Cherokee Short Story

In American Indian Stories, University of Nebraska Press Lincoln and London edition, the author, Zitkala-Sa, tries to tell stories that depicted life growing up on a reservation. Her stories showed how Native Americans reacted to the white man’s ways of running the land and changing the life of Indians. “Zitkala-Sa was one of the early Indian writers to record tribal legends and tales from oral tradition” (back cover) is a great way to show that the author’s stories were based upon actual events in her life as a Dakota Sioux Indian. This essay will describe and analyze Native American life as described by Zitkala-Sa’s American Indian Stories, it will relate to Native Americans and their interactions with American societies, it will

The Cherokee people were forced out of their land because of the settler’s greed for everything and anything the land had to offer. Many Cherokee even embraced the “civilization program,” abandoning their own beliefs so that they may be accepted by white settlers. Unfortunately for the Cherokee though, the settlers would never accept them as an equal citizen. A quote from historian Richard White says it very well, “The Cherokee are probably the most tragic instance of what could have succeeded in American Indian policy and didn’t. All these things that Americans would proudly see as the hallmarks of civilization are going to the West by Indian people. They do everything they were asked except one thing. What the Cherokees ultimately

To begin with, the Cherokee tribe was one of the three primary Native American tribes in South Carolina that called themselves “the real people.” Upward in the mountains, they lived in these villages called “longhouses.” For the girls, their daily lives consisted of doing work in the field, planting and hoeing corn, then harvesting it. On the other hand, the boy’s daily lives consisted of being taught to fish and hunt. Their food was examples of fruits, nuts, corn, pole beans, squash, pumpkins, bottle gourds, and tobacco. Next, the Catawba tribe was another one of the three primary Native American tribes in South Carolina that called themselves the “river people. They used Carolina clay to make their pottery which they were known for. The Catawba dwellers lived in villages that had an open rounding on the top. The Catawbas were primarily farmers because every day they planted crops by the river, fished and hunted. Therefore, the Yemassee tribe was the third primary tribe in South Carolina that was from Spanish Florida. Throughout the summer, they lived on a beach, staying in Wigwams concealed in palmetto leaves. However, during the fall, winter, and spring they stayed in wattle and daub homes with a roof of leaves like the Cherokee. Every day they would eat clams which were part of their diet and equip the land for crops. Women were obligated for child rearing, making clothes, and served food and the men congregated the rest of the food in fishing and hunting.

In her book American Indian Stories, Zitkala-Sa's central role as both an activist and writer surfaces, which uniquely combines autobiography and fiction and represents an attempt to merge cultural critique with aesthetic form, especially surrounding such fundamental matters as religion. In the tradition of sentimental, autobiographical fiction, this work addresses keen issues for American Indians' dilemmas with assimilation. In Parts IV and V of "School Days," for example, she vividly describes a little girl's nightmares of paleface devils and delineates her bitterness when her classmate died with an open Bible on her bed. In this groundbreaking scene, she inverts the allegation of Indian religion as superstition by labeling

Did you know the word cherokee means those who “live in the mountains. The cherokee were very superstitious. ”The beliefs, culture and history of the cherokee tribe can easily be seen in “How the World Was Made.”

die. The Red Chief was also in charge of the lacrosse games which were called

Gabriel Arthur, to the Cherokee Overhill capital at Echota in 1673, but the following year

Spearfinger, or Ut'lun'ta, is a Cherokee legend that had a spear for a finger. She was also made from stone, which broke the arrows of the villagers who tried to harm her. She takes the form of an old lady to get close to the villages to look harmless and unarmed. During a fierce battle with a villlage along the Chillhowee mountains, a bird named Utsu'gi flew down and told the villagers, "Heart." One villager took it as a weak spot and shot Spearfinger in the heart disintigrating her forever.

In my opinion I think that the Cherokee should move because of the threat from the U.S.invader and the leader of white people already signed the Indian removal law.

China has the largest population of any country on our planet Earth, with more than 1.35 billion people.

The Apache Indians came from Canada and Alaska regions, but migrated to the South, mainly Arizona and parts of Texas. They were nomadic people, meaning they did not settle in one place. The Apache Indians ate buffalo meat and used their hides for clothing. Apache Indians were hunters, the men hunted buffalo, antelope and deer, while the women gathered fruit and nuts found close to where they lived. Apache women built their homes out of wooden frames covered by branches, leaves and grass and sometimes buffalo hides. They called these homes wikiups. These home were easy to assemble and create since they moved frequently. The Apache women wore buckskin dresses and the men wore leather shirts and breechcloths, this was a piece of animal

Many objects have a story to tell. Those stories can be very historical and eventful. Some are not just objects, but structures and monuments. Some are even unexplainable and have been studied for years. Native Americans have many stories and objects to tell stories to other generations. The headdress had a very important part in the story of how the Native Americans survived the fight for this land. The fight between the Indians, Cougars, and Vikings was a great battle in Georgia history that is not well-known to many people except the remaining descendants.

Returning from my daily hunt, I walk to my village and pass my fellow people. Everyone is smiling and laughing intently listening to the elders tell stories to the young ones. The men are skinning animals to use for clothes and new homes meanwhile, the women are harvesting food. Everything around me seems so serene, unfortunately, this did not last. A group of pale men coming out of several ships approach us my first initial thought was that they looked like Gods but smelled like pigs. The smell was revolting. I assumed they were in those ships for an extensive amount of time. The men were wearing odd garments unlike anything I have ever seen before. I was extremely confused as to why these people were here. I did not know what the intentions of the white men were. Were they here as refugees or did they intend to cause us harm?

It was a slightly groggy day outside in the Autumn environment of November in Plymouth Village Massachusetts, European leader Caleb Johnson set ashore to gather up his large group of European soldiers.

“Uh oh, Lewis, I just felt a raindrop,” Said Clark. “We may need to pack up early for the night if this gets worse.” It got worse. Before long, it was pouring on Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, in the midst of their expedition to the Pacific Ocean. They were miserable, and desperately needed to find a place to camp overnight. “Our equipment will get damaged if we don’t find shelter soon, we need to be on the lookout for a place to camp. Hey, what’s that up there?” Clark pointed to what appeared to be a Native American tribe, just barely visible through the rain. Lewis and Clark started rowing their canoe faster out of excitement, and they finally reached the tribe. Lewis walked up and asked them “May we camp here overnight?” One looked confused, and went and got the Chief. He said “Yes, you may stay with us. But if you do anything bad to us, you’ll regret it.” Lewis and Clark were a little frightened by this remark, but grateful that they were getting shelter from the rain. “How may we pay you back?” asked Lewis. “Perhaps a feast?” The tribe was excited about this possibility. “Yes, absolutely!” Exclaimed the Chief. “We’ve been short on food, and we’ve had to eat some things that we wouldn’t normally eat,” said the Chief. He looked back at the tribe, and they all shuddered.