Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Chapter 4
Edu 280
Spring 2019
American Indian Tribes
•Cherokee Tribe
1. It comes from a Muskogee word
meaning “speakers of another
language.”
2. Cherokee Indians originally called
themselves Aniyunwiya(Ani-Yun-Wiya), "the
principal people," but today they
accept the name Cherokee, which is
spelled and pronounced
Tsalagi(sal-agi) in their own language.
American Indian Cherokee Tribe
•3. The Cherokees are original residents of the American southeast region,
particularly Georgia, North and South Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, and
Tennessee.
•4. There are three federally recognized Cherokee tribes: the Cherokee Nation
of Oklahoma, the United Keetoowah Band in Oklahoma, and the Eastern Band of
Cherokee Indians in North Carolina. Other Cherokee communities in Alabama,
Georgia, and other states are considered unofficial by the US government.
•5.Each Cherokee tribe has its own government, laws, police, and services, just
like a small country. However, Cherokee Indians are also US citizens and must
obey American law.
Cherokee Indian Foods
1. The Cherokee were farming people. Cherokee women did most of the farming,
harvesting crops of corn, beans, squash, and sunflowers. 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.
2. In today’s modern age, food in Cherokee is as diverse as anywhere else. Many foods
are prepared by grilling, frying, boiling, baking, and occasionally over an open fire.
3. Cherokee people still eat the three sisters and grow a variety of vegetables and fruits.
People also get together for hot dogs, hamburgers, BBQ, turkey, ham, steaks, fish, etc.
One more modern, local favorite is shared by many people in the Qualla Boundary and
beyond: it is called fry bread.
Cherokee Indian Foods
There is a legend that corn, beans,
and squash are inseparable sisters
that grow and thrive together.
Specialty Food Dish- Fry Bread
1. Fry bread is a modern tradition
found in many tribes in North
America, and, in Cherokee, there is
a wide variety of recipes.
2. Fry bread can be eaten plain or with
toppings like cheese, chili, hot
sauce, hot peppers, lettuce, tomato,
onion, sour cream, salsa, and more.
Socioeconomic Status of American Indians
● American Indians in the United States are among the
poorest economically
○ Least employed
○ Unhealthiest
○ Low education/income levels
● The Southern Utes in Colorado, the Uinta-Ouray Utes in
Utah, and the Blackfeet in Montana have gas and oil
reserves, like the Shoshones in Wyoming.
● The Navajo and Hopi reservations in the Southwest
contain vast oil and gas fields as well as uranium
reserves.
Religion of the American Indian
● The American Indian belief that the world is
interconnected and everything, including humankind, lives
according to the same process.
○ Power
○ Function
○ Place in the universe
● Every part of nature has a spirit that possesses
intelligence, emotion, and free will.
● Great Spirit is everything in all nature.
○ Pray to nature
○ Nature is the Essence of God
● The spiritual God of the American Indians is positive,
benevolent, and part of daily living.
American Indian Language
● Tests and teacher reports show that American Indian children function at
the average-to-superior range until the fourth grade.
● After the fourth grade, academic functioning typically declines each year.
By 10th grade, American Indian learners’ academic achievement falls
below the norm.
○ Growing feelings of isolation
○ Rejection
○ Anxiety that American Indian learners feel as they confront the incompatibility of their
cultural value system with peers.
American Indian Achievement Levels……….
● Recognizing what American Indian children are and are not comfortable with.
● Example:
○ Situation #1 Uncomfortable with: To be put on the spot/receive public praise.
○ In traditional culture, it is considered inappropriate to draw attention to oneself (pound your
own drum).
○ Solution: Teachers need to make an effort to express positive recognition in a one-on-one
environment.
○ Situation #2 Grades do not appeal the same to American Indian students, as they do to
non-American Indians.
○ Solution: Instead, appeal to the student through setting their own goals, recognizing their
achievements, creating engaging and fun activities, and emphasize their strengths.
Becoming Aware and Finding Solutions
Question #2: Contrast the views of family from the perspective of American
Indian versus the European American.
● When it came to family and their roles, the American Indian men would usually hunt,
while the woman would farm, there was overall greater freedom and influences. On
the other hand, the European American men would be the ones that led household as
well as farmed. The women would have few rights and only did the household labor.
With American Indians, trade was ceremonial, and gift-giving led to high status while
in European American families, trade was a business transaction and accumulating
wealth was what led to a high status.
CLEQSP Cooperating Learning Essay Questions
Question #4: Discuss cultural characteristics of American Indians. How can you
direct your perceptions and that of your colleagues toward a more positive
viewpoint?
Question #5: Briefly describe some commonly held religious beliefs winthing
American Indian cultures. How do these beliefs contrast with commonly held
European American values? What challenges and opportunities does this contrast
provide educators?
● In the American Indian religion their belief is that the world is interconnected and everything
including humankind lives accordingly to the same process. Each being has its power, function,
and place in the universe. To them nature is the essence of God. Nature would stop is God no
longer lived. Their beliefs are completely different from European American beliefs. They differ
because since the beginning Europeans escaped to America because of the forced beliefs by
churches like the Roman Catholic Church. These beliefs contrast because there are many different
religions across the country. There are people that are atheist and do not believe in an afterlife or
God. The majority of religions in the United States in Christianity.
Cherokee Indian Children
•Many Cherokee children enjoy hunting
and fishing with their fathers. In the past,
Cherokee kids had more chores and less
time to play, just like colonial children.
•In one popular game, Cherokee kids
tried to throw a dart through a moving
hoop. Anejodi, a stickball game related to
the Iroquois game of lacrosse, was a
popular sport among Cherokee teenagers
and adult men.
The Stick Game (The Hand Game)
Required Items:
● 11 Sticks
● 4 pieces of bone or small stone
Players:
The Prize: