with Europeans relatively successful. Today, the tribes are most commonly

found in the North Carolina region, and the Oklahoma region.(Waddington) Their current living

situation is what caused there to be two different nations of the Cherokee people when they

first came about. The Cherokee Indians are a tribe with many traditions and rituals, they hold

what they do near and dear to them and perform different rituals for different events within their

tribe. One of those rituals is the Stomp Dance, a ritualistic dance in which members of the tribe

dance counter-clockwise around a fire, stomping to the rhythm that is created by a women shell

shaker in the event(Cherokee Stomp Dance). Within the dance, some perform a ceremonial

observance, which are sacrificed by leaders, prayers, taking medicine, smoking the pipe, and

entering the water for ritual cleansing. The dance is a holy event worshiping their God and

creator of mankind, Unetlanv(Gleason).

The Stomp Dance is a very thoughtful and elaborate ritual that days an entire day to

prepare for. It begins with the fire keeper and their assistant building a fire at dawn the day of the

dance, gathering their wood from oak trees. As the sun begins to rise, the women prepare an

entire days worth of meals, as the men discuss politics and the current issues as they sit around
the fire. Later in the day Sermons are given for all of those to have love for all of mankind, and

not just for those within their own tribe. Once the Sermons are given, everyone disperses and

most likely begin playing stickball, which is similar to the modern day sport, LaCrosse. When

the sun begins to set, they continue more Sermons from the morning portion. Prior to the

beginning of the Stomp Dance, a pipe is passed around to the members. Before passing the pipe

on to the next person, they take seven puffs from it(Gleason). Throughout the entire evening full

of dancing, participants take the special medicine at four different occasions for their spiritual

and physical benefit. The medicine consists of plants and other natural herbs that grow around

the area the reservation is in. For those who are making a religious commitment, they begin

fasting at midnight the night of the dance(Cherokee Stomp Dance).

Each dance has a male leader who chooses the music and the dance for the night. The

leader of each dance announces who the participants are and which dance it is prior to it

happening. The dance is done in a counter clockwise motion around a fire and consists of the

leader, followed by the shell shaker. After those two begin, the line is followed by other tribal

members in male female order, then come the visitors, then the young children, and the circle is

enclosed by the odd numbered participants. The number of participants who are in each

individual dance can range anywhere from less than ten, to several hundred in the sam dance.

The number of people in each dance depends on the number of visitors, how many shell shakers

there will be, and how many people from each clan are going to participate in the dances. The

attire for this event if different for the men and women, but is more of a casual attire. The women

will normally wear a skirt and a a ribbon shirt. The men will typically wear blue jeans/slacks,

they will also wear the ribbon shirt, a cowboy styled hat, and either an eagle, hawk, or crane

feather in the brim of the hat.(Cherokee Stomp Dance)

 The first dance is an invitation only dance, meaning that people must be invited to

participate in the actual act. This dance typically consists of the tribal elders, the medicine men,

and the head of each different clan. The participants are chosen and are from the categories of the

leader, assistant and the shell shaker. A shell shaker is a women from the tribe who has tortoise

shells filled with pebbles/rocks tied around each of their legs creating the beat for the stomps.

The women will typically have anywhere between six to twelve shakers per leg depending on the

amount of people participating in each dance.

In conclusion, the Cherokee are a very accepting tribe who often allow visitors for some

of their more casual events they have. Although their are different clans within a larger tribe,

they come together and participate in events as a whole rather than in their smaller groups. This

Stomp Dance is sentimental to them and lasts from dawn to dawn, when once the dancing starts

it just about never ends.

 Works Cited

Cherokee Stomp Dance. Cherokee Stomp Dance, The Cherokee Nation, 2017,

www.cherokee.org/About-The-Nation/Culture/General/Cherokee-Stomp-Dance.

Gleason, Auger. Cherokee Registry. Stomp Dance, Cherokee Heritage, cherokeeregistry.com/

index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=385&Itemid=579.

Waddington, Ray. The Cherokee People. Indigenous Peoples of the World The Cherokee,

The Peoples of the World Foundation, 2006, www.peoplesoftheworld.org/text?

people=Cherokee.