Cherokee Heritage Center - Tahlequah, Oklahoma

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Cherokee Heritage Center-A Look into the Past

Oklahoma has served as an integral part of the Native American experience for many years. Once known as Indian Territory, the state retains its connection with numerous Native American tribes even in modern times. The Cherokee Heritage Center is comprised of a museum that works to preserve the cultural and historical crafts, language and artifacts of the Cherokee Nation. In addition, a central genealogy research center and database for the Cherokee People is located at the center.

Visitors will find the Cherokee Heritage Center in Tahlequah, on the same site that the Cherokee Seminary building was located in the mid-1800s. The Cherokee Heritage Center is home to an impressive array of relics, cultural objects, art and historic documents that date to the 1830 Trail of Tears march. There are also numerous Cherokee artifacts that date from both ancient times to modern times.

One of the most popular features of the center is the Cherokee Township. The township is a complete reproduction of a Cherokee village as it would have appeared in the mid 18th century. Along with traditional crafts, the township also includes a traditional Cherokee Council Lodge and displays of cultural and religious practices as well as hunting techniques.

The museum itself was fashioned after a traditional longhouse. Visitors must pass through the gift shop to enter the museum, where they are provided with an introductory lesson in the Cherokee language. Exhibits are displayed in chronological order in an effort to present Cherokee cultural history beginning with the arrival of the first humans in North America and extending to modern times.

Numerous maps are on display in the center to detail the reduction in Cherokee lands that have occurred since the first European contact was made in 1540 through the removal of Cherokees from Georgia in 1838-1839 in the Trail of Tears. A large number of the displays and exhibits in the museum focus on the survival of the tribe following the Trail of Tears. Information is provided on the seminaries that were established in the mid 19th century in order to prepare and educate Cherokee children to enter white society while at the same time retaining their Cherokee heritage. Other displays include a Cherokee medicine exhibit and exhibits on Cherokee dance, music and religion. Tsa-La-Gi Ancient Village, a living museum, educates the public about Cherokee traditions and culture. Visitors can observe pottery making, leather working and woodcarving.