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.