A Wisdom Archive on Cherokee Medicine Wheel

The Cherokee are a Native American culture who mainly live in the southeastern United States and in Oklahoma. The Cherokee venerated the horned serpent Sint Holo, who appeared to extremely intelligent and resourceful male youths (although in general Cherokees viewed that snakes could block spiritual blessings to a persons home, therefore, it was traditional for Cherokees to never keep any object made from or resembling a snake, or part of a snake in their home), as well as Tsul 'Kalu, a god of the hunt and Oonawieh Unggi ("the oldest wind"), ... Including:

• Cherokee mythology - Kana'ti and Selu

Read more here: » Cherokee mythology: Encyclopedia - Cherokee mythology

Native Americans in the United States (also Indians, American Indians, First Americans, Indigenous Peoples, Aboriginal Peoples, Aboriginal Americans, Amerindians, Amerinds, or Original Americans) are those indigenous peoples within the territory that is now encompassed by the continental United States, and their descendants in ... Including:

• Native Americans in the United States - Early history
• Native Americans in the United States - The Bering Strait Land Bridge theory
• Native Americans in the United States - Settling down
• Native Americans in the United States - European colonization
• Native Americans in the United States - Initial impacts
• Native Americans in the United States - Early relations
• Native Americans in the United States - Removal and reservations
• Native Americans in the United States - Current status
• Native Americans in the United States - Cultural aspects
• Native Americans in the United States - Society
• Native Americans in the United States - Religion
• Native Americans in the United States - Gender roles
• Native Americans in the United States - Music and art
• Native Americans in the United States - Economy
• Native Americans in the United States - Terminology differences
• Native Americans in the United States - Common usage in the U.S.
• Native Americans in the United States - Bibliography

Read more here: » Native Americans in the United States: Encyclopedia - Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States - Initial impacts. The European colonization of the Americas forever changed the lives and cultures of the Native Americans. In the 15th to 19th century, their populations were ravaged, by the privations of displacement, by disease, and in many cases by warfare with European groups and enslavement by them. The first Native American group encountered by Christopher Columbus in 1492, the 250,000 Island Arawaks (more properly called the Taino) of Haiti Quiskaya, Cubanacan (Cuba) ...

Read more here: » Native Americans in the United States: Encyclopedia II - Native Americans in the United States - European colonization

Read more here: » Native Americans in the United States: Encyclopedia II - Native Americans in the United States - Early history

When Christopher Columbus arrived in the "New World", he described the people he encountered as Indians because he mistakenly believed that he had reached the islands known to Europeans as the Indies. Despite Columbus's mistake, the name Indian (or American Indian) stuck, and for centuries the native people of the Americas were collectively called Indians in America, and similar terms in Europe. The problem with this traditional term is that the peoples of India are, of course, also known as Indians. The te ...

Read more here: » Native Americans in the United States: Encyclopedia II - Native Americans in the United States - Terminology differences

Though cultural features, including language, garb, and customs vary enormously from one tribe to another, there are certain elements which are encountered frequently and shared by many tribes. Early nomadic hunters forged stone weapons from around 10,000 years ago; as the age of metallurgy dawned, newer technologies were used and more efficient weapons produced. Prior to contact with Europeans, most tribes used similar weaponry. The most common implement were the bow and arrow, ...

Read more here: » Native Americans in the United States: Encyclopedia II - Native Americans in the United States - Cultural aspects