The arrival of new people in America brought economic and cultural strains on the natives' way of life. The ability of the natives to adapt to meet the country's new needs and the U.S. government's willingness to work easily with the natives proved that the country was able to endure and grow. Young Wolf was present during this time of adaptation and availability in America as a Cherokee Indian, so through the use of his last will and testament we can see the cultural changes occurring at this time. Through Young Wolf's Last Will and Testament we see changes in European-American tradition, innovation, and culture. The young Wolf showed the cultural changes present in his time and demonstrated how the Cherokee were forced to mold themselves into new European-American cultures while remaining true to some of their traditions. The Native Americans present in this period, and those with whom Wolf associated, were known to be traditionally matrilineal. This is a tradition where the line of dignity passes through the maternal side. The use of matrilineage in Cherokee society was a strong tradition. This tradition dictated who they lived near and the various statuses given, furthermore this also showed how much the Cherokees valued and thought about the women of their community. Mothers and wives were the breadwinners. This tradition was very different from the common European-American society of the time that took part in patrilineage. Within this tradition the line of dignity is followed on the father's side. When Wolf created his will he did not follow Cherokee tradition. Rather than transfer his assets to his sister's children, he created a will to transfer all of his pos... middle of paper... m of profit from animals. This was clearly a European tradition that he had accepted, perhaps because he saw means of income that would provide stability for his family. If he had attempted to stick to the old methods of hunting in the former open lands, he would likely have run out of food, and his family and the Cherokee Nation would have suffered. Although the influx of new people and their cultures played an important role in creating As the life of the natives was harder, these new traditions helped the natives promote their own traditions and create new traditions. Differentiating between all the different traditions celebrated allows us to see how much their lives were altered and how much the Europeans had an effect on the recent Indian cultures with which we have become more familiar. These changes, good or bad, shaped the future of the Indians.