Executive Branch
In the 1600's , the Cherokee lived in a time of war and peace that
called for a dual organization of tribal government: a white, or peace
organization, and a red, or war organization.
The peace organization consisted of a group of elders, a large
portion of whom were priests, who performed both secular and religious
functions with primary authority vested in the Great High Priest, a.k.a. the
Peace Chief or Principal Chief who had a principal assistant, a great speaker,
and seven councilors representing the seven clans.
In addition to administering civil law, peace officials alone owned
or had knowledge of the prayers for invoking blessings from the Creator.
The war organization consisted of a set of officials who
corresponded in rank and duties to the peace officials, except their functions
were exclusively military. Their principal officer was the Great War Chief.
When at war, the military officials held office in government and controlled
all government decisions, but could at anytime be overruled by the Peace Chief.
The Cherokee used the color red to signify they were at war.
Today, the power is vested in the Principal Chief. The Principal
Chief is responsible for the execution of the laws of the Cherokee Nation,
establishment of tribal policy and delegation of authority as necessary for the
day-to-day operations of all programs and enterprises administered by the
Cherokee Nation tribal government. The Deputy Principal Chief is empowered to
act as directed by the Principal Chief. The Principal Chief and Deputy
Principal Chief are elected to four-year terms by popular vote of registered
Cherokee voters.
Enabling Services
Support Programs or Services are internal to The Cherokee Nation
and enable our day to day government functions. These services are not offered
to the general public.
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This section of the web site contains personal messages from the Principal
Chief and Deputy Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation.
Status Reports
The Report to the Cherokee People is produced annually and paid for
by the Cherokee Nation Communications Group, with the assistance of Cherokee
Nation program staff, the Housing Authority of the Cherokee Nation, Cherokee
Nation Industries, Cherokee Nation Enterprises and the Cherokee Heritage Center
. View the archives here.
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