information:filtering, linguistic:voice_change
Gender roles

Men and women have historically played important yet, at times, different roles in Cherokee society. Historically, women have primarily been the heads of households, owning the home and the land, farmers of the family's land, and "mothers" of the clans. As in many Native American cultures, Cherokee women are honored as life-givers. As givers and nurturers of life via childbirth and the growing of plants, and community leaders as clan mothers, women are traditionally community leaders in Cherokee communities. Some have served as warriors, both historically and in contemporary culture in military service. Cherokee women are regarded as tradition-keepers and responsible for cultural preservation.

The redefining of gender roles in Cherokee society first occurred in the time period between 1776 and 1835. This period is demarcated by the De Soto exploration and subsequent invasion, was followed by the American Revolution in 1776, and culminated with the signing of Treaty of New Echota in 1835. The purpose of this redefinition was to push European social standards and norms on the Cherokee people. The long-lasting effect of these practices reorganized Cherokee forms of government towards a male-dominated society which has affected the nation for generations. Miles argues white agents were mainly responsible for the shifting of Cherokee attitudes toward women's role in politics and domestic spaces. These "white agents" could be identified as white missionaries and white settlers seeking out " manifest destiny ". By the time of removal in the mid-1830s, Cherokee men and women had begun to fulfill different roles and expectations as defined by the "civilization" program promoted by US presidents Washington and Jefferson.

While there is a record of a non-Native traveler in 1825 noticing what he considered to be "men who assumed the dress and performed the duties of women", this observer was unfamiliar with how the Natives in that region dressed. There is no evidence of what would now be considered " two-spirit " individuals in Cherokee society; this is generally the case in matriarchal and matrilineal cultures, as third gender roles are usually found in patriarchal societies and cultures with more rigid gender roles.