I did my Colonial Stamp Report on the Cherokee Indians. Their name means "people of different speech."
The Cherokee Indians first saw the White man in the year 1540. They lived in North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, and Oklahoma in small communities, usually located in fertile river bottoms. Their homes were wooden frames covered with woven vines and mud. They spoke an Iroquoian language and the Sequoia invented an alphabet that gave them a written language. They published a newspaper, established a court system, and built schools.
The leader of the tribe was a chief and sub-chief. The chief of the tribe never spoke directly to the people. The first Principal Chief was Lewis Downing. They have a government that is a tripartite democratic government and includes a court system, a legislative body, and a permanent capitol. They have a constitution that is based on the US Constitution. They have a court system and a legal code. They also have a tax code which includes tobacco tax and sales tax on goods or services sold on the tribal land.
The Cherokees ate a lot of fish and vegetables. They believed in one God and were mostly Christian because of all the missionaries that worked with them. They practiced their religion by doing a Stump Dance. Their symbol is a Booger Mask, and their seal is a seven pointed star with a wreath of leaves around it. The seven points represent the seven Cherokee clans. The wreath of leaves represents the dauntless spirit of the Cherokee people.
The Cherokee tribe, with all its sub-clans was thought to be the largest Indian Tribe.
