The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Cherokees \Cher`o*kees"\, n. pl.; sing. Cherokee. (Ethnol.)
   An Appalachian tribe of Indians, formerly inhabiting the
   region about the head waters of the Tennessee River. They are
   now mostly settled in the Indian Territory, and have become
   one of the most civilized of the Indian Tribes.
   [1913 Webster]