Tahlequah, city, seat (1907) of Cherokee county, eastern Oklahoma, U.S., in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains, near the Illinois River and Lake Tenkiller. Settled by Cherokee Indians and made capital of the Cherokee Nation (1839–1907), the town site was laid out on Cherokee council grounds in 1843. The name, meaning “two are enough” in the Cherokee language, is said to commemorate a meeting of two federal commissioners who, not waiting for a third commissioner to arrive for a quorum vote, declared the spot to be the terminus of the Cherokee Trail of Tears.
Tahlequah is now a service and processing centre for an agricultural and stock-raising area and produces lumber and machine-shop products. It is the home of Northeastern State University (founded in 1851 as the Cherokee National Female Seminary) and the Cherokee Heritage Center. The Cherokee Indian Nation maintains its tribal offices in the city. Historic Cherokee government buildings still standing are the Capitol (1867–70), the National Prison (1874), and the Supreme Court (1844); the Murrell Home (1844) in Park Hill is a fine example of an antebellum mansion. Sequoyah State Park by the Arkansas River and Tsa-La-Gi, a re-created Indian village, are nearby. Pop. (2000) 14,458; (2010) 15,753.