Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma | |
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Seal | |
Location (red) in the U.S. state of Oklahoma | |
Cherokee Nation Location in the United States | |
| Coordinates: 35°51′8″N 94°59′27″W / 35.85222°N 94.99083°W | |
| Pre-1794 Cherokee | Pre-Columbian era |
| Cherokee Nation (1794–1907) | 1794–1907 |
| Constitution Ratified | September 6, 1839 |
| Tribal General Convention convened | August 8, 1938 |
| 2nd Constitution Ratified | June 26, 1976 |
| 1999 Constitution Ratified | 2003 |
| Reservation Recognized | March 11, 2021 |
| Capital | Tahlequah |
| Government | |
| • Type | Republic |
| • Body | Cherokee Nation Tribal Council |
| • Principal Chief | Chuck Hoskin Jr. (D) |
| • Deputy Principal Chief | Bryan Warner (D) |
| • Speaker | Johnny Kidwell (I) |
| • Chief Justice | John C. Garrett (I) |
| • U.S. House Delegate-designee | Kimberly Teehee (D) |
| Area | |
• Total | 6,963 sq mi (18,030 km2) |
| • Land | 6,694 sq mi (17,340 km2) |
| • Water | 269 sq mi (700 km2) |
| Population (2024) | |
• Total | 466,181 |
| Demonym | Cherokee |
| Time zone | UTC– 06:00 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC– 05:00 (CDT) |
| Area code(s) | 918 and 539 |
| Website | cherokee |
The Cherokee Nation (Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ Tsalagihi Ayeli or ᏣᎳᎩᏰᎵ Tsalagiyehli) is the largest of three federally recognized Cherokee tribes in the United States. Headquartered in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, the nation had over 466,000 enrolled citizens as of 2024, making it one of the largest tribal nations in the country.
The tribe includes people descended from members of the Old Cherokee Nation who relocated, due to increasing pressure, from the Southeast to Indian Territory and Cherokee who were forced to relocate on the Trail of Tears. The tribe also includes descendants of Cherokee Freedmen and the Natchez Nation.
The nation operates under a constitution ratified in 2003, with executive, legislative, and judicial branches. In 2020 and 2021, federal and state courts affirmed that the Cherokee Nation's reservation—spanning 14 counties in northeastern Oklahoma—was never disestablished, restoring reservation status under the McGirt v. Oklahoma precedent. The nation has jurisdiction within this territory.
The nation publishes the Cherokee Phoenix, the first Native American newspaper, and operates Cherokee language immersion schools.
The Cherokee Nation has a reservation spanning 14 counties in the northeastern corner of Oklahoma. These are Adair, Cherokee, Craig, Delaware, Mayes, McIntosh, Muskogee, Nowata, Ottawa, Rogers, Sequoyah, Tulsa, Wagoner, and Washington counties.