Cherokee Indians

Cherokee Proverbs

Don’t allow yesterday to spend up too much of today.

There is a right time and place for everything.

Listen—or your tongue will keep you deaf.

Always remember that a smile is something sacred, to be shared.

Listen with your heart. Learn from your experiences, and always be open to new ones.

Cherokee Quote

High Eagle

I see the universe; I see myself.

Native American Wisdom

The early Cherokee farmed and hunted in the southern Appalachian region. By the 1500s, they had devised many kinds of tools, and lived in log cabins. They also celebrated various ceremonies, many of which were agriculturally related.

In the 1800s, they began adopting several aspects of white culture, such as a republican government, as well as techniques in farming, weaving, and home building. In 1821, they devised a system of writing their language, and it quickly became popular among them. Within a few years, almost the Cherokee nation became versed in it, and by 1828, a newspaper was started called the Cherokee Phoenix.

Later, the Cherokee were driven off and horribly mistreated by white settlers and the US government. In their forced move, thousands of them died. Now most Cherokee live in Oklahoma and North Carolina. There are currently about 300,000 Cherokee in North America today, making them the most populous Native American tribe in the United States.