You might hear some old stories about Cherokee people coming from outer space or being a "lost tribe of Israel." Let’s be real: that’s just 19th-century nonsense. The archaeological and linguistic evidence is rock solid. Their language, Tsalagi, belongs to the Iroquoian language family. That connects them to tribes in the Great Lakes region, not the Middle East or Mars.
Cherokee Nation history course enlightens citizens and non-citizens
So, did they migrate from the north? Yes, probably, but that was thousands of years ago. By the time Europeans showed up, they had been in the Southeast for so long that they were as much a part of the landscape as the red clay. To say they were “from” somewhere else is like saying your family is “from” the airport you landed at in 1987. It just doesn’t count.
And Then... The Trail of Tears
Now, for the part that makes you want to throw your coffee mug. The Cherokee were forcibly removed from this homeland in the 1830s. That’s the Trail of Tears. They were marched to what is now Oklahoma, a place that was completely foreign to them. This event is so huge that many people mistakenly think Oklahoma is their original home.
It’s not. Oklahoma is where they were relocated after being kidnapped from their true home. Think of it like this: you don’t say you’re “from” the waiting room of a prison. You’re from the house they dragged you out of. For the Cherokee, that house was the lush, green Southeast.
Description of Cherokee People - Cherokee People :)
