The Cherokee people lived in groups of family members called clans.  There were seven clans. When someone in a clan went hunting, they shared their catch with their clan.  A person could not marry someone in his or her clan.  After marriage, a man usually lived with his wife’s clan.  When a child was born, it was part of their mother’s clan (that did not mean the child’s father did not love their son or daughter). 

The modern Western Cherokee once filed a lawsuit against the Southern band of Cherokee because they had gotten to keep all the profit from selling the land they were forced to sell.  They were forced to sell because gold was discovered on that land.  The money was given to the Southern Cherokee because they were the ones who were living on the land.  Many of the Cherokee filing the suit were related to the other Cherokee the suit was filed against.  Today there are about 53,000 members of the Western band of Cherokee.