Cherokee Heritage Center facts for kids
The Cherokee Heritage Center (in Cherokee: Ꮳꮃꭹ Ꮷꮎꮣꮄꮕꮣ Ꭰᏸꮅ) is a special place that helps keep the history and culture of the Cherokee people alive. It's a non-profit organization and museum in Park Hill, Oklahoma, which is close to Tahlequah. The center works to protect old artifacts, the Cherokee language, and traditional crafts. It also has a big database for finding out about Cherokee family history. The center is built near where an old Cherokee school, the Cherokee Seminary, used to be in the 1800s. It used to be called Tsa-La-Gi but is now known as the Cherokee Heritage Center. The Cherokee Nation and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians help support it.
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What You Can See at the Center
The Cherokee Heritage Center has many interesting things to see. It holds a large collection of old documents, art, and cultural items. You can also see relics from the 1830s, when the Cherokee people were forced to move along the Trail of Tears.
The Cherokee National Museum
The Cherokee National Museum is part of the center. It displays a huge collection of ancient artifacts. These items show what Cherokee culture was like from very old times right up to today.
The Ancient Village
On the grounds of the Cherokee Heritage Center, you can find the Ancient Village. This is a full-size copy of a Cherokee town from the mid-1700s. It looks just like how European explorers or settlers would have seen it. A guide will take you through the village. You'll visit a traditional seven-sided council house and a brush arbor. You can also watch demonstrations of old crafts, hunting methods, and cultural practices. Visitors even get to try using a blowgun and playing stickball!
Adams Corner Rural Village
There's also the Adams Corner Rural Village. This area shows what a typical Cherokee settlement looked like after the Cherokee people moved to Indian Territory.
How the Cherokee Heritage Center Started
The idea for the Cherokee Heritage Center began in the late 1950s. A retired Army Colonel named Marty Hagerstrand started researching Cherokee history as a hobby. He is known as the founder of the center in 1962.
A Vision for Preservation
Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation William Wayne Keeler joined Colonel Hagerstrand in this important effort. Chief Keeler strongly believed in protecting Cherokee culture and heritage. They both saw that creating the Heritage Center could help the local economy. At the same time, it would keep the rich Cherokee culture alive. The first newspaper in Oklahoma, the Cherokee Advocate, was published in Tahlequah in 1844. This shows how important the Cherokee people were in the area.
For the first four years, the Heritage Center was actually in Mr. Hagerstrand's home basement! In 1966, a company called Hudgins, Thompson, Ball, and Associates was hired to design the project. They made sure that Charles "Chief" Boyd would be the main designer.
Expert Help and Research
Many people helped with ideas and information. The library at Northeastern State University (NSU) had many materials on Cherokee culture. The Gilcrease Institute in Tulsa also had collections. Reports from the Bureau of American Ethnology of the Smithsonian Institution were useful too.
Dr. Jack Frederick Kilpatrick, a smart scholar of Cherokee history, gave a lot of advice. He was a professor at Southern Methodist University. Ideas from Drs. Kneberg and Lewis at the University of Tennessee were also helpful. Architect Boyd did his own research on Cherokee buildings. His ideas for the ancient village matched what Hagerstrand and Kilpatrick had already thought of.
Building the Center
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Work on the Heritage Center began on February 23, 1966. Colonel Hagerstrand became the General Manager and worked full-time on the project. The Cherokee Foundation, which Chief Keeler largely supported, paid his salary.
The first work crew had twelve full-blood Cherokees. They started by clearing the land, which was covered in vines and bushes. They also filled sinkholes and saved rocks from the old seminary building. Soon, the team grew to 52 Cherokee workers. Building the village started in May 1966 and took over a year. Workers used their hands, natural materials, and old methods. This helped make the village feel as real as possible.
In the spring of 1967, a three-month training program began. It was for people who would act as villagers and guides. About 50 to 60 Cherokees were trained at Sequoyah High School.
Cherokee artist Cecil Dick gave advice on planting trees and herbs. These plants were important to Cherokee culture for medicine, food, building, and tools. The many native plants have also attracted animals. This makes the Cherokee Heritage Center a great place for birdwatching and hiking.
Opening to the Public
The village at Tsa-La-Gi officially opened to the public on June 27, 1967. Society President Keeler led the dedication ceremony. Over 5,000 people attended, including important leaders. Among them were Oklahoma Governor Dewey F. Bartlett, United States Senator A. S. "Mike" Monroney, and Congressmen Ed Edmondson and Page Belcher.
Art Shows and Performances
Since 1971, the Cherokee Heritage Center has hosted an annual art show each spring. It's called the Trail of Tears Art Show and is open to artists from all tribes. Every fall, the center holds Cherokee Homecoming. This art show is for artists who are officially part of one of the three federally recognized Cherokee tribes.
From 1969 to 2005, an outdoor play called the Trail of Tears was performed here. The Cherokee Nation asked for this play to be created. It was shown in a large outdoor theater built just for the production. The play told the story of the forced removal of the Cherokee people and their new life in Oklahoma. This theater also hosted other shows sometimes.
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