The process of acculturation began early for the #Cherokees with the introduction of European trade goods in 1673.

The #Cherokees were forced to sign one treaty after another with the new United States government, each one giving away more land to the new nation

Andrew Jackson actually set the so-called "Removal Process" in motion. In the meantime the government had been doing everything in its power to convince #Cherokees to move west voluntarily, and the first to do so were the faction known as Chickamaugans

Earliest historical data locates the #Cherokees in a vast area of what is now the southeastern United States, with about 200 towns scattered throughout the present states of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia

The word #Cherokee is believed to have evolved from a #Choctaw word meaning "Cave People." It was picked up and used by Europeans and eventually accepted and adopted by #Cherokees in the form of Tsalagi or Jalagi

According to historical author Jim Stebinger, #Cherokees held an estimated 1,600 black slaves

Unlike the other tribes, the #Cherokees migrated to the southeast from the north, and over time their culture became similar to that of the southern neighbors with whom they have come to be identified among the Five Civilized Tribes

Earliest historical data locates the #Cherokees in a vast area of what is now the southeastern United States, with about 200 towns scattered throughout the present states of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia

Because of the long history of intermarriage, and because of the nature of the division of land in eastern Oklahoma, #Cherokees have long been used to interacting with non-#Cherokees

In the west, the #Cherokee divided into two major factions. The #Cherokees who had signed the removal treaty and all of their friends, allies, and associates had become known as the Treaty Party

According to historical author Jim Stebinger, #Cherokees held an estimated 1,600 black slaves

The #Cherokees who had signed the removal treaty and those associated with them, had become known as the Treaty Party. The followers of Chief John Ross, who had suffered the forced removal, were known as the Ross Party. These two factions started a civil war that lasted until 1843.