Cherokee Nation
The Cherokee Nation (Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ Tsalagihi Ayeli or ᏣᎳᎩᏰᎵ Tsalagiyehli), also known as the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, is the largest of three Cherokee federally recognized tribes 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 Cherokee 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.
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma | |
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Seal | |
Location (red) in the U.S. state of Oklahoma | |
Cherokee Nation Location in the United States | |
| Coordinates: 35°51′8″N 94°59′27″W | |
| Pre-1794 Cherokees | Pre-Columbian era |
| Cherokee Nation (1794-1907) | 1794–1907 |
| Constitution Ratified | September 6, 1839 |
| Tribal General Convention convened | August 8, 1938 |
| 2nd Constitution Ratified | June 26, 1976 |
| 1999 Constitution Ratified | 2003 |
| Reservation Recognized | March 11, 2021 |
| Capital | Tahlequah |
| Government | |
| • Type | Tribal Council |
| • Principal Chief | Chuck Hoskin Jr. |
| • Deputy Principal Chief | Bryan Warner |
| • U.S. House Delegate-designee | Kimberly Teehee (D) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 6,963 sq mi (18,030 km2) |
| • Land | 6,694 sq mi (17,340 km2) |
| • Water | 269 sq mi (700 km2) |
| Population (2023) | |
| • Total | 450,000+ |
| Demonym | Cherokee |
| Time zone | UTC–06:00 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC–05:00 (CDT) |
| Area code(s) | 918 and 539 |
| Website | cherokee |
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.