page_title: Cherokee Nation
section_title: Demographics
hierarchical_section_title: Cherokee Nation / Demographics
caption_attribution_description: Scope and content: Name: Eliza Randall Type: Parent Sex: Female Name: M P Randall Type: Parent Sex: Male Name: William P Randall Type: Rejected Age: 46 Sex: Male Degree Indian Blood: 3/8 City of Residence: Fairland
context_page_description: The Cherokee Nation, also known as the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, is the largest of three Cherokee federally recognized tribes in the United States. It was established in the 20th century and includes people descended from members of the Old Cherokee Nation who relocated, due to increasing pressure, from the Southeast to Indian Territory and Cherokee who were forced to relocate on the Trail of Tears. The tribe also includes descendants of Cherokee Freedmen, Absentee Shawnee, and Natchez Nation. Over 299,862 people are enrolled in the Cherokee Nation, with 189,228 living within the state of Oklahoma. In 2009 Larry Echo Hawk, former head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, said the current Cherokee Nation is not the historical Cherokee tribe but instead a "successor in interest" which was rejected by the Cherokee Nation. In 2010, Larry Echo Hawk withdrew his previous statement regarding "successor in interest".
  Headquartered in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, the Cherokee Nation has a tribal jurisdictional area spanning 14 counties in the northeastern corner of Oklahoma.
caption: Example of a Cherokee census card for Fairland, Oklahoma from the first few years of the 20th century.
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