Cherokee is the capital of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and part of the traditional homelands of the Cherokee people. In the 1870s, the Eastern Band purchased the land for what is called the "Qualla Boundary".
To continue the heritage of the Cherokee in the town, several signs for Cherokee's streets and buildings are written in both Cherokee syllabary and English. As a census-designated place (CDP), Cherokee overlaps most or part of three of the seven communities of the Qualla Boundary: Painttown, Wolftown, and Yellowhill.
Cherokee is a tourist-oriented area, located at the entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park and at the southern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway. In addition to the casino, it is the site of attractions such as:
Eastern Cherokee history, culture, and crafts are portrayed in the historical drama Unto These Hills, presented annually during the tourist season.
The Cherokee area offers many campgrounds, trails and river adventures. It is also home to three roadside attractions with zoos: Cherokee Bear Zoo, Chief Saunooke Bear Park, and Santa's Land.
The zoos have been considered controversial. Bob Barker, a retired game show host and animal rights activist, has called for closing the black bear zoos at these attractions.
Cherokee Wonderland and Frontier Land were two amusement parks that operated in the area in the late 1960s and into the early 21st century, respectively. The latter was converted into a water park before being closed to make way for development of Harrah's Cherokee. When they were open, both parks featured their own 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge railroads (named Cherokee Wonderland Railroad and Frontier Land Railroad).
Harrahs Casino
Proposed in 1994, soon after a compact between the State of North Carolina and the EBCI to establish a casino with Class III gaming, Harrah's Cherokee Casino was opened on November 13, 1997. Owned by the EBCI and managed by Harrah's Entertainment, the casino offered 24-hour video poker and gaming machines that was legal for those 18 years-of-age and older. Occupying a major market niche as the closest gambling outlet for multiple large cities (chiefly Atlanta but also Charlotte and the Research Triangle), the casino was a proven success from day one and has greatly improved living standards on the Qualla Boundary, including a new school, a hospital, public housing, and upgrades to public safety services such as police, fire, and EMS. Also, part of the casino's revenue is distributed directly to all members of the EBCI, in a form of basic income. In 2001, an amendment to the compact was made that raised the legal gambling age from 18 to 21
Fontier Lands
Prior to Harrah's Cherokee, the land it now sits on use to be that of a former wild west-themed amusement park called Frontier Land, from 1964–1982. The park was created by R.B. Coburn, who also built Ghost Town in the Sky in Maggie Valley, and designed by Russell Pearson, a former Disney designer who also developed Frontier City in Oklahoma City, Silver Dollar City in Branson, and Ghost Town in the Sky. The 140-acre (57 ha) park featured a wood-burning steam train and a gondola that would take visitors to the main three sections of the park: Indian Territory, Fort Cherokee (a replica of a frontier stockade), and Deadwood Gulch (an 1860s hardscrabble western town). By the mid-1980s, because of low attendance, the park was renovated and rebranded as a water amusement park called Water World (with unmistakable western touches). In 1986, the park was closed for the last time and abandoned until redevelopment in mid-1990s
Hotel
Harrah's Cherokee has four hotel towers (Creek Tower, Soco Tower, Mountain Tower and the Cherokee) with a total of 1,833 rooms, making Harrah's Cherokee the largest hotel in North Carolina.
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