Indians of the Southeast

Their Area

The southeast is a land of mountains, rivers and forests in the northern area.

TheThe southeast is a land of grasses and swamps in the south.

The climate is hot in the summer and mild in the winter. There is a great deal of rainfall in the southeast.

Their Homes

The floor was built up off the ground in case it was wet and soggy and to protect from snakes.

The Seminole people used cypress trees to build their chickees. The frame was made of logs and the roof was covered in palmetto leaves or grasses.

There were no walls in chickees because they weren't needed in the warm southern areas and breezes could blow through.

They used the council house to hold meetings and special ceremonies.

Cherokee houses were in the shape of a square or rectangle. Upright poles formed the framework. The outside was covered with bark, wood or woven siding coated with earth and clay.

A clan’s summer house was a large rectangular structure.

Some Cherokee houses were like upside-down baskets. There was a small, cylindrical, winter home called an asi.

Spanish moss grows on the limbs of trees in the warm south. Early settlers used this plant to stuff their mattresses.

Their Food

The soil in the southeast was rich and fertile and there was plenty of rain. The Natives grew beans, squash, corn, sunflowers and tobacco.

They made corn mush and corn bread. They dried corn so they would have something to eat in the winter.

Gourds were dried and used as drinking cups and bowls. People also gathered nuts and berries in the forest.

Tobacco was used in ceremonies and for trade with the settlers. They did not eat the tobacco. They smoked the tobacco in pipes.

They were very skillful hunters. A hunter could hit a fly (if it was still) from 30 thirty feet away!

They hunted bear. The bear was used for meat and tools. Sometimes they used it for trading.

They also hunted deer and elk. They ate the meat, used the skins, and made tools from the antlers and bones.

They hunted turtles, too. They made the shells into rattles and ate the rest of the meat. They also hunted rabbits and ate them.

Their Clothing

The southeast people dressed in clothes made from the skin of animals. Deerskin was most commonly used.

In hot weather, men wore breechcloths. When it got colder, especially in the northern part of the region, they added deerskin shirts, leggings, and moccasins.

Cherokee women wore skirts woven from plants. Women wore dresses, leggings and moccasins. Sometimes the clothes were beaded in beautiful colors.

The Indians wore their hair in many different styles. While the women let their hair grow long, the men often wore their hair in unusual and distinctive ways. One of the most popular styles was called a scalplock.

The men would paint their skin and decorate it with tattoos. The early European explorers were amazed at the complex tattoo designs covering not only the men's bodies but the women as well. They used turtle and fish bone needles and natural dyes from plants.

Their Talents

The southeastern Indian women made beautiful pottery of clay. They used the pottery for cooking, for storing grain, and for carrying water.

They also made beautiful baskets from small, thin strips of oak.

The Indians who lived near lakes or swamps often collected reeds from which to weave mats.

They played lacrosse. Lacrosse is played with a hard ball and long webbed sticks. When the game was over, many players had cuts, bruises and even broken bones.

…and those are the Indians of the Southeast