The tribe I’ll be discussing throughout my ethnography report are the Cherokee Indians. There are three sub-tribes to the Cherokee’s which are the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokees. Although they all originate from the same tribe/settlement, I’m going to be discussing the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. Today, this tribe of Cherokee’s live within 14 counties of Northeastern Oklahoma. The area in which they live isn’t a reserve but rather a federally-recognized, sovereign nation. As a federally-recognized, sovereign nation, they have the right to control all tribal assets. The relative geography to Northeastern Oklahoma consists of …show more content…
In 1829, the U.S. found Gold amongst the Cherokee’s land in Georgia. At this point they were forced out of their lands at bayonet point and marched 1000 miles to where they live presently, in Northeastern Oklahoma. Throughout the large movement of Cherokee Indians to their new lands in 1829, many died both during and after the march as a direct result of it and was therefore named the “Trail of Tears”. This was the most significant colonial conflict the Cherokee Indians have ever faced.
In the past, the Cherokee people had a very traditional way of living. The men’s role in society was mainly for hunting and political decision making, but when necessary they were the ones who fought in military conflicts. On the other hand, the women’s role was farming and to tend to their children and property. Today, many Cherokee communities have taken steps towards building both industries and businesses. Even though there has been some headway in making businesses and industries within the Cherokee community, much of how they live are the still the same. The …show more content…
I’ve learned that although in the past, they were a bit of a more merciless society, today, they’re a very respectful tribe and have steered away from conflict. I also respect greatly how independent they truly are. During the great depression, they received little to no economic assistance from the government and so instead of the Cherokee’s looking to their government for help in this time of need, they turned to each other. Everyone in the tribe helped out in ways they can and were helped in ways that they couldn’t help themselves. In the future, I see the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma sticking together and remaining a sovereign nation within the United States. The only negative potential outcome is the loss of their land. As the population in the United States grows, there is less and less land available for people to live in and I think that at a certain point the U.S. might take back parts of their land to meet this need for the general population. Although they don’t have the rights to do this, at a certain breaking point, I feel they’ll violate these