People Group Profiles

“All nations will come and worship before you."

- Revelations 15:4

Cherokee of United States


People Group Info

Total Population: 310,000

ROP3 Code: 102076
IMB Affinity Group: American Peoples
Affinity Bloc: North American Peoples
People Cluster: North American Indigenous
Language: Cherokee - (chr)
Religion: Ethnic Religions
Country of Origin: United States

Photo courtesy of PeopleGroups.info

Majority Located Where

  Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX - 4,500

  Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX - 2,800

  San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX - 1,200

  Austin-Round Rock, TX - 1,000

Click here to recommend other locations where this People Group resides.

Learn More

Brief Profile

The Cherokee people are a Native American tribe indigenous to the Southeastern United States, principally Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina. However, a large number reside in northeast Oklahoma, over 70,000, in a 7,000 square mile area. They are the largest Native American Indian tribe in the United State.

The Cherokee Nation today is an active leader in education, housing, vocational training, business and economic development. The Nation is not a federally-recognized, but is truly sovereign nation covering most of northeast Oklahoma. Its jurisdictional service area encompasses eight entire counties along with portions of six others.

They speak Cherokee, an Iroquoian language. The complexity of the Cherokee language is best exhibited in verbs, which comprise approximately 75% of the language, as opposed to only 25% of the English language. Today, many Cherokee speak English.

Traditional Cherokee religion is interwoven with daily life – medicine, government, all aspects of Cherokee life. Cherokee life is like a basket, with all the strands woven with one another. The Cherokee culture, once spread over thousands of miles in the Southeast, started changing dramatically as European settlers pushed westward in the 1700s. Christian missionaries, notably from the Moravian Church, lived and worked among the Cherokee and were strong advocates for their rights. The first conversions to Christianity came before the American Revolution, and by the early 1800s a number of prominent leaders were devout Christians.

But there was a dark side as well: European settlers, often misreading or ignoring the teachings of their Christian faith, systematically and violently drove out the Cherokee. In 1838, Cherokee people were force-marched over 1,200 miles to what is now Oklahoma. Starvation, sickness and exhaustion on this “Trail of Tears” took between 4,000 and 8,000 lives. To this day, many Cherokee revile how Christians treated them.

Today, some Cherokee practice the traditional religion. Others are fervent Christians who consider the old ways “pagan.” However, many combine ideas from Cherokee religion with Christian teachings. Cherokee religion follows ways of nature and emphasizes preservation and balance. It is practiced in every aspect of life all the time.

Prayer Points

  • Pray for the gospel to continue to spread among Cherokee people.
  • Pray for God to raise up Christian leaders from within the Cherokee community to work in the harvest.
  • Pray for Christians in the Cherokee community to start new churches and ministries.


People Group Resources

Native Americans - Worldview and Trends
Learn about Native Americans, their Worldview and Trends.


Learning Resources

Learn more about "Learning Paths"
Online Courses for embracing, encountering and engaging diaspora people. Work at your own pace. Begin anytime and complete the course according to your schedule. Interactive, Hands-On Application.

Learn more about "Reaching the Nations"
This book delineates five disciplines Christians should develop in order to effectively reach the nations. More specifically, it will guide Christians to develop an engagement strategy in their locale.

World Religions - Beliefs Overview
An overview of major world religions and cults - their beliefs and practices.


Other Resources

Prayer Guide for Unreached Peoples
A 30 day guide to pray for unreached people groups.

Prayer Guide using the GOSPELS acronym
A prayer guide that utilizes the acronym GOSPELS to pray for workers among diaspora.

Displaying 1-4 of 4 results.
Country City Metro Area Name State / Prov. Baseline Population
United StatesIrvingDallas-Fort Worth-ArlingtonTX4,500
United StatesHoustonHouston-The Woodlands-Sugar LandTX2,800
United StatesAdkinsSan Antonio-New BraunfelsTX1,200
United StatesAustinAustin-Round RockTX1,000