Who are we?
The "Appalachian Nation Cherokees", one of the largest Indian tribes in the United States, has more than 18,000 tribal members. We reside in the states of Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, New Jersey, Ohio, Kentucky, California and Canada. We are proud and sovereign, indigenous people with great respect and honor.
Directions come from our Council of Spiritual Elders, "We hold hands, go in one direction, all must communicate, sing one song, say one prayer, and walk the next decades together with one voice. Our survival and the survival of future generations must continue."
As with many other First Nations people, we are still trying to gather back to the tribe the many people whose heritage was hidden from them by their ancestors, or who were taught to deny who they were as a means of survival or so that their children would not have to go to substandard schools.
At the beginning of the fifteenth century the Cherokee people made up the largest Native American tribe on the frontier. In 1540 the Spanish under the leadership of Fernando de Soto traveled through what was called Cherokee country. In one of the saddest episodes of our history, by the United States Government. Men, women, and children were taken from their land, herded into makeshift forts with minimal facilities and food, then forced to march a thousand miles(some made part of the trip by boat in equally horrible conditions). The route they traversed and the journey itself became known as "The Trail of Tears"or, as a direct translation from Cherokee, "The Trail Where They Cried" ("Nunna daul Tsuny"). But many of our ancestors chose not to go. Many ran and hid in the Appalachian Mountain and surrounding forests. Many pushed further north resting in places like Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Canada.
Today our children are being taught their heritage and culture. They are being taught to be proud of who they are.
To this end, if you feel that you may be one of those lost members, we gladly provide a Tribal Application that you can print and return to our headquarters.
To obtain copy of the application, please visit the TribalApplication Tab on this site and click on the PDF File at the bottom and print out a copy. Please read the cover letter which will assist you in filling out the form.
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