(Picture drawn by Ja'Nia)

Creek and Cherokee:

In the past, both Creek and Cherokee Indians wore different clothing than they do today. Today they wear the same things that we wear.

In the past, the men wore breechcloths and leggings. A breechcloth looks kind of like a baby's diaper, but grown men wore these. Since their legs were bare, they wore leggings over the breechcloth. They put one legging on one leg, and a separate legging on another leg. The leggings were not sewn together like pants are today. The leggings were attached to a special belt. The belt held up the leggings and the breechcloth.

The women wore skirts that wrapped around them. They wore shirts made of deerskin or other material. Some of the Cherokee women liked to decorate their shirts with pretty beads.

In the winter, the Creek sometimes wrapped up in blankets made out of woven grass.

Both men and women wore special shoes called moccasins. These were usually made out of deer or other animal hide. Sometimes the moccasins came up high, like boots do today. This helped protect their legs when they were walking through the woods.

Their hair was different then, too. The men shaved their heads except for a small bit of hair that usually stuck up, kind of like a Mohawk. This was called a scalplock. The women kept their hair long. The Creek women usually pulled their hair up onto a bun on top of their heads. Sometimes the men would put a feather attached to porcupine fur in their scalplocks. This was called a porcupine roach.

(Picture of a porcupine roach drawn by Danyon)

Cherokee men liked to tattoo themselves or paint their faces if they were going to war. The Cherokee women usually didn't wear any kind of paint or tattoos.

The Creek men liked to wear tattoos, too. They liked to paint their faces bright red when they were going to war or during special dances. The Creek women didn't wear any kind of paint or tattoos.

The Cherokee women liked to wear jewelry. They wore necklaces, bracelets, and anklets. They made the jewelry from seashells, bones, animal teeth, feathers, and pretty rocks. The Cherokee men liked to wear armbands made out of copper or leather.

You can visit this site to see all the different kinds of Eastern Native American clothing: