What is the difference between Eastern and Western Cherokee? What are the Iroquois tribes?
In 1838-39, the United States Government, to its great shame, forcefully relocated most of the Cherokee people from their homelands in the Carolinas to a reservation in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). It did this despite great efforts on the part of the people to peacefully coexist with the newcomers — gold had been found in their mountains. Much of the journey took place on foot, resulting in many deaths and prompting the Cherokee name of the incident, “Trail of Tears.” Some few of the Cherokee managed to remain hidden deep within the mountains. These people became the Eastern, or Carolina, Cherokee; those that survived to make homes in Oklahoma are the Western, or Oklahoma, Cherokee. You can find more information at the Eastern Cherokee Museum in Cherokee, NC, or the Western Museum in Tahlequah, OK. The Iroquois Confederation is a group of six (previously five) tribes in upper New York that had a very sophisticated political structure by the 18th century. They are the Mohawk, Oneid
