What Kind of Clothing Did the Cherokee Wear?

One of the largest American Indian tribes to inhabit North America, the Cherokee, and their vibrant, well-developed culture, once dominated much of the southeastern United States. Due to initial friendliness toward many European settlers and traders, who recorded observations about the tribe, much is known about traditional Cherokee culture, including what kind of clothing the Cherokee wore. Today, the Cherokee are the largest federally recognized tribe and have tribal headquarters in both Oklahoma and North Carolina.

Men

What kind of clothing did the Cherokee wear? For Cherokee men in the warm months, the answer is "not very much." Typically, Cherokee men wore moccasins and a simple breechclout made of tanned deer hides. If the men were hunting or part of a war party and needed more protection, they often wore chaps and carried weapons in a skin belt. Winter clothing for Cherokee men included the addition of shirts made from deer skin, robes of fur, moccasins lined with fur, and fur hats or turbans made from cloth or hide.

Women

Cherokee women often wore either short skirts and draped tops or shift dresses made primarily from animal skins. In the wintertime, the women added longer underskirts and wore robes of animal fur or hide in addition to leather moccasins that were laced up to the knee. For decoration and to indicate status within the tribe, women added colored beads and feathers to their clothing and moccasins, along with shell or bone necklaces and earrings and metal rings for their fingers.

Children

Cherokee children, like most American Indian children living in warmer climates, did not wear any clothing for much of the year. Instead, young Cherokee children, both boys and girls, were naked if the weather permitted. Older children that had not yet reached puberty either wore skin or cloth skirts, and all children had robes and moccasins to wear during the colder months. Once Cherokee children reached puberty, they were viewed as adults and began to wear the kind of clothing appropriate for Cherokee men and women.

Special Occasions

As with most cultures, the Cherokee altered their dress for special events. For instance, during tribal ceremonies such as dances and weddings, the women put aside their skin dresses in favor of dresses made from mulberry root bark and turkey feathers. Men added feathers to their hair for ball games, special ceremonies and warfare, in addition to belts, anklets and wristbands made by their wives.

Hair

Hairstyles were an important part of Cherokee appearance, and much attention was given to keeping the hair well-groomed. The Cherokee often used bear grease in their hair to make it shine, and women wore their hair down or in a knot at the top of their head and sprinkled with colored dust. Cherokee men wore their hair closely cropped except for a single ponytail at the top of their heads.