The name the Cherokee originally used for themselves is Aniyunwiya, meaning “principal people.” The Cherokee speak an Iroquoian language and had a system of writing their own language, developed by Sequoyah.Įvidence indicates that the Cherokee migrated from present-day Texas or northern Mexico to the Great Lakes area in prehistoric times. The name Cherokee is an old pronunciation of Tsalagi, the name for the Cherokee in the Creek language.
One of the tribes referred to by Native Americans as the Five Civilized Tribes, various Cherokee bands played an important role in colonial America and United States history. The Cherokee tribe was the first to inhabit what is now the eastern and southeastern United States before most of them were forcefully moved to the Ozark Plateau.
