Book

The eastern Cherokees

AMS Press • (23) • Published In 1978 • Pages: 169-413

By: Gilbert, William Harlen.

Abstract

The purpose of this document is four-fold and it is organized in four corresponding parts: 1) a description of Eastern Cherokee society on the Qualla Indian Reservation as it is represented by the community of Big Cove in 1932; 2) a functional analysis of Eastern Cherokee society at Big Cove; 3) a description and functional analysis of Cherokee society in the 18th century; and 4) a discussion of the changes in Cherokee social organization during the 18th and 19th centuries. The description of Eastern Cherokee society at Big Cove in 1932, covering the environment, descriptive somatology, economic, social, and political organization, and life cycle, provide the most useful information in this source. For several reasons the author's treatment of Cherokee society in the 18th century and his discussion of change in Cherokee society is much less useful. First, he fails to adequately define the temporal dimension of his discussion of 'former' Cherokee society. Second, his method of analyzing social change consists of comparing 'former' (18th century) society with 'present' Cherokee society at Big Cove; he labels the difference between the two 'social change' and, moreover, this is grossly underanalyzed. Finally, by the author's own admission, Big Cove is the most conservative community on the Qualla Reservation; he provides no details as to why Big Cove was selected as a study site nor does he examine the implications of his choice for the analysis of change in Eastern Cherokee society. The appendices of this document consist of briefly annotated bibliographies of primary source materials on the Cherokee and should be of use to students familiarizing themselves with the literature on the historic Cherokee.

HRAF PubDate

2000

Region

North America

Sub Region

Eastern Woodlands

Document Type

Book

Evaluation

Creator Type

Ethnologist

Document Rating

4: Excellent Secondary Data

5: Excellent Primary Data

Analyst

Gerald Reid ; 1988

Field Date

1932

Coverage Date

1540-1932

Coverage Place

Town of Big Cove, Eastern Cherokee Indian Reservation, North Carolina, United States

Notes

by William Harlen Gilbert, Jr.

Originally presented as the author's thesis, University of Chicago, 1934

Reprint of the 1943 ed. published by the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, which was issued as no. 23 of Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology

Includes bibliographical references (p. 402-413)

LCCN

76043714

LCSH

Cherokee Indians