Cherokee_Socio-Political+Structure

=Socio-Political Structure = Celeste Billung-Meyer (back to rise)


- For each village the Cherokee had two political hierarchies; red and white councils (Think Quest, [|Government]) - The red council was for times of war, it consisted of young warriors and the chief (?, [|Culture]) - The white council was for times of peace, it consisted of religious leaders and a representative from each of the seven matrilineal clans (?, [|Culture]) - Both hierarchies were egalitarian; anyone could speak (in the town council meetings), it was based on a consensus and the elders (anyone over 55) would make the final decision (?, [|Culture]) - As the skirmishes increased with the whites during the eighteenth century, the national council was created to bring the Cherokee greater unity (?, [|Culture]) - In 1827, after a bitter battle between the traditionalists and the mixed heritage people, the Cherokee adopted a constitution and declared sovereignty over the land, it included; a bicameral legislature, judicial branch, executive branch, universal male suffrage and the bill of rights (?, [|Culture])

Social Classes
- The different classes consisted of; chief, elders, medicine men, women and men - The chief is the leader of the clan, who is often admired and looked up to - The elders were people older than 55 who were greatly respected and their opinions were always taken into account - The medicine men could be either male of female, they could also be good or evil and they only worked in the field that they specialized in (just like doctors) (AAANativeArts, [|Medicine]) - To become a medicine man, you needed to master the seven areas of knowledge; Herbal Medicine, Physical Medicine, Dreamwork, Language/Myths/Laws, Ceremonies, the Laws of Nature and Conjuring (AAANativeArts, [|Medicine]) - Cherokee women had a lot of influence and power in the tribe (Advameg Inc., [|Economy]) - Women were in charge of farming, property and family (Laura Redish and Orrin Lweis, [|Facts]) - Women made the social decisions for the tribe (Laura Redish and Orrin Lweis, [|Facts]) - The Cherokee followed a series of systems that were in favour of women; the //matrilineal kinship system// traced decent through the women, the //clan system// had the Cherokee belong to his/her mother's clan and the //matilocal system// had the family live in the mother's house (Phil Norfleet, [|Customs]) - Men were in charge of hunting, war and diplomacy (Laura Redish and Orrin Lweis, [|Facts]) - Men made the political decisions for the tribe (Laura Redish and Orrin Lweis, [|Facts]) - Towards the late eighteenth century men started to replace women of the fields and women spend more time at home (Advameg Inc., [|Economy])