Cherokee Tribe

The Cherokee Tribe are a group of Native American people who were settled in the south east of the United States of America, in an area which would become North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee among other states. Through their oral history it is known that they migrated from the Great Lakes area, far north of where they eventually settled. They were recognised as incredibly advanced, both socially and culturally by the English settlers, and were open to adopting their cultures and technologies.

This is before they were forced to move to Oklahoma by English settlers. The Cherokee Tribe didn't want to leave their homeland and appealed to the Supreme Court to prevent them from being forcibly moved. Despite the Supreme Court allowing them to stay, this decision was overturned by President Andrew Jackson, who had them driven out by the American army. The Cherokee Tribe's journey to Oklahoma was long and arduous and thousands of Native Americans died, this lead to the path being known as The Trail of Tears.

After their resettlement the tribe continued to be well known for their advanced culture and school system. In 1844 the Cherokee Advocate was started and was the first newspaper in Indian Territory, it was printed in both Cherokee and English.

The Cherokee Tribe was one of the first non-European ethnic groups to become recognised as US citizens. Based on statistics gathered during the 2010 Census there are 314,000 members of the Cherokee Nation and over 819,000 people who claim to be of Cherokee heritage.