Museum of the Cherokee | Suite101.com

Posted by
Linda J Bottjer
Dec 18, 2006

"Welcome! I want to tell you a story. A very old story" and with those words, from a talking tree, I entered the world of the Cherokee.

Now before you say- wait a minute... the Cherokee are out in Oklahoma - yes, they are. A majority. But their history began further east in a territory that included present day West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama.

In 1838 through a daunting experience called "The Trail of Tears" over 15,000 Cherokee forced from their woodland/mountain homes and relocated to new lands in Oklahoma. It has been estimated between 4,000 - 8,000 people died along the route. About 400 Cherokee, living on private land in the Great Smoky Mountains, were not subject to removal and ultimately became the Eastern Band Cherokee.

Now back to North Carolina.

When your people's history can be traced back over 12,000 years to the Paleo Period - it means lots stories to tell. The latest technology through computer graphics, special effects and audio highlights the history. Beginning in the Story Lodge and the telling of Cherokee myths. Next imagine being your great, great, great etc grandfather and hunting mastodons with spears (no more complaining about going to the grocery store) The Archaic period shows how extinction forced the wooly mammoth from the dinner table and replaced it with venison and into the Mississippian era when the "three sisters" began being cultivated. The latter refers to the trio of corn, beans and squash.

Once included as one of the Five Civilized Tribes, the Cherokee have their own language, which was written into 85 syllables by a silversmith named Sequoyah almost two hundred years ago. That language, and other Native American languages, were used during World War II as an effective code talk against the Japanese.

This museum's teachings are designed for all ages season after season and beyond.

For more information see www.cherokeemuseum.org

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