Cherokee Burial Rites

• The Cherokee, like most of the other tribes which lived in the Tennessee area, favored internment as their burial style. Specific burial rites varied from person to person, depending upon the sex, age and status of the individual. Generally, tribal members where buried near to, if not directly underneath, their dwelling. Exceptions were made for some chieftains, who were buried under their seat in the tribal council house. Regardless, all burials were made quickly, the day after death at the latest.
  
  

Chikasaw Burial Rites

• The Chikasaw tribe interned their dead in chambers underground. As a common practice, the dead were buried close to their place of living, if not directly under it. A description of one chief's burial states that he was buried in a seated position, facing the east, accoutered with his finest apparel and possessions. The chamber, being some 4-feet cubed, had firm walls and floor and was covered with stout logs and many layers of bark before being recovered with earth.
  
  

Shawnee Burial Rites

• The Shawnee tribal burial rites were very similar to those of the other tribes in the Tennessee area. The deceased were interred in a 4-foot deep grave, generally with an east-west alignment. The grave was usually shorn up with wood and bark, with wooden poles laid over top and multiple layers of bark. The deceased was lain to rest dressed in their finest clothes with their most prized possessions. As with other tribes, the Shawnee were buried very near, if not directly under their dwelling.
  
  

Other Native American Burials

• While the vast majority of Native American tribes throughout the Tennessee area have historically buried their dead, there were times when necessity dictated a different style. Sometimes the Cherokee were forced to build above ground cairns of stone. Also, the use of a mounded burial site was common for a portion of the Cherokee history. Aside from the Tennessee area tribes, there are numerous styles of burial within the Native American network. These other styles may be categorized under cremation, embalming, aerial sepulchers and aquatic burials.