Cherokee in the American Revolution

The Cherokee tribe inhabited what is present day Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama. Being located in what would become the Southeastern part of the United States meant their inevitability in getting involved in the revolutionary war. The Cherokee tribe’s involvement in the American Revolution was both important to the course of the war and resulted in devastation to the tribe. The Cherokee way of life, like all Native American tribes, was very different from that of the colonists. These conflicting lifestyles were one of the reasons why the Cherokee involvement in the American Revolution was so detrimental to their tribe. Like most southeastern tribes, the Cherokee economy was based primarily on agriculture. They grew squash, beans, corn, tobacco, and sunflowers. With bows and arrows, they hunted elk, deer, and bear. It is important to note the different family structures of the Cherokee tribe and the colonists. The Cherokee “were divided into seven matrilineal clans who lived in numerous permanent villages, typically placed along rivers and streams. Cherokee families typically had two dwellings: rectangular summer houses with cane and clay walls and bark or thatch roofs, and cone-shaped winter houses with pole frames and brushwork covered by mud or clay” (Weiser). The matrilineal clans meant that familial relationships were linked through the mother’s side. A child lived with their mother, their mother’s mother, their mother’s brothers, and so on. Also, a child had no direct relationship to their father. Women also had a very important role in politics and the economy. During this time among the colonists, women had much fewer rights than men and matrilineal lineage was unheard of. These differences among the Cherokee tribe and the colonists proved to be a big problem. It resulted in the failure for the two groups to cohabitate without conflict and the ultimate involvement of the Cherokee tribe in the

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