How was daily life like for the Cherokee Indians?

Answer 1

This is a very ambiguous question and it could have 365 x 4 answers ^2 (dependent on the stage of life the tribal member was at.) Please understand that many 'taboos' are different between current culture and native culture, and you must understand how the tribe functioned as a whole to start to understand how daily life was. Children: Children were watched and taught by the old ones of the tribe. As they became able they aided in the work that they would assume during adulthood. Young Adults: Young adults, men & women who had reached maturity (both physical and mental) would then find mates (in other clans - clan members were forbidden to marry within the same clan) and begin families. Sex was not hidden or a real taboo, young understood that men enjoy private time with women and it produced children. It was at this stage of development that the 'rolls' they would play in the tribe was becoming defined. Adults: Adults worked for the good of the tribe and did what they could, both by skill and physical work (this is a very socialist structure that is hard for many to understand, there was no personal profit or gain - in fact those weakest and poorest in the tribe were often given the best food, etc). Personal items were the only thing outside of this structure, and most were gifts from others. Old ones: Aged persons that could no longer hunt, fish and things like that became teachers as they had the most knowledge to pass on to the young ones, while the adults were away. This ensured that the children were watched, the old ones were respected, and they were also taught from the ones in the tribe with the most knowledge. Seasons: Seasons effected what the tribe was doing at that time and what rolls everyone played. Harvest time would find everyone harvesting, gathering time, corn time, planting time etc. Daily Life: In the end life was dictated by a set of conditions, much like modern life, and without specifics on those conditions only a general answer would suffice to describe 'life' on a daily basis. Life was (is) a spiritual (religious) thing from beginning to end and no matter the stage or season, those spiritual meanings were observed at all times.