Section 2: Indian Nations in Georgia ESSENTIAL QUESTION Which Indian nations lived in Georgia and how did they live?

Section 2: Indian Nations in Georgia What peoples do I need to know? Creek (Muscogee) Cherokee

The Creeks (Muscogee) Originally from American southwest Spoke Muskogean Discovered by early European explorers who called them Creeks Lived along Ocheese Creek (today’s Ocmulgee River) Lived in italwa and talofa (large villages surrounded by smaller villages) similar to today’s large city and surrounding suburbs

Creek (Muscogee) Lifestyle Village center featured a plaza and rotunda Games and ceremonies held in plaza Rotunda was used for council meetings Wooden huts or log cabins with chimneys surrounded the plaza Villages, split from larger villages, helped form a confederacy Raised livestock and successful farmers

The Cherokee Lived in northwestern mountain region of the state Called themselves Awi-yum-wija, which meant “real people” or “principal people” Tribal Clans: groups of Cherokee who believed themselves related by blood Two tribal chiefs: one for making war and one for making peacetime decisions Clans governed on the local level

The Cherokee Family Family lines were traced through the mother, not the father The mother’s brothers took responsibility for raising her children Mothers handled most domestic chores; fathers often left home to hunt or trade Children played games that prepared them for adulthood

Cherokee Lifestyle Built homes on high banks or hills along rivers and streams Shelters were built from available materials, often plastered on the exterior to keep out rain and cold Log cabins built for winter living Fishing and raising crops including maize (corn) Barter: trading goods and services without use of money was an economic system

Cherokee Religious Beliefs Believed Earth was large island resting on water “This World”: tribe was at center of the earth “Upper World”: above This World; clean and pure world; Sun and Moon chief gods “Under World”: in waters below This World; disorder and change Deer and birds were honored; bears were not

Other Cherokee Lifestyle Practices Drank ginseng potion to shop bleeding or shortness of breath Smoked tobacco on ceremonial occasions when seeking the gods’ blessings Green Corn Ceremony held to give thanks for corn, the most important food source Followed “Law of Retaliation,” avenging a wrong by getting even; this law helped prevent feuds within a tribe Click to return to Table of Contents.

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