English: The first gatherings of the Cherokee National Council in 1839 were held out in the open in Tahlequah, the newly established capitol of the Cherokee Nation. Soon afterwards, an open log shelter was erected to house the Council; cabins for council members and various governmental purposes were constructed nearby. A log building was erected in the mid 1840s to replaced the shelter. This building was destroyed by southern forces under General Stand Waite during the Civil War, a devastating period in the history of the Cherokee Nation in Indian Territory when internal factions associated with the post-removal period of unrest surfaced and divided the Cherokee Nation once again.

After the Civil War in 1867, the Cherokee National Council voted to approve the construction of a more permanent, brick capitol building to house the National Senate, the Cherokee National Council, the Executive Department, the Supreme Court, and the Superintendent of Schools. The two-story, brick building was constructed in the late Italianate style by C.W. Goodlander of Fort Scott, Kansas, the architect and general contractor. The building is crowned with a wooden-frame cupola also of the Italianate style. Construction of the building was completed in 1869 and immediately occupied. Two fires damaged the buildings: one fire in 1904 damaged the interior of the building and another in 1928 damaged the roof. After the 1928 fire, the cupola was not replaced. The capitol building was used by the Cherokee Nation until 1907 when Oklahoma became a state. It was returned to the Cherokee Nation in 1978 and is listed on the National Registry of Historic Sites. Recently the Cherokee Nation as undertaken a complete renovation of the Cherokee Nation Capitol and brought the building back to its original grandeur. The building is a symbol of the resilience of the Cherokee people and is an extraordinary example of pre-statehood architecture.

References: National Registry of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form. (1978)