Appalachian Culture Research Paper

The Native Americans of the southeast live in a variety of environments. The environments range from the southern Appalachian Mountains, to the Mississippi River valley, to the Louisiana and Alabama swamps, and the Florida wetlands. These environments were bountiful with various species of plant and animal life, enabling the Native American peoples to flourish. “Most of the Native Americans adopted large-scale agriculture after 900 A.D, and some also developed large towns and highly centralized social and political structures.” In the first half of the 1600s Europeans encountered these native peoples. Both cultures encountered new plants, animals, and diseases. However, the Indians received more diseases compared to the few new diseases

Growing up in Appalachia is unlike growing up anywhere else in the world. Appalachia is a region that is often the focus of negative media and cruel, sadistic stereotypes. Appalachia

The American territory was sprawling across the Mississippi River and into new Native American territory. The Great Plains and far West were occupied by both Indians and Hispanics whose custom and way of live were distinct in language religion and kinship and governance. The white settlers and hunters were a threat to the resources in which they used for survival.

Migration from the original Cherokee Nation began in the early 1800’s. Some Cherokees, wary of white encroachment, moved west on their own and settled in other areas of the country. A group known as the Old Settlers previously had voluntarily moved in 1817 to lands given them in Arkansas where they established a government and a peaceful way of life. Later, however, they were forced to migrate to Indian Territory.

Around the 1800s, the Cherokee began taking up the economics and politics of the white settlers around them. Some owned plantations and even kept slaves. Many Cherokee’s embraced “white” names. They developed gradually and became one of the successful tribes in the United States. They form a system by which they were controlled called the Cherokee Nation, which was similar to the United States of America government, which included a Chief , a vice-Chief and 32 Council members. A constitution of code laws also in place. The principal chief is the equivalent to the President, the legislative branch of the tribal council to the supreme court and the house of representatives, and the judicial branch called the tribunal is made up of the three tribal

Marilyn Frye describes oppression as “something pressed is something caught between or among forces and barriers which are so related to each other that jointly they restrain, restrict or prevent the thing’s motion or mobility” (Rothenberg, pg. 149-150). The Cherokee Indians have faced their share of hardship and oppression, from mistreatment to starvation; they have overcome the oppression from the white man to live a full and prosperous life. Within the Cherokee Indians, there exists a subgroup, the Cherokee woman. I am going to talk at length about this group. There exist some similarities and some differences between my perception and upbringing of being a white woman and the Cherokee woman in regards to culture, cultural and social

One of the activities that the Shawnee tribe does is trapping animals, the men of the tribe complete this activity. They do this because they rely on the environment around them to survive, they trap to get food for the tribe. The women oversee making clothing out of the trapped animals fur, the type of clothing the women make depends on the season. The men would wear deerskin loincloth, the women would wear a skin apron in the summer. They also make moccasins out of the animal’s fur and decorate them with bead and feathers. During the winter they would make heavier clothing items to keep warm.

The Shawnee Tribe, since first encountering Europeans in 1677, the group has encountered issues, such as population decrease. But as of twenty-first century, the tribe has regained a following. For the most part, the Shawnee have abandoned their nomadic roots. They have taken on modern tasks, realizing that they would need to keep up with the times in order to survive. Currently occupying regions of Oklahoma and Missouri, the tribe has split into three large groups, the Absentee Shawnee, Eastern Shawnee, and Loyal Shawnee. Together, the three groups have around 8,000 members in total. The customs and traditions of the Shawnee have for the most part, been abandoned by its people. However, the Absentee shows a strong connection with their culture.

Appalachia is a vast cultural and geographical region “that follows the spine of the Appalachian Mountains from southern New York to northern Mississippi. It includes all of West Virginia and parts of 12 other states: Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.”4 The distinctive Appalachian culture is a result of the blend of unique backgrounds -Native American (primarily Cherokee), Celtic (mainly Scotch and English), Polish and German, and African American- and the geographical isolation that is revealed through their traditional arts and crafts, music, food, customs, and sometimes dialect.14 This isolation created “a greater

This survey shared information pertainining to what individuals say about why they are Appalachians; family ties and sense of place. “The importance of ties to family was a recurring theme as respondents shared why they viewed themselves as an Appalachian”(Denham, 2005). “ Family and its associated values were important cultural traits held by those viewing themselves as Appalachian”(Denam, 2005). “A strong sense of place is often cited in the literature as a key cultural characteristic identified in Appalachian persons”(Denham, 2005). These are two of the strengths mentioned

The Woodland Indian tribes started in present day New York and extended to New England, Maryland,the Great Lakes, and Maine, where they settled. The Woodland Indians lived in the forests near lakes or streams, thats why they are called the Woodlands Indians.

For this year’s Project Appalachia Experience, I hope to contribute my help from fixing up abandoned ground and making gardens for the community to use to get fresh fruit and vegetables. As well as working on making houses and repainting old buildings. My love to help others in need to make their lives a little easier.

The ecological dimension is one of the most common ways to define rural characteristics. Noticeable characteristics such as behavior, composition, culture, environment, organization, and resources can be examined to endure a rural macro theme. In simply explanation, it is the interchangeable use of rural and nonmetropolitan and, differing, urban and metropolitan (Hash, Jurkowski, & Krout, 2015). About two thirds of the nations counties are classified as nonmetropolitan areas which include small cities, villages, and open country (Hash et al., 2015). A subculture model of poverty classifies core deficits of the lower subclass as the cause of the problem. Appalachian traditional subculture should not be described as either poverty or farmer

Last semester, I participated in Appalachia and I think that four attitudes important to have for this service-learning immersion are being patient, openness, friendly, and interested. When I took the Appalachia course during the fall, I went in with these attitudes and they made all the difference in my experience. I have done other types of work and programs in the past where I found it difficult to gain any lesson or meaning because I had lack one or some of these attitudes. In a way, these attitudes go hand-in-hand and compliment one another.

Native American music is a genre most often overlooked throughout society. It encompasses the many aspects of tradition and culture, while infusing itself into popular culture. The native artists of today are a melting pot of different tribes and nations creating music influenced by their ancestry. The Choctaw Nation is part of this melting pot; only a small percentage of individuals share this heritage and because of this, not much is known about their way of life, love, and music. Although this is an issue, it can be concluded that it is like the many other tribes in the melting pot of heritage. Native Americans everywhere are taking a stand for their time in the spotlight and are bringing awareness to this dying and forgotten genre.