The Fontana area is surrounded by land rich in cultural heritage, with human population in the region for more than 10,000 years. Recovered artifacts connect the region to the Mississippian Culture around 1000 AD. By the 1500s, the Cherokee lived in Southern Appalachia, including the Fontana area, and they were the first Native American tribe to develop their own written language, print a newspaper, and draft their own constitution. Friction between the Cherokee and the United States increased in the early 19th century and eventually led to the forced removal of many Cherokee from their lands in the southeastern United States along the Trail of Tears, displacing most to Oklahoma. A small population remained and became known as the Qualla or Citizen Cherokees. The Qualla obtained a corporate charter in 1870 and purchased land in western North Carolina known as the Qualla Boundary. Today, nearly 14,000 members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee live there, and their culture remains a vibrant part of the region. Many Cherokee also joined the large workforce that helped construct Fontana Dam in the early 1940s. Today, 18 federally recognized American Indian tribes have religious and cultural ties to the Tennessee Valley, and TVA works with all tribes to respect and protect Native American resources, archaeological sites, artifacts, human remains, and traditional cultural areas.