Long ago, before America belonged to the Americans, there were natives who lived off the land. Today, these people are known as Native Americans. Instead of living in states like we do today, these people lived in tribes across the United States. One very important tribe is the Cherokee Indians.

The Cherokee's first home was in the south eastern part of the US. Today, this part of the country can be identified as Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Alabama, Virginia, and West Virginia. The Cherokee lived in homes made of mud and clay with roofs made of leaves and branches.

The Cherokee spent their days hunting, farming, and sharing myths and legends. While the men did the hunting, the woman farmed and the elderly, wise members of the community shared stories about the Cherokee history and the origins of the Earth. The Cherokee believe that the Earth is a great floating island that is attached by four cords to the sky vault, a large rock in the sky.

Instead of having a president like we have, the Cherokees had a chief. Each village of Cherokees had two chiefs, one for times of peace and one for times of war. In times of peace, the "white chief" was guided by a council that helped make decisions and rule over the people. In times of war, the "red chief" used his highly trained army to defend the village.

One very important chief of the Cherokee, was John Ross. In the late 1700s and early 1800s, the US government made the Cherokee leave their homes and move west. John Ross was the chief at the time and helped the Cherokee people through the Trail of Tears, a name for their movement to the west.