For many generations, the Aniyunwiya (meaning the “real people” or “principal people”) lived in harmony with the land they inhabited. They worshipped their ancestors and believed that every living thing—people, animals, trees, and plants—had a spirit and an important place in the world. Then, strangers arrived from lands far to the east. They brought with them new weapons and technologies, new diseases, a new religion, and a very different approach to the land and the animals and people who lived there. They even called the Aniyunwiya by a new name: the Cherokee.
This is the story of the Cherokee people, their history, culture, and beliefs, and what happened to them before and after they first encountered European explorers.
