Cherokee Nation

The Cherokee Nation ( or ) 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. Provided by Wikipedia