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Cherokee Nation

The Cherokee Nation (Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ Tsalagihi Ayeli or ᏣᎳᎩᏰᎵ Tsalagiyehli), formerly known as the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, is the largest of three federally recognized tribes of Cherokees in the United States. It includes people descended from members of the Old Cherokee Nation who relocated, due to increasing pressure, from the Southeast to Indian Territory and Cherokees who were forced to relocate on the Trail of Tears. The tribe also includes descendants of Cherokee Freedmen, Absentee Shawnee, and Natchez Nation. As of 2023, over 450,000 people were enrolled in the Cherokee Nation.

This article is about the nation of Cherokee in Oklahoma. For other uses, see Cherokee (disambiguation). For the former independent Cherokee Nation, see Cherokee Nation (1794–1907).

Cherokee Nation
ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ (Cherokee)
Tsalagihi Ayeli
Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma

September 6, 1839 (1839-09-06)

August 8, 1938 (1938-08-08)

June 26, 1976 (1976-06-26)

2003 (2003)

March 11, 2021 (2021-03-11)

6,963 sq mi (18,030 km2)

6,694 sq mi (17,340 km2)

269 sq mi (700 km2)

450,000+

Headquartered in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, the Cherokee Nation has a reservation spanning 14 counties in the northeastern corner of Oklahoma. These are Adair, Cherokee, Craig, Delaware, Mayes, McIntosh, Muskogee, Nowata, Ottawa, Rogers, Sequoyah, Tulsa, Wagoner, and Washington counties.

Education Services Group – oversees all early childhood development programs, cultural and historical preservation efforts, higher education scholarships, and operates several schools for Cherokee students

Health Services Group – provides direct care and community health services, including the operation of eight regional health clinics and one central hospital facility

Financial Resources Group – central accounting, budgeting, and acquisition services for the entire Government

Community Services Group – provides public transit services, constructs road and sanitary sewer infrastructure projects, environmental health services, and self-help housing assistance

Management Resources Group – provides centralized support services to the entire government, including facilities management, risk management, natural resources preservation, and long range planning and development

Commerce Services Group – operates the Nation's Small Business Assistance Center which provides financial support to Cherokee-owned business, provides mortgage assistance to Cherokee homebuyers, and promotes cultural tourism

Human Services Group – provides family assistance programs, child support services, child care centers, child welfare and protective services, and veterans affairs services

Government Resources Group – oversees funds received from the Federal Government, manages all Tribal property, and oversees Tribal registration

Housing Services Group – operates low-income and elderly rental property for citizens, provides rehabilitation to private homes, provides mortgage assistance to citizens, and provides subsidy for rental properties

Career Services Group – provides job training, job relocation assistance, vocational rehabilitation, and operates "Talking Leaves" Facility

Job Corps

Leadership Services Group – operates the Cherokee Ambassador program, manages the , the Cherokee Youth Leadership Council, and various Summer Camps

Cherokee National Youth Choir

Office of the Attorney General – provides legal advice and representation to the Tribe and prosecutes violators of Tribal law

Cherokee Marshal Service – provides full service law enforcement services to the Nation

Human Resources Group – provides centralize personnel management for all employee recruitment and management affairs of the government

Information Systems Group – provides centralized information technology management for the government

Inter-tribal relations[edit]

Inter-Tribal Environmental Council[edit]

Since 1992, the Nation has served on Inter-Tribal Environmental Council.[71] The mission of ITEC is to protect the health of Native Americans, their natural resources and their environment as it relates to air, land and water. To accomplish this mission, ITEC provides technical support, training and environmental services in a variety of environmental disciplines.[72]

Inter-tribal membership[edit]

The Cherokee Nation participates in numerous joint programs with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, including cultural exchange programs and joint Tribal Council meetings involving councilors from both Cherokee tribes that address issues affecting all Cherokee people. The United Keetoowah Band tribal council unanimously passed a resolution to approach the Cherokee Nation for a joint council meeting between the two nations, as a means of "offering the olive branch," in the words of the UKB Council. While a date was set for the meeting between members of the Cherokee Nation council and UKB representation, Chief Chad Smith vetoed the meeting.


The Delaware Tribe of Indians (Lenape) became part of the Cherokee Nation in 1867. On 28 July 2009 it achieved independent federal recognition as a tribe.[73][74] Similarly, the Shawnee Tribe separated from the Cherokee Nation and achieved federal recognition in the 20th century.


On April 9, 2008, the Councils of the Cherokee Nation and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians at the Joint Council Meeting held in Catoosa, Oklahoma passed a resolution: "Opposing Fabricated Cherokee 'Tribes' and 'Indians'".[75] It denounced further state or federal recognition of so-called Cherokee tribes or bands. These tribes committed to exposing and assisting state and federal authorities in eradicating any group that attempts or claims to operate as a government of the Cherokee people. The resolution asked that no public funding from any federal or state government should be expended on behalf of non-federally recognized Cherokee tribes or bands. The Nation stated it would call for a full accounting of all federal monies given to state recognized, unrecognized or 501(c)(3) charitable organizations that claimed any Cherokee affiliation. It called for federal and state governments to stringently apply a federal definition of "Indian", to include citizens of federally recognized Indian tribes, to prevent non-Indians from selling membership in so-called Cherokee tribes for the purpose of exploiting the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990. In a controversial segment that could affect Cherokee Baptist churches and charitable organizations, the resolution stated that no 501(c)(3) organization, state recognized, or unrecognized groups shall be acknowledged as Cherokee.


The resolution challenged celebrities who claim Cherokee ancestry (Examples are in the "List of self-identified Cherokees".)

Economy[edit]

The Cherokee Nation controls Cherokee Nation Businesses, a holding company which owns companies in gaming, construction, aerospace and defense, manufacturing, technology, real estate, and healthcare industries. The Nation also operates its own housing authority and issues Tribal vehicle and boat tags. The Cherokee Nation's estimated annual economic impact is $1.06 billion on the state's economy, $401 million in salaries, and supports 13,527 Cherokee and non-Cherokee jobs.[81] In recent times, the modern Cherokee Nation has experienced an almost unprecedented expansion in economic growth and prosperity for its citizens. The Cherokee Nation has significant business, corporate, real estate, and agricultural interests, helping to produce revenue for economic development and welfare.

List of federally recognized tribes

List of Indian reservations in the United States

List of Native American tribes in Oklahoma

Official website

Cherokee Nation Citizens At-Large

The Cherokee Phoenix