Cherokee Indians Research Paper

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians are not the group of Cherokee Indians you usually hear about in history books. Many people are familiar with Cherokee Indians, but far too many people think that ALL Cherokees walked the Trail of Tears and ended up in present day Oklahoma during the mid 1800’s. Some Cherokee people agreed to the new laws, and together, 1,000 Cherokees purchased 57,000 acres of land of western North Carolina territory. Around 16,000 Cherokees left Appalachia on the Trail of Tears. In North Carolina, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Nation thrived and were able to keep their traditions and culture alive.
Prior to the Trail of Tears, the Cherokee people were very advanced compared to other tribes. In the early 1800’s, Sequoyah, created a syllabary alphabet for the Cherokee language. This lead to a Cherokee constitution being drafted on July 26, 1827. The alphabet and constitution are still in use today. (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians)
Unlike other tribes, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians do not live on a reservation because they had paid for the land. Today, these 57,000 acres are known as the Qualla Boundary, located in the heart of the Appalachian Region. It is bordered by Great Smoky Mountain National Park to its north and Nantahala National Forest to its south. The tribe has …show more content…
Poverty has long been at the top of this list. The Appalachian Regional Commission was started to help the economic problems throughout the Appalachian Region. The Qualla Boundary covers three counties, Swain, Haywood and Jackson Counties. The ARC labels these distressed, at-risk, and transitional counties so many economic levels are present on the Qualla Boundary. However, few things have been done to fix some the issues present in the area.