Cherokee marbles

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Cherokee marbles is a traditional game among the Cherokee people. It is played, traditionally, with round balls, made of stone, but now often with standard billiard balls. An annual tournament is held during Cherokee National Holiday each Labor Day weekend.^[1]

There is an official rulebook which is used in tournament play.^[2] It is played on a field about 100 feet in length, and with five holes. A player must advance to each hole, knocking other players' marbles out in a prescribed manner, and return again.^[3]

The sport has been introduced into the public schools in Northeast Oklahoma, by the Cherokee Nation, as part of a program to discourage methamphetamine abuse.^[4]