| Early Life |
| The Confederacy |
| European Ways |
| Cherokee Religion |
Did you know that the Cherokee Indians are the largest of the five civilized tribes of the southeast? The Cherokee, who called themselves Ani-Yun Wiya, or principal people, migrated to the southeast from the Great Lakes Region. They are the people of Iroquois Lineage.
By 1650 the Cherokee had a population estimated at 22,500. Their nation was a confederacy of towns, each town was ruled by a supreme chief. They lived in long homes instead of tee pees. They had sacred religious practices.
During the American Revolution the Cherokee supported the British and made several attacks on forts and settlements.
By 1800 the Cherokee proudly displayed European culture. They adopted a government patterned after the United States, wore European-style dress, and followed the white man's farming and home-building methods. Ironically, the Cherokee fought with Andrew Jackson in The Creek War during 1813 through 1813.
Sequoyah invented the Cherokee alphabet