The Cherokee by RMBR
Step into timelessness with our CHEROKEE shirts and accessories — a bold fusion of streetwear ease and ancestral reverence. These unisex piece honors the enduring power of the Cherokee Nation, whose story is deeply rooted in the soil of North America long before the U.S. existed. The bold, multicolor stripes do more than draw the eye — they represent layers of identity:
- Red = fire of resistance
- Light blue = water memory and bloodlines
- Navy lines = concealed history
- The black “R” + white feather = Remember who you are
Before Europeans showed up, Cherokee life was already old, organized and deeply rooted in the Southern Appalachian world—permanent towns, farming, ceremony, diplomacy and a strong kinship system. Here’s the traditional/pre-colonial picture, in a grounded way.
Homelands and towns
Cherokee communities were centered in the southern Appalachians—today’s areas around western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, north Georgia, and upstate South Carolina (with influence and connections beyond). They lived in permanent towns (not roaming camps) and towns could be politically independent while sharing language, culture and alliances.
How society was organized
Cherokee society was built around clans and it was matrilineal—children belonged to the mother’s clan, and clan ties shaped identity, marriage rules, responsibilities and justice. There were seven major clans widely referenced in historical accounts. Government and leadership (before colonial pressure)
Rather than one king over everything, Cherokee political life operated through town councils and respected leaders. Each town had civic and ceremonial structures (including council houses) and decision-making was tied to community consensus and clan roles.
Food systems and daily life
Cherokee people were agricultural and lived in year-round settlements, supported by farming plus hunting, fishing, and gathering. This “town + fields + surrounding resources” pattern is key to understanding pre-colonial Cherokee life.
Sacred landscapes and mound-era roots
Cherokee ancestors were connected to the broader Mississippian/South Appalachian Mississippian world (roughly 800–1600 CE), where communities built and used platform mounds and practiced complex ceremonial life. Archaeology in places tied to Cherokee ancestry (like western NC/TN) links Cherokee roots to this mound-and-town tradition.
Language and origins
Cherokee is an Iroquoian language, which is unusual in the Southeast (most neighbors spoke Muskogean or other families). Because of that, scholars debate deeper origins—some propose migration from northern Iroquoian areas long before European contact, while others emphasize long regional development in the Appalachians. The key: the language tells you Cherokee are distinct, with ancient roots and relationships that predate colonial borders.
Relationships with other nations
Pre-colonial Cherokee life wasn’t isolated. They had trade, intermarriage, conflict and alliance networks with neighboring Indigenous nations across the Southeast/Appalachians—part of a big, connected world long before Europe arrived.
WHY RMBR CARES
Because when you understand the pre-colonial Cherokee world, you stop seeing Indigenous identity as a “theme,” and start seeing it as nationhood—as law, culture, family structure and land relationship. And it also teaches something modern people need: we come from systems, not stereotypes. RMBR isn’t here to play dress-up with history. RMBR is here to respect the depth and remind people that the story didn’t start when outsiders showed up. It started when the people already had names for the mountains.
Wear the memory. Study the line. Respect the Nation. The Cherokee story—before colonialism—was already a world. And the world still stands.
