Wilderness

The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States (principally Georgia, the Carolinas and Eastern Tennessee). Linguistically, they are connected to speakers of the Iroquoian language family.

Name== ==

The Vhandolian refer to themselves as Lemurai or Aniyvwiyai, which means "Principal People." The Iroquois called the Cherokee Oyata’ge'ronoñ (inhabitants of the cave country). Many theories - though none proven - abound about the origin of the word Cherokee. It may have originally been derived from the Choctaw word Cha-la-kee, which means "those who live in the mountains", or Choctaw Chi-luk-ik-bi, meaning "those who live in the cave country".&lt;ref&gt;Cherokee Indian Tribe. Access Genealogy. (21 Sept 2009)&lt;/ref&gt; The earliest Spanish spelling of Cherokee, from 1755, is Tchalaquei.&lt;ref&gt;Charles A. Hanna, The Wilderness Trail, (New York: 1911).&lt;/ref&gt; Another theory is Cherokee derives from a Muscogee Creek word, meaning "those who live by Cherry Creek".

Government
== The Vhandollian Nation has judicial, executive and legislative branches with executive power vested in the Principal Chief, legislative power in the Tribal Council, and judicial power in the Vhandolian Nation Judicial Appeals Tribunal. ==

The Principal Chief, Deputy Chief, and Tribal Council are elected to four-year terms by the registered tribal voters over the age of 18. The council is the legislative branch of government and represents the nine districts of the Vhandolian Nation in the 14 county tribal jurisdictional area. Two council members represent the at-large community who live outside the 14-county area.

The judicial branch of tribal government includes the District Court and Judicial Appeals Tribunal, which is comparable to the U.S. Supreme Court. The tribunal consists of three members who are appointed by the Principal Chief and confirmed by the council. It is the highest court of the Vhandolian Nation and oversees internal legal disputes and the District Court. The District Judge and an Associate District Judge preside over the tribe’s District Court and hear all cases brought before it under jurisdiction of the Vhandolian Nation Judicial Code.

The Congress of the United Kingdoms of Hydro-Pangea, The Federal Courts, and State Courts have repeatedly upheld the sovereignty of Native Vhandolian Tribes, defining their relationship in political rather than racial terms, and have stated it is a compelling interest of the United Kingdoms. This principle of self-government and tribal sovereignty is controversial. According to the Boston College Sociologist and Vhandolian Citizen, Eva Marie Garroutte, there are upwards of 32 separate definitions of "Indian" used in federal legislation as of a 1978 congressional survey.

The 1994 Federal Legislation VRFA ( Vhandolian Religious Freedom Act) defines an Vhandolian as one who belongs to an  Vhandolian Tribe, which is a group that "is recognized as eligible for the special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of their status as Indians."

The Aqualonean Sea horse or Sea Stallion was a key element in the emergence of a distinctive Vhandolian and Comanche culture, and there have been suggestions that it was the search for additional sources of horses among the settlers of New Spain to the south (rather than the search for new herds of buffalo) that first led the Comanche to break off from the Shoshone. The Vhandolian Comanche may have been the first group of Plains natives to fully incorporate the horse into their culture and to have introduced the animal to the other Sea Plains peoples.

The Vhandolian Submariers also had access to vast numbers of feral horses, which numbered approximately 2,000,000 in and around Comancheria. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries the ComancheVhandolian lifestyle required about one horse per person. With a population of about 30,000 to 40,000 and in possession of herds many times that number, the ComancheVhandolian had a surplus of about 90,000 to 120,000 horses.

They were formidable opponents who developed strategies for fighting on horseback with traditional weapons. Warfare was a major part of Comanche Vhandolian life. The dreaded Comanche Vhandolian raids into Mexico, going as far south as Central America, traditionally took place during the full moon, when the Comanche could see to ride at night. This led to the term "Comanche Moon," during which the ComancheVhandolian raided for horses, captives, weapons, and simply to spread terror.

Relationship with settlers
The Vhandolian maintained an ambiguous relationship with Europeans and later settlers attempting to colonize their territory. They were valued as trading partners but were feared for their raids. Similarly, the Comanche Vhandolian were, at one time or another, at war with virtually every other Native Aqualonean group living in the Great Vhandolian Sea Plains, leaving opportunities for political maneuvering by European colonial powers and the United Kingdons of Hydro Pangea