were built and used to smoke fish and meat for the winter. Fields were planted and later the crops were gathered and stored in dry places. Nuts and berries were gathered, and tobacco was smoked. Eventually over time culture grew with the exchange of news, foods, clothing, metals, and art. "Fire," the center of life, became the Cherokee word for "home." Native Americans were very good fighters. The Native Americans always fought in small groups. They would surprise their enemies by sneaking up on them. That usually led them to victory. The Aztecs fought battles called flower wars. The purpose of the war was to capture people and kill them. The Aztecs believed if you give the sun human blood it would die.The Trail of Tears started in 1838 and lasted for a year. The Cherokee are driven from their southeastern homeland, by soldiers, to the Indian Territory in what is now Oklahoma. While on the Trail, the Cherokee population died of starvation, disease, and exposure. The smallpox disease was brought to Carolina by slave ships. A quarter of the people eventually died of the disease while on the trail. The Cherokee had never been exposed to many of the European diseases so they had no immunity to them. To make matters worse, the traditional Cherokee remedy for serious illnesses of plunging in a cold stream was the worst possible treatment. The Cherokee were so proud of their physical appearance that when they saw their disfigured bodies from the disease many warriors committed suicide. Some shot themselves, others cut their throats, others stabbed themselves with knives, and others threw themselves into the fire....
