Native-American Culture

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer notes that intolerance of native religion is a theme that pervades Native-American studies, as the conditions that many Indian nations suffered were guised with a highly religiously motivated idea of manifest destiny. The writer discusses that the Cherokee nation was no exception, as many members sought to live a life that was chosen for them, rather than made by choice. The writer points out that early in the Cherokee history there were struggles with conversion, indoctrination and intolerance of traditional ways. The modern Cherokee movement has tended to meld Christianity, forced upon them by white society, with the spirit of the old knowledge and religion, which like many other native nations was a core aspect of life. The writer concludes that this movement was so effective that the resurgence of Native-American religion today is a revival attempting to make sure that the traditions do not die and that the oldest of the generations has the opportunity to build and spread the faith and language of the elders.

From the Paper:

"The Cherokee had a structured egalitarian society and in many ways were very "civilized" from the start with structured towns, rather than nomadic villages that moved with the seasons, a credit given to many other nations and part of the reason they were designated as one of five civilized tribes. The Cherokee were divided into seven clans, as seven was a sacred number to them and they had a war chief and a peace chief, Red Chief and White Chief, with a head medicine man that decided quarrels between the two chiefs who really worked in cooperation to rule the nation. Lineage was patrilinial and matrilineal with the father than the maternal grandmother sharing lineal duties such as naming children and such. The nation also had a subsistence economy where commodity was currency and there was little need for cash, the nation in fact resisted labor employment even into the beginning of the 20th century."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Carmody, John Tully, and Denise Lardner Carmody. Native American Religions An Introduction. New York: Paulist Press, 1993.
• "Cherokee" Wikipedia Online encyclopedia. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherokee>.
• "Cherokee Society" Wikipedia Online encyclopedia. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherokee_society>.
• Duncan, Barbara R., ed. Living Stories of the Cherokee. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1998.
• Finger, John R. The Eastern Band of Cherokees in the Twentieth Century The Eastern Band of Cherokees in the Twentieth Century. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1991.

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