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Welcome to the State recognized Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee website, also known as the Georgia Cherokees.  We hope you enjoy your stay and will return often.  Bookmark this site now.  The Georgia Cherokee primary area of residence is in North Georgia, north of the Chattahoochee River, which comprises the original area occupied by their Cherokee ancestors prior to the forced removal of many of their kinsmen in 1838, known as the infamous Trail of Tears.
This area is made up of Thirty-one (31) north Georgia Counties, comprising the greater portion of the Cherokee Nation prior to the removal.  This area of Georgia contains the last Capital of the Cherokee, New Echota, located in Calhoun, Georgia, the home of the original Cherokee Phoenix newspaper, The famous Vann House, built by James Vann, who was a great leader of the Cherokee people.  The home of John Ross, the principal Chief.  John Ridge, Elias Boudinot, Major Ridge, Nancy Ward, Sequoyah (George Guess), Six Killer, and most all of the notables of the then Cherokee Nation.
The story that ALL Cherokees were removed in 1838 is a myth even though it was a horrible event and many thousands of Cherokee died.  Many whites has come into the Cherokee country of north Georgia for over 35 years prior to the removal in 1838.  Many came as gold miners and fortune seekers and as a result of the Cherokee land and Gold lotteries a full decade prior to the 1838 removal.  Most of the early white settlers were single white men who married Cherokee wives and produced large families of mix blood children.  As a result of that fact, the families having a white as the head of household were exempt from removal and were in fact NOT removed as history has led most to believe.
The whites that did travel west with their families did so voluntarily.  Resulting in many thousands of mixed blood families remaining in Georgia and the other southern states.  The story that only a small group of people who hid in North Carolina was the only Cherokee left in the Southeast is not correct.  Yes, a small group was left in North Carolina, but with the permission of that state.  Over the years many Cherokee of mixed blood and those full bloods who hid and took refuge in the Mountains of North Georgia did migrate to the area which is now Cherokee, NC, known as the Qualla Boundary, the home of our kinsmen the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.  Many residents of the boundary can trace their ancestry back to the Georgia area.
Upon the state of Georgia finally recognizing these stated facts and through the good efforts of member of the General Assembly such as the Honorable William Dover, then a member of that body, and the past Chief emeritus of the Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee, passed the recognition as stated above as Georgia Code 44-12-300. All the members of the Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee must and can trace their Cherokee ancestry back to one of the many legitimate Cherokee rolls or other legal documentation.
Our mission is to help and assist people of the Cherokee descent and the general public in learning about and preserving the History, Culture and Traditions of the Cherokee people, especially in Georgia.
Our hope is to build and establish a modern day Museum, Council Grounds and audio visual learning Center for all Georgians and visitors to learn from and enjoy the History and Culture of its Cherokee people, past and present, the Greatest Indian Tribe in North America, and a member of the original five civilized Tribes.
This website will be devoted to those goals and will attempt in assisting you in your visit in learning more about the Cherokee people.  We have included many learning LINKS, check them out.  Many of our members are regular speakers and lecturers on the History of the their Cherokee ancestors, in Schools, Colleges and Universities, as well as historical and civic organizations.  Contact us if you too would like one of our speakers at your meeting or event.
Look up the Chapman and Siler rolls for Cherokees living east of the Mississippi River and then look in the Georgia section under Union County.  Your directors great grandfather is listed as John Harrison Sneed, mother, Mary Ann Sneed,  he is on the 1924 Baker Roll and was a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
Thanks again for your visit and come back often for new material as we are always improving and updating our website, also, be sure to visit our sister site "Cherokee Indians, Inc." at  www.CherokeeIndians.com .

Lucian Lamar Sneed, Ph.D.
Cherokee Historian
Executive Director
PO Box 1915
Cumming, Georgia  30028
GTECI@aol.com

A brief History of the Georgia Cherokees, subsequently State recognized as the Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee

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