The Cherokee Indian
Reservation is home to the Eastern Band of the Cherokee. It is located in the
Great Smoky Mountains of Western North Carolina and has been a part of the
Cherokee's homeland for thousands of years. Today, Cherokee is the center of
the tirbe's history and culture and they welcome worldwide visitors to their
homeland with activities and experiences for all ages.
According to legend
the birthplace of the Cherokee was a place called Kitawah, a beautiful valley
on the banks of the Tuckaseigee River. Today, Kitawah is part of the Cherokee
Indian lands in Swain County, near Bryson City. In the 2000 years following
Kitawah the Cherokee Nation grew into a mighty empire with an advanced
civilization that may have numbered over 25,000 people, and covered over 40,000
square miles of territory. The Cherokee Nation included lands in North
Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Virginia and West
Virginia.
In the 200 years
following the arrival of DeSoto, the Cherokee's numbers declined dramatically
as a result of slaughter, warfare and disease. Their lands were attractive to
the white settlers, and President Andrew Jackson ordered them forcibly removed
to Oklahoma. Along the sand and tragic "Trail of Tears" more than 4000 Cherokee
died. A few hundred of the Cherokee were spared the removal and remained on
their homelands in the Smoky Mountains by hiding and eluding the forces of
President Jackson. A native of the region, William H. Thomas, was a friend to
the members of the tribe who remained. He purchased land and gave to the
Cherokee. Later, the United States Congress funded the purchase of the entire
tract of land that became The Cherokee Indian Reservation. The descendents of
the Cherokee who remained on their homeland in the Smoky Mountains now make up
the Eastern Band and live on the Cherokee Indian Reservation in Swain County,
North Carolina.
Today, Cherokee
offers attractions for visitors including The Cherokee Indian Village, The
Museum of The Cherokee Indian, the outdoor drama Unto These Hills, and a
variety of modern accommodations, restaurants and craft shops. More recently,
the Cherokee have added Harrah's Cherokee Casino and it has become another
magnet for tourism to the Reservation, and is a wonderful base of financial
security for the tribe and the surrounding area.
Cherokee is about 15
minutes east of Bryson City, N.C. and about 30 minutes east of the Nantahala
River Gorge. |
