Since earliest contact with European explorers in the 1500’s, the Cherokee Nation has been identified as one of the most advanced among Native American tribes. Cherokee culture thrived for thousands of years in the southeastern United States before European contact. After contact, Cherokee society and culture continued to develop and progress. Soon, they had shaped a bicultural government and a society that matched the most “civilized” of the time. At the time of contact, the …showed first 75 words of 722 total…

…showed last 75 words of 722 total…the 1860’s were called their Golden Age, a period of prosperity that ended with the division over the Civil War. After the Civil War, more Cherokee land and rights were taken by the government. What remained of Cherokee tribal land was divided into allotments which were given to Cherokees listed in the census compiled by the Dawes Commission n the late 1890’s. Descendants of those original enrollees make up today’s Cherokee Nation Tribal Membership.