Museum of the Cherokee Indian, Cherokee Reservation NC
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N 35° 29.086 W 083° 18.950
17S E 289911 N 3929269
The Museum of the Cherokee Indian is at the intersection of U.S. Highway 441 and Drama Road in Cherokee, North Carolina.
Waymark Code: WM2749
Location: North Carolina, United States
Date Posted: 09/15/2007
Views: 215
The Museum of the Cherokee Indian is an official interpretive site for the National Park Service "Trail of Tears National Historic Trail," authorized by Congress in 1987. The Trail covers more than 2,200 miles of land and water routes in nine states.
This national long-distance trail commemorates the "Trail of Tears", regarded as the most significant event in Cherokee history. Between June and December 1838, more than 15,000 Cherokees were forced to depart their homes in the southern Appalachians and walk more than a thousand miles to Indian Territory. Between 4,000 and 8,000 Cherokees died on "Nunahi-duna-dlo-hilu-i", the Trail Where They Cried.
Exhibits: New museum exhibits combine technology (lighting and audio, holograms, computer-generated images) and a display of artifacts.
Available Facilities: The museum facility includes a gift shop, archives, and library. It meets wheelchair accessibility standards. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians operates the museum, a certified interpretive facility for the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail.
On View now.
Trail of Tears Photography Exhibit
Museum of the Cherokee Indian
Come witness the modern day exploration of the Cherokee “Removal” from the viewpoint of photographer David Fitzgerald.
The heart of the exhibit provides a modern lens point of view of numerous sites along the 1,000-mile route of Cherokee removal from the Southern Appalachian Mountains to present-day Oklahoma. Duane King, a leading scholar of Cherokee history, authored the photo captions.
The Southern Appalachian Mountains have been home to the Cherokee for more than 10,000 years. Between June and December 1838, soldiers with the U.S. government rounded more than 15,000 Cherokees into regional stockades and then forced them on a foot-journey to Indian Territory. Between 4,000 and 8,000 Cherokees died on the way. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians grew from Cherokees who avoided removal. Today, its members reside on the Qualla Boundary, which includes the town of Cherokee.
The story of removal is complicated. A handful of Cherokees welcomed removal; an overwhelming number opposed it. The dominant white society’s desire for land prompted removal, although some white proponents genuinely believed removal would better serve the American Indian. The Museum of the Cherokee Indian is an official interpretive site for the National Park Service Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, authorized by Congress in 1987.
Another jewel in the exhibit is the reproduction of a 120-foot-long petition signed by Cherokees opposing removal will also be part of the exhibit. King’s new book, Cherokee Trail of Tears, which he spent 20 years researching, will also be available to buy. The photo exhibit, on display through December, is sponsored by the National Park Service, the Trail of Tears Association and the Museum of the Cherokee Indian.
"We, the great mass of the people, think only of the love we have for our land. For we do love the land where we were brought up. We will never let our hold to this land go. To let it go will be like throwing away our mother that gave us birth."
--Letter from Aitooweyah to John Ross, Principal Chief.
(828) 497-3481
Routes: Northern Route
Address if available:
589 Tsali Boulevard
Cherokee, NC USA
28718
Additional Information: http://www.cherokeemuseum.org/html/collections_tot.html
Marker Website: [Web Link]
Additional Coordinates: Not Listed
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