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Tahlequah, Oklahoma
 
 
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Tahlequah (Pronounced "Tal a Kwa") is a city in Cherokee County
Cherokee County, Oklahoma

Cherokee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2000, the population was 42,521. Its county seat is Tahlequah, Oklahoma....
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a U.S. state and a sovereignty located in the South Central United States and Southern United States of the United States of America ....
, United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 located at the foot hills of the Ozark Mountains. The population was 14,458 at the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000

File:US-Census-2000Logo.svgThe Twenty-Second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the United States Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons Enumeration during the United States Census, 1990....
. It is the county seat
County seat

A county seat or parish seat is a term for an administrative center for a county or civil parish, primarily used in the United States. In the Northeast United States, the statutory term often is shire town, but colloquially county seat is the term in use there....
 of Cherokee County
Cherokee County, Oklahoma

Cherokee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2000, the population was 42,521. Its county seat is Tahlequah, Oklahoma....
. The main campus of Northeastern State University
Northeastern State University

Northeastern State University is a public university with its main campus located in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, at the foot of the Ozark Mountains. Northeastern's home, Tahlequah, is also the capital of The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma....
 is located in the city. It is also the capital of the Cherokee Nation. Tahlequah is also known for being featured in the book Where the Red Fern Grows
Where the Red Fern Grows

Where the Red Fern Grows is a children's novel written by American author Wilson Rawls about a boy who buys and trains two Redbone Coonhound hunting dogs....
 by Wilson Rawls
Wilson Rawls

Wilson Rawls born "Woodrow Wilson Rawls" was an United States writer best known for his books Where the Red Fern Grows and Summer of the Monkeys....
.

name, according to legend, derives from the Cherokee word "Ta'ligwu" meaning "just two," or "two is enough." The "two" refers to a meeting between elders that presumably took place shortly after the Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears

The Trail of Tears was the relocation and movement of Native Americans in the United States in the United States from their homelands to Indian Territory in the Western United States....
.






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Tahlequah (Pronounced "Tal a Kwa") is a city in Cherokee County
Cherokee County, Oklahoma

Cherokee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2000, the population was 42,521. Its county seat is Tahlequah, Oklahoma....
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a U.S. state and a sovereignty located in the South Central United States and Southern United States of the United States of America ....
, United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 located at the foot hills of the Ozark Mountains. The population was 14,458 at the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000

File:US-Census-2000Logo.svgThe Twenty-Second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the United States Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons Enumeration during the United States Census, 1990....
. It is the county seat
County seat

A county seat or parish seat is a term for an administrative center for a county or civil parish, primarily used in the United States. In the Northeast United States, the statutory term often is shire town, but colloquially county seat is the term in use there....
 of Cherokee County
Cherokee County, Oklahoma

Cherokee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2000, the population was 42,521. Its county seat is Tahlequah, Oklahoma....
. The main campus of Northeastern State University
Northeastern State University

Northeastern State University is a public university with its main campus located in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, at the foot of the Ozark Mountains. Northeastern's home, Tahlequah, is also the capital of The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma....
 is located in the city. It is also the capital of the Cherokee Nation. Tahlequah is also known for being featured in the book Where the Red Fern Grows
Where the Red Fern Grows

Where the Red Fern Grows is a children's novel written by American author Wilson Rawls about a boy who buys and trains two Redbone Coonhound hunting dogs....
 by Wilson Rawls
Wilson Rawls

Wilson Rawls born "Woodrow Wilson Rawls" was an United States writer best known for his books Where the Red Fern Grows and Summer of the Monkeys....
.

Origin of the Name

The name, according to legend, derives from the Cherokee word "Ta'ligwu" meaning "just two," or "two is enough." The "two" refers to a meeting between elders that presumably took place shortly after the Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears

The Trail of Tears was the relocation and movement of Native Americans in the United States in the United States from their homelands to Indian Territory in the Western United States....
. Three tribal elders had planned to meet to determine the location of the Cherokee Nation's permanent capital. Two elders arrived and waited for the third. As dusk approached, they decided that "two is enough."

A more likely origin for the name is that it is named for an ancient eastern Cherokee town of Great Tellico
Great Tellico

Great Tellico was a Cherokee town at the site of present-day Tellico Plains, Tennessee, where the Tellico River emerges from the Appalachian Mountains....
, the English spelling of Cherokee Talikwa, the meaning of which is lost, according to James Mooney
James Mooney

James Mooney was an American anthropologist who lived for several years among the Cherokee. He was born at Richmond, Indiana, Indiana. In 1885 he became connected with the Bureau of American Ethnology at Washington, D.C....
, although some trace it to the word tel-i-quah which is interpreted as "plains".

Indian Capital

Tahlequah has the distinction of being the capital
Cherokee National Capitol

Cherokee National Capitol, in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, was the capitol of the Cherokees from 1869 to 1907, when Oklahoma became a state.It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961....
 of both the Cherokee Nation and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians
United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians

The United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma are a Federally recognized tribes tribe of Native Americans in the United States headquartered in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, Oklahoma....
.

There are several markers of Cherokee and Native American heritage found across town: street signs and business signs appear in the Cherokee language along with English, mostly in the syllabary alphabet created by Sequoyah
Sequoyah

Sequoyah , known in English as George Guess or Gist, was a Cherokee craftsman who in 1821 completed his independent creation of a Cherokee syllabary, making reading and writing in Cherokee possible....
, a Cherokee scholar of the 1820s.

The Cherokee Supreme Court Building, located in downtown Tahlequah and constructed in 1844, is the oldest public building in Oklahoma.

Geography

Tahlequah is located at (35.912869, -94.971526).

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau

The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data....
, the city has a total area of 12.0 square mile
Square mile

The square mile is an Imperial system and US customary system of measure for an area equal to the area of a square of one mile. It should not be confused with miles square, which refers to the number of miles on each side squared....
s (31.1 kmē), all land.

Demographics

As of the census
Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population....
 of 2000, there were 14,458 people, 5,703 households, and 3,125 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans....
 was 1,202.8/sq mi (464.4/kmē). There were 6,245 housing units at an average density of 519.5/sq mi (200.6/kmē). The racial makeup of the city was 59.01% White, 2.53% African American, 26.86% Native American, 0.53% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 4.10% from other races
Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are Self-concept data items in which residents choose the Race in the United States or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are of Hispanic or Latino origin ....
, and 6.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.26% of the population.

There were 5,703 households out of which 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.6% were married couples
Marriage

Marriage is a social, spirituality, or law union of individuals. This union may also be called matrimony, while the ceremony that marks its beginning is usually called a wedding and the married status created is sometimes called wedlock....
 living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.2% were non-families. 34.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.2% under the age of 18, 25.2% from 18 to 24, 23.4% from 25 to 44, 16.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females there were 88.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $23,238, and the median income for a family was $34,811. Males had a median income of $25,066 versus $21,327 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income

Per capita income means how much each individual receives, in monetary terms, of the yearly income generated in the country. This is what each citizen is to receive if the yearly national income is divided equally among everyone....
 for the city was $13,371. About 18.5% of families and 26.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.2% of those under age 18 and 12.6% of those age 65 or over.

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