Remember Our History, Protect Our Future

We are the Cherokee Nation.

The Cherokee Nation that exists today is the same Cherokee Nation that has existed since time immemorial.

Since before the founding of the United States of America, as has been well documented in the historic record, the Cherokee Nation has maintained a continuous, government-to-government relationship with the United States.

From the Treaty at Hopewell (1785), to the Treaty of New Echota (1835), and all of the treaties forged with the United States through the Treaty of Washington of 1866, the rights established by these treaties belong exclusively to the Cherokee Nation.

Today, the Cherokee Nation is the largest federally recognized Indian tribe in the United States.

The Nation has its headquarters in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, in the heart of the Cherokee Nation Reservation, which extends over all or part of 14 counties in northeastern Oklahoma, encompassing an area of over 7,000-square-miles.

The Cherokee Nation’s government is committed to protecting its tribal sovereignty, treaty rights, reservation, and citizens.

Indian Tribes and Tribal Sovereignty

Indian tribes possess inherent powers of self-government. The sovereign authority of Indian tribes pre-dates the United States and exists outside of the U.S. constitutional framework. In other words, tribes’ sovereign authority and powers of self-government were not delegated to or bestowed upon tribes by the United States — tribal sovereignty is inherent.

Sovereignty is fundamental to how any tribal nation engages with the United States and underpins generations of respectful diplomatic relationships between federally recognized tribes and the U.S. government.