Cherokee Nation

Cherokee Nation ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ (Cherokee) Tsalagihi Ayeli Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma
Indian reservation
Flag 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 / 35.85222; -94.99083
Pre-1794 Cherokees	Pre-Columbian era
Cherokee Nation (1794-1907)	1794–1907
Constitution Ratified	September 6, 1839; 185 years ago (1839-09-06)
Tribal General Convention convened	August 8, 1938; 86 years ago (1938-08-08)
2nd Constitution Ratified	June 26, 1976; 48 years ago (1976-06-26)
1999 Constitution Ratified	2003; 22 years ago (2003)
Reservation Recognized	March 11, 2021; 3 years ago (2021-03-11)
Capital	Tahlequah
Government
• Type	Republic
• Body	Cherokee Nation Tribal Council
• Principal Chief	Chuck Hoskin Jr. (D)
• Deputy Principal Chief	Bryan Warner (D)
• U.S. House Delegate-designee	Kimberly Teehee (D)
Area [1]
• Total	6,963 sq mi (18,030 km2)
• Land	6,694 sq mi (17,340 km2)
• Water	269 sq mi (700 km2)
Population  (2024)[2]
• 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.org

The Cherokee Nation (Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ Tsalagihi Ayeli or ᏣᎳᎩᏰᎵ Tsalagiyehli) is the largest of three federally recognized tribes of Cherokees in the United States. It includes people descended from members of the Old Cherokee Nation who relocated, due to increasing pressure, from the Southeast to Indian Territory and Cherokees who were forced to relocate on the Trail of Tears. The tribe also includes descendants of Cherokee Freedmen and Natchez Nation. As of 2024, over 466,000 people were enrolled in the Cherokee Nation.

Headquartered in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, 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.