· The name Cherokee is the Choctaw word for an important Cherokee town, Keetoowah.

· The early Cherokee ate bean dumplings and chestnut bread. They were farmers who lived in log houses and wore brightly dyed clothing made from cotton.

· The Cherokee discovered many plant medicines such as spiraea, from which aspirin is made.

· Sequoya, the great Cherokee scholar, invented a way for Cherokee language to be written. He did this because he wanted a constitution for the Cherokee people and to be able to keep written records.

· There were seven Cherokee clans traditionally. Each chief had seven counsellors and seven honored women took part in the government. A building where the government met and where the most sacred ceremonies were held was called the council house, and it was seven sided. At the center of the house, there was a sacred fire that was kept burning with seven kinds of wood.

· The first woman to be chosen as chief of the Cherokee Indians was Wilma Mankiller. She was elected in 1987.