Plants and animals have always held places of importance to the Cherokee people. Below are a few plants and animals that have significant meaning to Cherokees.

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1.6 MB / Created June 10, 2019 / Updated November 18, 2025

The black walnut mainly grows in bottomland flood plains but also can be found on hilltops where the seeds were most likely planted by squirrels.

1.5 MB / Created June 10, 2019 / Updated November 18, 2025

Blackberries have been used as a food for many generations by Cherokees. Blackberry plants have also been used in medicine.

1.6 MB / Created June 10, 2019 / Updated November 18, 2025

Bloodroot can be found growing just about anywhere in the Cherokee Nation. It is short-lived and goes dormant during mid-summer after the seeds mature.

1.8 MB / Created June 10, 2019 / Updated November 18, 2025

Buckbrush has been used for many generations by Cherokees in such crafts as basketry and other forms of weaving.

1.2 MB / Created June 10, 2019 / Updated November 18, 2025

Dogwood leaves have been used for treatments of skin infections and rashes due to certain antiseptic and disinfectant properties.

2 MB / Created June 10, 2019 / Updated November 18, 2025

Eastern Red Cedar can be found in just about every type of habitat, throughout all of Oklahoma, except the Panhandle.

1.8 MB / Created June 10, 2019 / Updated November 18, 2025

Huckleberries, when not eaten raw, are used in baking and are put in such food as pancakes and breads, and jellies and jams are also made from the sweet fruit.

1.5 MB / Created June 10, 2019 / Updated November 18, 2025

Osage Orange wood is renowned for its use in crafting Cherokee bows. It is not an easy wood to carve but affords itself to strong, fast, and durable bows.

2.2 MB / Created June 10, 2019 / Updated November 18, 2025

Persimmons were eaten raw by Cherokees, and also used to make persimmon bread, and would also dry the fruit to make “prunes”.

2.2 MB / Created June 10, 2019 / Updated November 18, 2025

Rattlesnake Master is known by Cherokee experts as a “warrior’s plant” and as a “survival kit.”

Updated November 18, 2025