About 4,000 years ago, the Cherokee people left the southwest region of what would become the United States, in search of a home. They settled for a while around the Great Lakes region, but they were not welcomed. The Iroquois were not happy to see them. The Iroquois forcibly pushed the Cherokee from their land. The Cherokee moved on. They wandered finally into North Carolina, where they discovered a land full of forests, mountains, rivers, streams, and fertile valleys. Wildlife was plentiful. They settled down happily. Life continued for thousands of years.
As their own village populations grew, and as they conquered other tribes in the area, the Cherokee Nation grew. At one time, it covered 8 states including all or portions of the present day states of Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Alabama, Virginia and West Virginia.
Today, the Cherokee live in the modern world. There are over 260,000 people in the United States who can prove ancestry with the Cherokee Nation.