Indigenous to North Carolina and the greater southeastern U.S., the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians were originally hunters and gathers who migrated throughout the Great Smoky Mountains and lowlands of the Southern Appalachians.
Our history can be traced back to the region as far as 11,000 B.C., and has been passed generation to generation through a rich storytelling tradition, as well as through ceremonies and rituals including dances that symbolize our religious and cultural beliefs.