Embedded Files
Parts of the Collage
Parts of the Collage
GWY, pronounced, "Tsalagi," is what the people of the Cherokee tribe call themselves in the Cherokee language.
The person in the center is, John Ross, a chief of the Cherokee tribe for over 40 years, and led his nation well through a very tumultuous period.
The person on the right is Kimberly Teehee, a Delegate-designate to the U.S. House of Representatives from the Cherokee Nation.
The person on the left is Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr., the current chief of Cherokee Nation.
The image at the upper right depicts a group of unnamed Cherokee people from the 18th century.
Land Occupation
Land Occupation
The Cherokee were one of the major tribes that experienced removal from their homeland in the 1800s by the white colonizers. They originated around present-day Tennessee and Kentucky, relocated to Arkansas, Missouri, and Texas, then finally were forced to settle in Oklahoma. The interactive map on the right depicts a rough outline of the original homelands (eastern territory) as well as the current reservation (western territory).
However, before their forcible displacement, the Tennessee River was so closely associated with them that the settlers referred to the waterway as simply the “Cherokee River.” And despite their history of constant relocation, they managed to find a common factor to hold all of this history together, which was water and its sacredness.
It is also important to recognize that a large portion of Cherokee people are living outside of the reservation. The Cherokee Nation has more than 300,000 tribal members, but total of more than 819,000 people are estimated to have identified as having Cherokee ancestry on the U.S. census.
Views of Nature
Views of Nature
This is my own interpretation and synthesis of what I have read of the writings of Cherokee indigenous people and I have specifically included information such that it highlights the differences between the three tribes. In order to avoid having my writing, the writing of an onlooker, being that which shapes the knowledge of the reader, I strongly encourage you to scroll to the bottom and read the original writing that I used to inform this project.
As mentioned above, water and its sacredness is a central perspective of the Cherokee people. Bodies of running water are seen as living things and they view natural spring water as medicine in itself. Their value of the river shaped their interactions with it; for example they designed stone weirs to catch fish that depended on the motion of the streams rather than attempting to alter the river’s course. Their identity depends heavily on an appreciation for the spirituality of nature (like other indigenous groups), but is not exclusive to their nature, but rather nature as a whole, which has allowed them to continue to thrive in various landscapes, even through the intense hardships of forced removal.
According to Cherokee oral tradition, plants emerged as a source of aid to the people, even in the face of disrespectful acts towards the animal world. The Cherokees hold deep gratitude for these acts and recognize the integral role of plants as medicine in their culture. To many Cherokees, stones, soil, water, animals, insects, and plants all have “medicine.”
It is agreed upon that the Cherokee's profound relationship with plants surpasses that of other Indigenous peoples, highlighting its exceptional depth and significance.
Due to removal, the Cherokees lost one-third of their culturally significant plants, leaving behind the most important species for their medicine and crafts. However, they adapted to their new environment by gaining knowledge through observation and learning. Healers could deduce similar medicinal uses for plants that were related to those in their homelands. This process involved careful observation of plant-animal interactions and seeking guidance through dreams or divination. Some believe that communication with animal spirits, the Little People, or even Unehlanvhi, the Creator revealed many of the new area's medicinal plants to the Cherokees.
In the Cherokee Nation, bald eagles are generally found from October to March near water. The bald eagle has always been held in the highest of regard by the Cherokees. Eagle feathers were given to boys as they transitioned into manhood. However, the feathers were collected only by the most respected of men that would never allow anyone to harm the egale.
Remap of Reservation
Remap of Reservation
In this image, I have symbolically mapped nature onto their territory; I merge the fixed spatiality of their territory with the cyclical and dynamic nature of the five directional colors, which both expands the presence of the territory outwards and blurs its boundaries. The colors I have chosen are based on the colors that the Cherokees associate with each cardinal direction, including the center.
East = red = success; triumph
North = blue = defeat; trouble
West = black = death
South = white = peace; happiness
"Here in the center" = green
Sources/Additional Resources
Sources/Additional Resources
Official Cherokee Nation website: https://www.cherokee.org/
Northern Cherokee Nation website: https://northerncherokeenation.com/
Cherokee encyclopedia page: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Cherokee-people
Cherokee ethnobiology: https://www.cherokee.org/our-government/secretary-of-natural-resources-office/environmental-resources/ethnobiology/
Blog written by individual with Cherokee roots (take with a grain of salt): http://www.cherokeebyblood.com/Cherokee_by_blood/Religion.html
Cherokee Riverkeepers mapping project: https://www.cherokeeriverkeepers.org/map/the-mountains?lat=35.38583116856868&lng=-83.81555557250978&zoom=5
"Rivers Held a Spiritual Place in the Lives of the Cherokee": https://www.neh.gov/article/rivers-held-spiritual-place-lives-cherokee
"Shaping New Homelands: Landscapes of Removal and Renewal": https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/10.5749/j.ctt15hvz24.7.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3A4bc59c9e7e737de626e5c43430705dc3&ab_segments=&origin=&initiator=&acceptTC=1
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