Historical Background

The Cherokee Indians are considered a Southeastern tribe, with ancestral roots in Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Archaeological evidence suggests they inhabited the southern Appalachian region for thousands of years, with sophisticated agricultural systems and trade routes long before European contact.

In the 1830s, thousands were forcibly removed to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) along the Trail of Tears, a devastating journey in which thousands perished from disease, starvation, and exposure. This removal followed the Indian Removal Act of 1830 and the infamous Treaty of New Echota, signed by a small faction without the consent of the majority of the Cherokee Nation.

Some remained in their homeland, forming the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in western North Carolina, who purchased land and adapted to survive within the confines of a rapidly changing political landscape.

Cherokee Language

The Cherokee language belongs to the Iroquoian language family and historically had three main dialects:

• Elatĭ (Lower): Spoken near the headwaters of the Savannah River in South Carolina and Georgia.
• Middle: Found mainly along the Tuckasegee River in western North Carolina.
• A’tŭli (Upper or Mountain): Used in upper Georgia, east Tennessee, and extreme western North Carolina.

In the early 19th century, Sequoyah created the Cherokee syllabary, enabling mass literacy among the Cherokee in just a few years. This innovation led to the publication of the Cherokee Phoenix, the first Native American newspaper, printed in both English and Cherokee.

Government and Alliances

The Cherokee were the largest of the Five Civilized Tribes and the first to develop a written language, thanks to Sequoyah’s syllabary. By the 1820s, they had adopted a constitution modeled after the United States, with executive, legislative, and judicial branches.

Military Alliances: The Cherokee sided with the Americans in the Revolutionary War, though internal divisions saw some bands ally with the British. In the Civil War, most Cherokee allied with the Confederacy, but a significant faction supported the Union, leading to civil conflict within the Nation itself.

Marriage Customs

Cherokee marriage was traditionally regulated by clan rules:

• No marriage within one’s own clan or a father’s clan.
• Encouraged marriage with members of a maternal or paternal grandfather’s clan.
• Women chose their partners freely and could dissolve marriages at will.
• Houses were owned by women, and husbands moved into their wives’ villages.

If a White man married a Cherokee woman, he gained limited tribal membership. However, a Cherokee man marrying a White woman was often expelled from the tribe. This matrilineal structure preserved clan identity and property ownership within the maternal line.

Divisions at European Contact

At the time of first contact with Europeans, the Cherokee were organized into three regional groups:

1. Lower Towns: Along rivers in South Carolina, often in close contact with European settlers and traders.
2. Upper/Overhill Towns: In eastern Tennessee and northwestern North Carolina, strategically located for defense and trade.
3. Middle Towns: Including Valley Towns in southwestern North Carolina and northeastern Georgia, plus the Out Towns.

These divisions allowed the Cherokee to adapt to varied environments, from fertile river valleys to rugged mountain terrain.

Cherokee Clans

Clan membership was inherited from the mother and was central to Cherokee identity. Land was farmed communally by clans, and being without a clan meant lacking a recognized Cherokee identity.

The Seven Cherokee Clans:

• Blue (A ni sa ho ni): Panther or Wild Cat clan.
• Long Hair (A ni gi lo hi): Often provided Peace Chiefs.
• Bird (A ni tsi s kwa): Associated with messengers and bird symbolism.
• Paint (A ni wo di): Many medicine people came from this clan.
• Deer (A ni ka wi): Known for hunting skills.
• Wild Potato (A ni ga to ge wi): Also called Bear, Raccoon, or Blind Savannah clan.
• Wolf (A ni wa yah): Traditionally provided War Chiefs.

Family Roles

Fathers had no formal authority over their children; this role belonged to the maternal uncles, who taught boys warfare, hunting, and discipline. The term “maternal uncle” meant any male member of the mother’s clan, not necessarily a blood brother of the mother. This system ensured that male authority figures were always from the same clan as the child, reinforcing loyalty and cultural continuity.

Famous Cherokee and Cultural Contributions

• Cherokee Actors, Actresses, and Musicians
• Other Famous Cherokee Figures

Notable Cherokee Leades

There are many Famous Cherokee people because they are one of the largest tribes.

Attakullakulla –See Little Carpenter

Austenaco – Principle ChiefBlack Fox

Elias Boudinot (Buck Oowatie), nephew of Major Ridge and early publisher of first Cherokee newspaperChief Bowl (Duwali, also known as

Captain William Dutch or just Dutch, a.k.a. Tahchee) –He was an early Old Settler and was famous for fighting the Osage. Bowl led his band from North Carolina to Missouri to Arkansas, finally ending up in East Texas about 1819.

In 1822, Bowl sent Richard Fields, a Cherokee diplomat, to Mexico to try to negotiate a land title for the tribe. Though Fields was unsuccessful, Bowl continued his efforts throughout the era of Mexican rule.

He later became a scout for the United States and was the spokesperson for the Indians during the councils for the 1835 Camp Holmes Peace Treaty. 

He was active in Western Cherokee politics and served as third Chief in his later years in Texas.

In February 1836, Bowl negotiated a treaty with Sam Houston in which the newly formed Republic of Texas guaranteed the Cherokees possession of their lands in East Texas. The Texas Senate refused to ratify the treaty.

Desperate, Bowl entered into an alliance of Indians and Mexicans who were conspiring to overthrow the Republic. President Mirabeau B. Lamar discovered this and ordered the Cherokees out of Texas. When they resisted, Lamar ordered military action.

Bowl was killed in the Battle of the Neches on July 16, 1839.

David Brown

John Brown

Carrie Bushyhead – Trail of Tears survivor who became a prominent Indian Territory educator.Connetoo (also known as John Hill) – Led Cherokee families to the Arkansas Territory.

John Cornstalk – Half Chickamauga Cherokee through his mother. Brother of Peter Cornstalk.

Peter Cornstalk – Half Chickamauga Cherokee through his mother. Principal Chief of the Cherokees living at the mouth of Spring Creek.

Doublehead (Chuquilatague,) was one of the 350 Cherokee who signed the treaties forced onto the rest of the 17,000 Cherokees living at that time, was later assassinated by Major Ridge (Kahnungdatlageh -“the man who walks the mountain top”),James Vann and Alexander Saunders as a Cherokee traitor. He was called Doublehead because he had a split personality.

Chief Dragging Canoe (Cui Canacina, a.k.a. Tsi’yu-gunsini), the son of Attakullakulla and cousin of Nancy Ward and the primary leading force in the Cherokee’s resistance to white settlement on Cherokee lands. He strongly resisted the sale of Cherokee lands to whites and spoke at treaty negotiations vehemently objecting to the continued sale of Cherokee land.

Chief Duwali – Chief of Hiwasee Town in North Carolina. Arrived in Arkansas around 1795 and began living on the St. Francis River .

The Cherokee whom lived in this area were forced to leave in 1811 due to a massive Earthquake and flooding which made the Mississippi River and its tributaries run backwards.

Duwali then moved his people to the White River for a short time, then moved his people to the south banks of the Arkansas, then later removed to Texas sometime around 1819.

Dutch – See Chief Bowl

George Duvall – Led Cherokee families to resettlement in the Arkansas Territory.

Jeffrey A. Gibson (born March 31, 1972) is a Choctaw-Cherokee painter and sculptor.

The Glass

Tom Graves

Charles Hicks, Vice Chief on the Trail of Tears and briefly Principal Chief himself in 1827 following the death of Pathkiller with John Ross as Second Principal Chief, before his own death just a few shorts weeks later brought that to an end.

A protoge of the former warrior and Upper Towns chief James Vann, Hicks was one of the most influential leaders in the Nation during the period after the Chickamauga Wars to just past the first quarter of the 19th century.

Extremely well-read and acculturated, his personal library was one of the biggest on the continent, public or private.

A member of the Cherokee Triumvirate at the beginning of the 19th century, along with James Vann and Major Ridge.

Elected Second Principal Chief under Pathkiller in 1811, a political dispute two years later left Hicks as de facto top chief with Pathkiller serving as a mere figurehead.

John Jolly -Brother to Tolluntuskee. He emigrated to the Arkansas Territory in the year 1817 and later became Chief sometime around 1818.

Dick Justice (also known as Dek-keh the Just)

Kanagagota (Cunne Shote, a.k.a. Standing Turkey ),was major chief of the Cherokee who was known to the british as “Old Hope of Chote”. He visited England in 1762 with a delegation of Cherokee.

Kingfisher – Koatohee – See Old Tassel

Little Carpenter, (also known as Attakullakulla) – Supreme Chief of the Cherokee from 1760-1775

Little Turtle – Corn Tassel (See Old Tassel – alternate spellings: Tassell or Tassle)

George Tassel (alternate spellings: Tassell or Tassle)- Probably a son of Old Tassel. A Cherokee who was executed for murder. In 1830, George Tassel was tried and convicted in Hall, Georgia and sentenced to hang for the murder of a white man on Indian land. Since the Cherokee Nation was sovereign, Tassel deserved to be tried in a Cherokee court.

The Cherokee Nation won a stay of execution from the United States Supreme Court, but the State of Georgia ignored the stay and murdered him anyway. His legal case became the first Cherokee legal document to set precedence on behalf of Cherokee sovereignty.

This case is still considered an important precedent for Indian sovereignty today.

John Watts (a.k.a. Young Tassel)

Watts was the son of a sister of Corn Tassel. Quite likely his father was John Watts who served as interpreter at the Cherokee treaty with the British at Augusta, Georgia in 1763.

Watts had such a close attachment to Old Tassel that he was known as Young Tassel

In this era, it was Cherokee custom for a brother to raise his sister’s children. Thus, some historians mistakenly list him as Old Tassel’s son, when he was actually a nephew.

Old Tassel (A.k.a. Corn Tassel, George Watts, Kai-ya-tahee, Koatohee, or Corn Tassel of Toquo) [see signature on Hopewell Treaty of 1785]) (alternate spellings: Kahyanteechee, Kayanatehee) Born about 1720
Chief Corn Tassel was killed in Jun 1788 at Chilhowie, Little TN by Kirk of John Seviers militia unit

• Father: Chief Dutch Tau-chee, Broom Deer Clan
• Mother: Nancy Broom Moytoy, Full Blood, Paint Clan
• Sister was Wurtah, Mother of Sequoyah.

Gist was allowed to settle on the Great Island (across from Fort Henry), and was married, in Cherokee terms, to Tassel’s sister, Wurtuh.

Pumpkin Boy – Old Tassel’s brother

? Son was Little Tassle, Kunnesseei, or Green Corn Top

Corn Tassel was Doubleheads brother

John Watts (Young Tassel) was his nephew.

Daughter married Bob Benge.

Oconostota – the Warrior of Chota.

Pathkiller,(1749 to January 1827) Pathkiller was the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, fought in the Revolutionary War for Britain and in the wars against American frontiersmen from 1783 through 1794.

Pathkiller, a “fullblood,” unacculturated Cherokee, became principal chief in 1811 and was the last individual from a conservative background to hold that office. Although Pathkiller remained principal chief through 1827, authority in the Cherokee Nation, after 1813, shifted to Charles Hicks.

Pathkiller was the mentor to John Ross, identifying the young Cherokee of Scotch-Irish descent as the future leader of the Cherokee people. Pathkiller is buried in New Echota Cemetery in New Echota, Georgia.

Rayetayah (a.k.a. Hanging Maw)John Ridge (son of Major Ridge)Major Ridge – See John Ross

John Rogers

John Ross (Guwisguwi or Cooweescoowe, a.k.a. Major Ridge), 1/8th Cherokee, principle chief of the Cherokee at the time of Cherokee removal. Once there, Ross was instrumental in drafting a Cherokee constitution that united the eastern and western branches of the tribe.

That year he was also chosen chief of the united tribe, an office he held until his death. He settled near Park Hill in Oklahoma, where he erected a mansion and farmed, using his many slaves to cultivate his fields.

His first wife, a Cherokee, Quatie, died in 1839. In 1845 he married a white woman who died in 1865. His father was a Scotsman; his mother was one-quarter Cherokee and three-quarters Scot.

Ross was educated by private tutors and then at Kingston Academy in Tennessee.

Alexander Saunders – Sequoyah (also known as George Gist or Guest), inventor of the Cherokee syllabary.

Skawuaw (also known as the Swan) – Cherokee prophet.

Sequoyah (also known as George Gist), is credited with inventing the Cherokee writing system, although Cherokee oral history suggests he may have borrowed from an earlier writing system used only by Cherokee priests.

Nimrod Jarrett Smith, 1837–1893 – Principal Chief

Chief Spring Frog (Dustu) – Famous ball player. Scout and friend to James Audubon. Springfrog was born in a cabin in Hamilton County TN around the year of 1754, and his birth-place may still be visited today and is known as Springfrog’s Cabin.

Stand Waitie –The last major Confederate field commander to surrender to the Union, which took place at Doaksville, in the Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory.

William Holland Thomas, 1805–1893 – Principal Chief

Takatoka

Toluntuskee (Tahloteeskee) -Uncle of George Guess. Around 1809, Talontuskee along with Chief Takatoka settled about 300 Cherokees on the White River in Arkansas.

Toluntuskee invited the Protestant missionaries who founded Dwight Mission in 1820 near what is now Russellville (Pope County) so that Cherokee children could learn Anglo-American ways.

Ironically, the mission was in a location firmly under the control of Takatoka, who opposed its goals. Talontuskee became the principal Chief of the villages south of the Arkansas sometime around 1813.

Tsali Unacata (also known as White Man Killer) – Led Cherokee families to Arkansas Territory.

James Vann

Nancy Ward

• Nancy Ward, (Nanye-hi) Cherokee (ca. 1738-ca. 1824) 
• Nancy Ward: Military and Genealogical Records of the Famous Indian Woman of Tennessee  

John Watts – Served as interpreter at the Cherokee treaty with the British at Augusta Georgia in 1763.

Walter “Wat” Webber – Moved his people to Arkansas around 1809 and settled near Takatoka and Toluntuskee’s people. Walter Webber later became third Chief after 1824. Walter Webber’s wife was the sister of Stand Watie.

William “Red-Headed Will” Webber Led Cherokee families to resettlement in the Arkansas Territory.

Wohsi (Also known as Moses Price) -Led Cherokee families to resettlement in the Arkansas Territory.

Chief Yonaguska

Famous Cherokee from the Modern Era

ACTIVISTS / POLITICIANS
Sir Winston Churchill

President Bill Clinton (who claims to be one-sixteenth Cherokee, although no documentation has been found to support this).

John Nance Garner (nicknamed Cactus Jack), 32nd Vice President of the United States under President Roosevelt.

Wilma Mankiller was the first female Cherokee Principal Chief and a well known native american activist.

• Wilma Mankiller, Cherokee (1945-2010)
• Wilma Mankiller Obituary

Rosa Parks, who wouldn’t give up her seat on a bus, the incident that started racial reform in the 60s for blacks.

John Leak Springston

John Tyler Hammons (b. 1988), mayor of Muskogee, Oklahoma

Stacy Leeds, former justice on the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court, judge for three tribal courts, law professor

J. B. Milam (1884-1949), Principal Chief

Chad Smith, incumbent Principal Chief and attorney

Ross Swimmer, Principal Chief and Special Trustee for American Indians at the U.S. Department of the Interior

Joe Byrd, Principal Chief, known for the 1997 Constitutional Crisis

Brad Carson (b. 1967), Oklahoma congressman

Daniel Heath Justice, author

W. W. Keeler (1908-1987), Principal Chief

Cherokee Actors:

Monte Blue, appeared in 278 television and movie roles.

Walter Brennan

Cher – Her sister said she made her Cherokee ancestry up as a publicity stunt.

Victor Daniels (stage name Chief Thundercloud), played Tonto in the early Lone Ranger films.

Johnny Depp, famous for the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Cherokee heritage is doubtful.

Charisma Carpenter

David Carradine

Iron Eyes Cody

Kevin Costner, became famous for Dances With Wolves, went on to become superstar

James Garner

Clu Gulager was Deputy, later Sheriff, Ryker on the long-running television series The Virginian

.James Earl Jones

Christopher Judge

Arthur Junaluska, Eastern Cherokee, was an actor, playwright, and theatrical director.

Henry Kingi, actor and stuntman
Tom Mix

Chuck Norris

Lou Diamond Philips

Burt Reynolds

Will Rogers (1879–1935) was a performer in Wild West shows and on stage, later becoming a film actor, radio personality, and nationally syndicated newspaper columnist.

Will Rogers, Jr. (1911-1993), journalist and California congressman

Liv Tyler

Wes Studi is full-blood Cherokee, and has received critical acclaim for his portrayals of Magua in The Last of the Mohicans (1992), and Geronimo (1994).

• Wes Studi Filmography
• Wes Studi inducted into Hall of Great Western Performers
• Wes Studi, back with host of colorful characters for Comanche Moon mini series
• TV Review: 1st segment of Comanche Moon mini-series
• Joe Leaphorn is not his old self but Tony Hillerman is happy with ‘Skinwalkers’
• Film crew documents drama of Cherokee tears
• Independent film explores history of Haskell Boarding School
• Wes Studi arrested on a charge of aggravated DWI

Dennis Weaver was known for his Emmy-winning role as Chester on the long-running television series Gunsmoke, and in the McCloud television series.

Victor Daniels (stage name Chief Thundercloud), played Tonto in the early Lone Ranger films.

Cherokee Athletes:

Jack Dempsey, boxing champion

Bud Adams (b. 1923), businessman and owner of the Tennessee Titans and Houston Oilers

Sam Bradford (b. 1987), quarterback, winner of the Heisman Trophy.

• Quarterback Sam Bradford is source of pride for the Cherokee Nation

Sonny

Sixkiller (b. 1951), football player

Cherokee Artists:

Robert Rauschenberg, painter.

Amanda Crowe, 1928–2004 – Sculptor and educator.

Hastings Shade, former Deputy Chief, traditionalist, language expert, artist, and National Treasure

Martha Berry, bead artist, curator, and author

Roy Boney Jr. (b.1978), artist, animator, comic book illustrator

Robert Rauschenberg, painter.

Kay WalkingStick (b. 1935), painter and educator

Mike Dart (b. 1977), basket weaver and activistT

almadge Davis (1962-2005), painter

Mavis Doering (1929-2007), basket weaver

Joseph L. Erb (b.1974), artist, first 3-D animator in Cherokee language

Cherokee Musicians:

Tori Amos also shares Cherokee ancestry.

Anita Bryant, singer, beauty queen, and celebrity spokesperson who became best known for her work in favor of bigotry against gays and lesbians.

Johnny Cash, country-western legend.

Cher, the actress and singer. Sister says Cherokee ancestry was made up for publicity.

Rita Coolidge, country western legend.

Billy Ray Cyrus, country western singer

Miley Cyrus

Crystal Gayle, country western singer.

Jimi Hendrix, rock legend, was of Cherokee heritage through his maternal grandmother, Nora Rose Moore.

Eartha Kitt

Barbara McAlister (b. 1941), mezzo soprano opera singer

Loretta Lynn, country western superstar.

Willie Nelson, country-western legend, folk hero.

John Phillips of the singing group,The Mamas and the Papas, famous in the 1970-80s.

Elvis Presley, singer, musician and actor, maybe the biggest musical legend of the 20th century.

Tiffany, singer.

Steven Tyler, singer in the rock band called Aerosmith.

Litefoot, rapper, actor and activist.

Tommy Wildcat, Cherokee-Muscogee-Natchez musician, actor, traditionalist.

Cherokee Preachers:

Oral Roberts, Television Evangelist

Cherokee Directors, Producers and Writers

Gary Robinson, is a writer, producer and director.

Mitch Cullin, writer.

Marilou Awiakta, b. 1936 – Author

Phil Konstantin (b. 1952), author, TV reporter, historian, website creator.

Modern Day Soldiers:

Charles George, 1932–1952 – Congressional Medal of Honor recipient

Junaluska, ca. 1775–1868 – Military leader and diplomat

Cherokee Tribes:

Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma (F)
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians of North Carolina (F)
Echota Cherokee Tribe of AlabamaAL (S)
United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma (F) (formerly the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians of Oklahoma)

Also see: State and Un-Recognized Cherokee Tribes for a list of 348 state recognized or unrecognized Cherokee tribes and organizations who call themselves Cherokee tribes.

Cherokee artisans are renowned for basket weaving, beadwork, and pottery, often using traditional patterns passed down for generations. The Cherokee stomp dance, still performed today, is both a social and spiritual event.

There was significant intermarriage between Cherokees and Whites, leading to a rich genealogical record preserved in census and tribal enrollment documents. These records are invaluable to researchers tracing Native American ancestry.

Modern Cherokee Nation

Today, the Cherokee Nation is a sovereign tribal government headquartered in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. It operates its own judicial system, health services, and educational programs. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians maintains a strong cultural presence in North Carolina, while the United Keetoowah Band is another federally recognized group in Oklahoma.

Language revitalization programs, cultural heritage sites, and annual events like the Cherokee National Holiday continue to strengthen tribal identity and community cohesion.

Resources

Online Cherokee Translation Tool: Courtesy of Freelang Dictionary — translate between Cherokee (Aniyawi) and English.