Native Americans in Tennessee from 1500-1700

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Native Americans in Tennessee from 1500-1700
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Nomads

• The first Indian groups in Tennessee were nomads.
• Nomads wondered from place to place.
• Groups traveled together and set up camps in
  caves or rock shelters.
• They worked together to meet their basic needs
  for food, clothing, and shelter.

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Nomads

• Nomads spent most of their time searching for
  food.
• They gathered nuts and berries and hunted small
  and large animals.
• Nomads used every part of the animals they
  hunted. They ate the meat, made clothing from
  the skins, and used the bones for tools and
  weapons.

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Woodland Indians

• The Woodland Indians were one of the first groups
  to settle in permanent villages.
• They grew some of their own food.
• The Woodlands were one of the first groups to
  discover seeds.
• They built houses, made pottery, clothing and
  jewelry.

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Native Americans in the 1500s

• By the 1500s there were four main Native American
  tribes in Tennessee.
• Chickasaw West Tennessee
• Creek Southeast Tennessee
• Shawnee Middle Tennessee
• Cherokee East Tennessee and the Appalachian
  Mountains

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Native Americans in the 1500s

• Each of these tribes had its own language,
  culture, and traditions.
• All were skilled hunters, farmers, and fishers.
• Each tribe built their homes using natural
  resources and the forests around them.

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Tribes at War

• The tribes were often at war with one another.
• They fought for control of the land and its
  resources.
• Over time the Cherokees forced the Creek and
  Shawnee Indians from East and Middle Tennessee.

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The Cherokees

• Today, the Cherokee Nation is the largest Native
  American tribe in North America.
• Today most Cherokee people live in Oklahoma and
  western North Carolina.
• Tennessee and the Tennessee River were named for
  a Cherokee town, Tanasi.

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Check Understanding

• Who was the first group to settle in Tennessee?
• What made the Woodland Indians different from the
  Nomads?
• Name the four Native American groups who lived in
  Tennessee around 1500 and the section of
  Tennessee in which they lived.