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A Cherokee legend suggests that the Cherokee tribes came from the far Northwest.  The Cherokee lived all over the Southeast region.  It was their home for over 1,000 years ago.  The original Cherokee land covered eight states. Cherokee also lived in the Appalachian Mountains.  Their villages were almost always along the banks of a river.  Most of the Cherokee now live in eastern Oklahoma. There are about 95,000 Cherokee living there now.  Some villages are on reservations in North Carolina.  The Cherokee Indians were not the only Indian group forced to move West on the Trail of Tears.  The tribes that were forced to move are known as "the Five Civilized Tribes".