174 years after the Trail of Tears on July 12 , 2012 the leaders of the three separate Cherokee Communities met in North Carolina Cherokees are most concentrated in Oklahoma and North Carolina , but some reside in the US West Coast , due to economic migrations caused by the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression , job availability during the Second World War , and the Federal Indian Relocation program during the 1950s – 1960s . Cherokees constitute over 2 % of population of three largely rural communities in California – Covelo , Hayfork and San Miguel , one town in Oregon and one town in Arizona . Destinations for Cherokee diaspora included multi-ethnic/racial urban centers of California ( i.e. the Greater Los Angeles and SF Bay areas ) , and they usually live in farming communities , by military bases and other Indian reservations
Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears
Cherokee