MrDonn.org SOUTHEAST INDIANS Seminole Creek Cherokee Mississippians Daily Life & Activities for Kids

Daily Life in Olden Times

Southeast Woodland Indians

For Kids & Teachers K-12

Who were the Seminole animal spirit helper guides? What is a Cherokee Booger Ceremony? Why did the Creek paint poles either red or white at the entrance to their villages? Find out here! Welcome to the Southeast Woodland Indians in Olden Times. Use the Short Cut Menu to find just what you need.

Southeast Woodland Indians

Southeast Region Muscogee (Creek) Stories/Myths

Principal Tribes Chickasaw Links for Kids

Cherokee Choctaw Lessons/Activities

Seminole Mississippians Resources

Southeast Region
Below the Ohio River,
westward to the lower Missouri and south to Galveston Bay

Southeast Woodland Indians
Some Principal Tribes

SOME PRINCIPAL TRIBES OF THE SOUTHEAST WOODLAND REGION:
Alibamu, Arkansas, Caddo, Catawba, Cherokee, Chickasaw,
Choctaw, Creek, Natchez, Powhatan, Seminole

The Indians of the Southeast were considered members of the Woodland Indians. About 4000 years ago, there were many different Southeast Woodland Indian tribes. Most tribes were farmers, hunters, and gatherers. They lived in homes. They each had a structured government. They spoke different languages and dialects. Some knew each other. Some did not. Of those who did know each other, there were wars and alliances.
They had many things in common. They were artistic, clever people. They produced colorful art using natural dyes. They made basket from natural fibers to haul food and store goods. They used shells to make really sharp knives. They created incredible beadwork. These early people were great story tellers. They were knowledgeable about herbs and natural medicines. Knowledge was handed down orally from one generation to the next.
Each tribe was divided into a small number of clans. Clans were related people. When a baby was born, he or she belonged to the mother's clan. Laws varied, but some laws were the same in all tribes. One such law was that you could not marry someone from your own clan.
The Southeast Woodland people believed in honor. They believed in many gods and goddesses, deities to whom they prayed in song and dance for help and guidance. They had some very strange customs, and some very beautiful ones. Come meet a few of the Southeast Woodland Indian tribes and see how they lived in olden times.

The Muscogee (Creek): The Creek Indians lived in well fortified villages. Each village was surrounded by a high wall of spiked logs. Each village had a tall pole in front of the entrance through the barricade. The pole was painted either red or white. This let everyone know if the village was a "red" village or a "white" village.

Red Villages: The red villages were the War Zones. War leaders lived in the red villages. In these towns, blood could be shed. Warriors came here to learn. Others came to live. Still others came for short periods to work out their differences.
White Villages: The white villages were the Peace Zones. No one could be attacked in a white village. Everyone who lived in a white village had to promote peaceful solutions to all problems. If people could not solve their problems peacefully, they had to move to the red village while they worked things out.
Homes: Homes in both villages were long buildings of one or two rooms. Most had long porches that ran the length of the house. Roofs were thatched with long grasses. Mats were hung on the walls for color and warmth.
Two Houses: Each family had two houses in their village, one for the summer and for the winter. The summer homes were airy and open. The winter homes were warm and solid. The double house method not only made them comfortable, but it was a form of trickery. The Creek tricked other tribes into thinking they had more people in each village than there really were. All the houses, summer and winter, were built around a huge central plaza.
Central Plaza: The Central Plaza was used for many purposes. Kids played there. The village council met there. They held the Green Corn Ceremony there. All anger had to be put aside as part of the Green Corn Ceremony. That carried over to the plaza. All anger had to put aside when entering or crossing the plaza.

The Chickasaw:
The Chickasaw did not live in villages. They lived in small camps, scattered along rivers and waterway. They were hunters and gatherers. Because the men were hunting, and the women were gathering food, you might think the children had to work as well. They did not. Small children were free to help or to roam as they chose. Most girls chose to help. Most boys chose to roam.
Legend says ...Chickasaw women were never worried about their young warriors. Even very small children were free to roam about all day with a blowgun and a tiny bow and arrow. Legend says they never got lost. From the time they were born, it was emphasized to Chickasaw children to always be aware of every leaf, to see each as a unique being. So they never got lost. They followed the leaves all the way home.

The Choctaw:
Women are the head of households in the Choctaw tribes. The Choctaws were the first tribes to be moved to Oklahoma in 1830 on the Trail of Tears. They went voluntarily. They could see that it was a waste of time to rebel. At the time, instead of fighting back, they adapted. Once in Oklahoma, the Choctaw quickly accepted a new religion, although they did not give up their own. They accepted a new educational system, the white man's school, although they taught their children about their own customs in their own way. They accepted a new constitution and legal system - the Constitution of the United States. But they also kept their own laws.
Today, the Choctaw Nation is involved in many economic development programs that benefit their people. These include new shopping centers, open to the public, staffed by Choctaws.

The Mississippians: People of the River
The Mississippians are a vanished culture. Once, they lived along the banks of the Mississippi River. They built huge ceremonial sites and trading centers that serviced the tens of thousands of ordinary people - hunters, farmers, merchants - the people who lived in the outlaying villages.
They were great traders. They traded with people from the Gulf of Mexico to Great Lakes region. They traded a stone that was native to their area. Natives in other parts of the country used this this stone to make weapons. In exchange they received a variety of goods including copper, food, clothing, pipes, headdresses, and masks.
They also grew food. They raised corn, beans, and other food.
They built their homes on mounds. These mounds were huge, steep platforms made of hard packed dirt. Some were over 1,000 feet long and over 700 feet wide. Some scholars estimate it took over 200 years to build one mound. They had to have had very strong rulers to get their people working for 200 years on one project. So historians are fairly certain these Indians were very powerful.
The leaders of these people lived in luxury, with many servants. Scholars have also found pictographs of winged warriors, feathered snakes, and spiders. It has never been proven, but some scholars believe these ancient people visited the Aztecs in olden times.

The Cherokee: Cherokee Daily Life in Olden Times
The Seminole: Seminole Daily Life in Olden Times
The Powhatan: Powhatan & Pocahontas