Cherokee Nation (1794–1907)

The Cherokee Nation (Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ, pronounced Tsalagihi Ayeli) was a legal, autonomous, tribal government in North America recognized from 1794 to 1907. It was often referred to simply as "The Nation" by its inhabitants. The government was effectively disbanded in 1907, after its land rights had been extinguished, prior to the admission of Oklahoma as a state. During the late 20th century, the Cherokee people reorganized, instituting a government with sovereign jurisdiction known as the Cherokee Nation. On July 9, 2020, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the Muscogee (Creek) Nation (and by extension the Cherokee Nation) had never been disestablished in the years before allotment and Oklahoma Statehood.

The Cherokee Nation consisted of the Cherokee (ᏣᎳᎩ —pronounced Tsalagi or Cha-la-gee) people of the Qualla Boundary and the southeastern United States; those who relocated voluntarily from the southeastern United States to the Indian Territory (circa 1820 —known as the "Old Settlers"); those who were forced by the Federal government of the United States to relocate (through the Indian Removal Act) by way of the Trail of Tears (1830s); and descendants of the Natchez, the Lenape and the Shawnee peoples, and, after the Civil War and emancipation of slaves, Cherokee Freedmen and their descendants. The nation was recognized as a sovereign government; because the majority of its leaders allied with the Confederacy, the United States required a new peace treaty after the American Civil War, which also provided for emancipation of Cherokee slaves. The territory was partially occupied by United States.

In the late 19th century, Congress passed the Dawes Act, intended to promote assimilation and extinguish Indian governments, but it exempted the Five Civilized Tribes. The Curtis Act of 1898 extended the provisions of the Dawes Act to the Five Tribes, in preparation for the admission of Oklahoma as a state in 1907. It provided for the distribution of tribal lands to individuals and also gave the federal government the authority to determine who were members of each tribe. The Curtis Act provided that residents of Indian Territory had voting rights in local elections. Cherokee people, who were living in Indian Territory in 1901, were granted United States citizenship by virtue of a federal act (31 Stat. 1447) of March 3, 1901.^{: 220 : 12}