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Cherokee

North American Indigenous and First Nations Peoples

The Cherokee are an Iroquoian-language-speaking indigenous nation historically centered in the southeastern United States, notable for the early-nineteenth-century development of the Cherokee syllabary, a full writing system for their language devised by Sequoyah, which produced rapid, well-documented Cherokee-language literacy and the Cherokee Phoenix, one of the first Native American newspapers. The Cherokee were among the tribes forcibly removed from their homeland to Indian Territory under the 1830 Indian Removal Act, a documented and well-established atrocity known as the Trail of Tears, in which a substantial share of those removed died. Today three federally recognized Cherokee tribes exist, the Cherokee Nation and the United Keetoowah Band, both headquartered in Oklahoma, and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina, descended from those who avoided or resisted removal.

Facts
Group TypeSourced to the subject's own account
Indigenous nation/ethnic group 1
Typical RegionSourced to the subject's own account
North America (historically the southeastern United States; today primarily Oklahoma and western North Carolina) 1
Population EstimateSourced to the subject's own account
more than 400,000 enrolled members across the three federally recognized Cherokee tribes 1
Primary LanguageSourced to the subject's own account
Cherokee (Tsalagi), using the Cherokee syllabary devised by Sequoyah in the 1820s 1
Subsistence ModeSourced to the subject's own account
Historically settled agriculture (corn, beans and squash) combined with hunting, in permanent town-based settlements distinct from more mobile Plains societies. 1
Group Type
Group Type (category)Sourced to the subject's own account
Ethnic Group 1
Group Type (category)Sourced to the subject's own account
Indigenous Group 1
Group Type (category)Sourced to the subject's own account
Nation 1
Subsistence Mode
Subsistence Mode (category)Sourced to the subject's own account
Agriculture 1
Population Band
Population Band (category)
Under 1 Million 2
Connections

Associated With

Cherokee society is historically organized around matrilineal clans, with clan membership, property and social standing traced through the mother's line.

In Rule Category

Source Countries and Their Cultures (Encyclopedia of World Cultures, Gale): Cherokee - Kinship
In the Other Atlases

Used In

Also in Language Atlas: which uses this subject.

Source Wikipedia: CherokeeLead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia articletier 3
Quote, Lead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia article
The Cherokee or Tsalagi (Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩ, romanized: Tsalagi pronounced [dʒalaˈɡî], endonym: ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, Aniyvwiyaʔi / Anigiduwagi) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States.

Originated In

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.

Sources
1. Wikipedia: Cherokee
WikipediaIntroduction
Quote, Introduction
The Cherokee or Tsalagi people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States.
View the Source
2. Encyclopedia.com (Encyclopedia of World Cultures): Cherokee
Encyclopedia.com (Encyclopedia of World Cultures)Demography
Quote, Demography
In the 2000 census that number dropped to 281,069, but the Chrerokee kept their status as the largest tribe in the United States .
View the Source
Countries and Their Cultures (Encyclopedia of World Cultures, Gale): Cherokee - Kinship
Countries and Their Cultures (Encyclopedia of World Cultures, Gale)In Rule Category: Matrilineal Descent, Kin Groups and Descent
Quote, In Rule Category: Matrilineal Descent, Kin Groups and Descent
Cherokee society was divided into seven matrilineal, exogamous clans, or sibs.
View the Source
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