The Cherokee tribes are native to the North American continent.  When the European settlers came over in the 16th century, the Cherokee Native American Indians were living in the East and Southeast United States.  They are one of five tribes known as the Five Civilized Tribes.  The other tribes were the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole.  They were considered civilized by white settlers because they had begun using many of the customs picked up from the colonists.  Overall, they had a good relationship with the other settlers.

Today, the Cherokee tribes who are federally recognized (Cherokee Nation, United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, and Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians) have their headquarters in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.  Cherokee tribes that are state recognized have their headquarters in the states of Georgia, Missouri, and Alabama.  There are additional Cherokee organizations throughout the United States including Arkansas and Tennessee.

In the early 18th century, the various Cherokee tribes were unified under Emperor Moytoy.  Chief Moytoy of Tellico agreed to be the emperor of Cherokee chiefs in 1730.  Oddly enough, Emperor Moytoy, working with Sir Alexander Cumming through all this, agreed to recognize King George II as a protector of the Cherokee tribes. 

In the late 1700s, white settlers broke many of the treaties previously agreed upon with the Cherokee.  This caused some Indians to break from the Cherokee Nation and move west of the Mississippi to Arkansas and Missouri.  So many Indians moved that eventually the government had to create a Cherokee tribe reservation in Arkansas.

You may have heard of some of the more famous Cherokee Indians.  Sequoyah was responsible for inventing the Cherokee writing system.  Making this more astonishing is that it was he did it single-handedly.  Nancy Ward helped make major political decisions for the Cherokee and was regarded as a “beloved woman.”  Jimi Hendrix, the rock guitarist of the late 60s/early 70s was also of Cherokee descent.

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