ᎢᎬᏱ ᎧᏃᎮᏍᎩ ᏄᎵᏍᏔᏂᏙᎸ ᎠᎴ ᏓᏠᎯᏍᏛ ᏚᎾᏓᏚᏓᎸᏁᎸ ᎠᏰᎵ ᏚᏙᏢᏒ.
ᎠᏓᎴᏂᏍᎬᎢ ᎾᎿ ᎠᏂᏣᎳᎩ ᎠᏂᏴᏫ
A Cherokee creation story tells of a time when Cherokee people lived on an island that erupted in a volcano. The tribe had to leave and fled to what is now North America. Cherokee people eventually settled in the southeastern portion of North America and resided there for thousands of years.
ᏏᏃ ᎠᏂᎩᎵᏏ ᎾᏂᎷᎬᎾ ᏥᎨᏒ ᏄᏍᏛ ᎠᏁᎲᎢ
Cherokee society before contact with Europeans was traditionally organized around a matrilineal clan, or family, system: children were born into the clan of their mother. When a woman married, her husband would join her household and their children would be members of the mother’s clan. Cherokee towns were independent, each having its own council house, warriors, and leaders.
ᎠᏂᎩᎵᏏ ᏧᏂᎷᏤᎢ
In the spring of 1540, Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto entered the Cherokee Nation in southeastern North America. This was the first known encounter between Cherokee people and Europeans.
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) and the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) pulled the Cherokee and other Native Nations into international conflict. They sided with the that could offer the most beneficial .
ᎤᏅᏌ ᏧᏄᎪᏔᏂᏓᏍᏗ ᏚᎾᎵᎪᏒᎢ
With the arrival of Europeans in North America, Cherokee leaders felt it was important to establish relationships with them for the protection and advancement of Cherokee people.
From the first treaty in 1684 to alliances with Great Britain during the French and Indian War and the American Revolution, Cherokee people used government-to-government relationships as a source of protection and advancement for Cherokee people.
Drag the slider to see how the land holdings of the Cherokee Nation changed between 1721 and 1830.
Cherokee people have participated in more than forty treaties, first with Europeans, then with the United States. In 1721, the first treaty for land an eastern portion of the Cherokee Nation to the Province of South Carolina.
These types of treaties continued until the Cherokee Nation’s boundaries had been reduced by 90 percent.
Cherokee people have participated in more than forty treaties, first with Europeans, then with the United States. In 1721, the first treaty for land an eastern portion of the Cherokee Nation to the Province of South Carolina.
These types of treaties continued until the Cherokee Nation’s boundaries had been reduced by 90 percent.
“The Cherokee Nation is a distinct community occupying its territory . . . in which the law of Georgia can have no right to enter but with the assent of Cherokees.”— U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice, John Marshall, Worcester v. Georgia, 31 U.S. 515 (1832)
