Which Indigenous peoples lived in the Appalachian Mountains before European settlement?

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Blue Ridge, Appalachian Mountains — Appalachian Mountains Blue Ridge, part of the Appalachian Mountains.

Before European settlement, various Indigenous peoples inhabited the Appalachian Mountains for centuries. The northern half of the mountain range was home to several Eastern Woodlands Indian groups, including the Pennacook, the Mohican (Mahican), and the Susquehanna.1

In the southern Appalachians, the Cherokee were the predominant group. By 1650, the Cherokee controlled approximately 40,000 square miles of the mountains across parts of present-day Georgia, eastern Tennessee, and western North Carolina and South Carolina.12

By the mid-19th century, most of these Indigenous populations had been driven from the mountains due to warfare and forced removal policies, such as the Trail of Tears, which involved the forced relocation of the Cherokee to Oklahoma.1