The Cherokee lived in houses made of wattle and daub. The walls of these dwellings were filled with mud and grass after they were framed with tree timbers. Thatch or bark was used to make the roofing. The floor was usually covered with clay or dirt.
Women who married into the tribe adopted their husband's house style of building, which may have been more solid and better constructed than those of their own people. If not, they might have built one themselves after moving into their new home. Men built the platforms upon which they hung their clothes to dry. These were made of wood and sometimes included a bed for when they slept overnight on the platform.
Cherokee houses had one open room with no doors or windows. There was a hole in the ground called a "sweat house" where everyone went to take a bath once a month. They also used the sweat house for special occasions such as baptisms. Churches were built after 1795. Before then, Christians from other tribes came into the area and held services in the sweat houses.
Today most Cherokee still live in traditional houses. However, many have added air conditioners, heaters, and bathrooms. Some have even replaced the original floorboards with vinyl ones because they bequeath a cleaner home after years of use.
The Cherokee were southeastern woodland Indians who lived in dwellings built of braided saplings coated with mud and roofed with poplar bark in the winter. They lived in open-air bark-roofed homes throughout the summer. The women plaited corn, beans, and other vegetables for food. The men hunted, fished, and gathered wild fruits.
In the winter, the only shelter they had was the skin tent made by hunters and fishermen. This tent was easy to make from cottonwood or aspen trees that the Cherokee used as their source of fiber for making clothes and tools. These trees also provided the material for building their villages. In order to keep warm, the Cherokee burned wood for heat but also found ways to get more heat for less fuel. For example, they used dead animals for fuel and would set them afire in large pits called "barbecue sites."
There are still many Cherokee living in the southeast because it is a peaceful way of life that requires little work and they can make a good living selling timber and hunting game. Although there are only about 5,000 Cherokee today, there are still many places where you can see evidence that they used to live such as old clearings where trees have been cut down for use as fuel or to build houses and villages.
Cherokee Indian buildings were built with plaster and river cane, and they had thatched roofs. To keep warm during the winter, the Cherokee lived in tiny dwellings made of mud and clay. They also used smoke holes in the roof of their homes to release steam so it could escape.
Women played an important role in Cherokee society. They managed the household and took care of the children. The men went hunting and fought wars; they didn't do housework or farm work. Although women knew how to build houses and make tools, they didn't go out into the world to learn these skills; instead, they learned them from other women and girls. Even though they didn't travel much, the Cherokee had a wide knowledge of plants for medicine and food. Some plants had special meanings to the Cherokee; for example, the blue cohosh plant was important to them because it had medicinal uses like treating fever and pain and also had uses as clothing and jewelry.
In order to get married, both men and women needed their parents' permission. The woman's family would send gifts to the man's family to show that she was acceptable as a marriage partner. If there wasn't enough money to give as a gift, then some members of the man's family might go to live with the woman's family for a few years until things got better.
This form of clay building is known as wattle and daub. Cherokee homes were often fairly big since Cherokees lived in long matrilineal groups that included the mother's parents, the mother of the house's parents, children, and unmarried siblings. The father of the family would live elsewhere with his family.
Winter homes were built with small trunks or large logs that were split and dried to make poles. These were then woven together with vines to make a structure about 4 feet high. The walls would be about 2 feet thick. The roof was made of overlapping rows of poles tied with vine. There would be one door and one window. A fire hole in the floor would let in air for cooking and heating.
There are several different types of winter homes used by the Cherokee. Some were just large enough for a single room, while others had multiple rooms. They were usually made of wood but sometimes also made from earth or clay.
The Cherokee built many more houses than they knew who owned, so they wouldn't risk losing their home when they moved away. This is why there are so many abandoned buildings in Indian country. You can see some amazing examples in the video below.
Cherokee people left their winter homes when they went on a hunt or traveled somewhere else. Sometimes they'd move into another home that someone had built for them.
Instead, they constructed more sturdy dwellings. The Cherokee Indians referred to these structures as "asi." They were constructed from "wattle" and "dub." The wattle is made up of a variety of timbers and vines that were braided together to form a framework for the building. The dub is the material used to cover the frame. It can be made of earth or wood and is typically painted black or red.
Cherokee Indian houses had only one floor. They were usually located near large bodies of water such as rivers or lakes. This was because it was easier to collect water for drinking and for washing when living close by. If there were no waterways available, then the house would have been built close to a hill or mountain where the soil was better quality.
The Cherokee Indians lived in these homes for about 10 years after arriving in North America. Then, they would often move away again until they found an area that was well-suited for farming or some other form of economic activity. Sometimes, a family home would become too small for the members of the tribe so additional rooms might be added at some point in time. Other times, a family might want to avoid conflict with another tribe so they would seek out a place that was far away from others.
During their time in North America, the Cherokee Indians were forced to deal with many hardships. They suffered under slavery, removal, and death.
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