I am looking for a good, readable, general interest history about the Cherokee People; specifically the Trail of Tears. Recently (like a week ago!) I officially become a citizen of the Cherokee Nation (along with my dad, uncle, brother, and niece and want a good book I can give them as Christmas presents (Cherokee nation rules state that if you are direct descendant of someone listed on the Dawes Roll census you can be a citizen; my great grandmother was a Cherokee on the rolls. It took a LOT of document wrangling on my part, and almost 3 years on their part... but it's done!)
Ironically and interestingly, I recently had a DNA test showing I was like 50 percent Scandanavian, 40 percent eastern European, 8 percent German, and like 2 percent "undetermined". I guess that's my indian blood. My new CDIB card (Certificate Degree of Indian Blood) says I'm 1/64th... so I can tell people I'm officially more than one percent and less than two percent Indian. hehe...
But seriously, I am looking to learn more about my heritage and would love a great, general interest book as a starting point and would love suggestions!
BTW, my grandma died when I was six (1974). She was born around 1890... and she would talk about hearing HER grandparents talk about their experiences on the Trail of Tears. I find that astonishing, honestly. People talk about this stuff being so far in the past, but in my lifetime I've had a direct relative talk about her own family members directly relating their experiences during the removal. Wow.
Theda Perdue's The Cherokee Nation and the Trail of Tears or her The Cherokee Removal: A Brief History with Documents, depending on how emphasis you want to put on primary documents, are probably your best bets. Also, her Cherokee Women is quite good, though its pre-Removal in focus. But if you've got several people if there's several people in the same household and you'd like to give them some reading diversity, that'll help.
If Perdue's works seem too brief and you'd like a hefty history, try John Ehle's Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation.
Theda Perdue is a great starting point for learning about the Cherokee Nation.
For more recent events might I recommend Circe Dawn Sturm:
Blood Politics: Race, Culture, and Identity in the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma
Race, Sovereignty, and Civil Rights: Understanding the Cherokee Freedmen Controversy
Becoming Indian: The Struggle over Cherokee Identity in the Twenty-first Century
I did my senior thesis on the Cherokee so if you would like any additional sources please feel free to PM me.