Cherokee Heritage Center

08/05/2022

07/08/2022

New episode of ! 🦝 ♥️

07/07/2022

A great piece of history.

US Navy Secretary John Chafee (right) presents the plaque from the decommissioned USS Yorktown to Martin Hagerstrand of the Cherokee National Historical Society in this December 1970 newspaper photo. The naval aircraft carrier was commanded by Admiral Joseph “Jocko” Clark, a Cherokee Nation citizen, during World War II. Added to the Cherokee Heritage Center’s collection, the plaque is now part of the Cherokee National Collection and is on display at the Cherokee National History Museum in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

Image Courtesy of Oklahoma Historical Society and The Gateway to Oklahoma History.

06/30/2022

John Mix Stanley was an American painter known for his portraits of Indigenous people throughout North America and for his landscapes of the American West. He was present at the 1843 International Indian Council initiated by Cherokee Nation Principal Cherokee Chief John Ross and held in Tahlequah, Indian Territory. Stanley recorded the event with a daguerreotype (an early camera) and rendered it in oil paints.

Image courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection.

06/23/2022

This photograph appeared in our Trail of Tears drama souvenir program from 1980!

Images like these are a valuable part of the Cherokee National Collection that is housed at the Cherokee National Research Center.

Bilingual Cherokee speaker Ginny Byrd worked as Cherokee Nation office staff during the 1970s. She was one of a handful of Cherokee speakers trained to use the 1975 Hermes typewriter capable of producing Cherokee syllabary. In this photo from a 1980 Trail of Tears drama souvenir program, Byrd demonstrates the use of reel-to-reel data processing.

Image courtesy of the Cherokee National Collection at the Cherokee National Research Center.

06/16/2022

On June 18, 1828, the Cherokee Phoenix started publishing articles on alcohol intemperance. It began with occasional letters from subscribers and contributors stating the problems drinking alcohol created in Cherokee Nation. By the following year, the Cherokee Phoenix ran pieces calling for Cherokees to fully abandon ardent spirits. The temperance social movement grew and would continue into the 20th century. In this circa 1896 photo, the Tahlequah, Indian Territory, “Cold Water Army” meets on the town square.

Image courtesy of the Oklahoma Historical Society and the Gateway to Oklahoma History.

06/10/2022

Amazing story and song from Cherokee National Treasure Choogie Kingfisher.

Be sure to see his live storytelling at the Cherokee National Peace Pavilion on Wednesday, June 15!

06/09/2022

Cherokee Nation citizen Mavis Doering (1929-2007) was a prolific basket weaver. Originally from Hominy, Oklahoma, she was a third-generation weaver and worked with such natural materials as honeysuckle and buckbrush as well as oak splints and rivercane. In 1984, Mavis received the Oklahoma Governor’s Arts Award. She taught many classes and won many others awards, including the Honored Elder Award at Red Earth in 1997.

Image courtesy of the Oklahoma Historical Society and Gateway to Oklahoma.

06/05/2022

On this day in 1979 — Cherokee Nation regained ownership of its Capitol Building, Prison and Supreme Court Building. These historic structures were built when Cherokees arrived in Indian Territory after the Trail of Tears to establish their government. Cherokee Nation lost ownership to these buildings at the beginning of the 20th century with Oklahoma statehood.

Today, these buildings have each been restored and house historical museums related to each building’s history: the Cherokee National History Museum, Cherokee National Prison Museum and Cherokee National Supreme Court Museum (pictured here, showing how it looked in the late 1800’s and how it looks today).

You can visit these three historic buildings all within walking distance of each other via the new Cherokee Cultural Pathway in downtown Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

06/03/2022

Registration is now open for the 27th Annual Cherokee Homecoming Art Show & Sale! This art show features all-Cherokee artists and will be presented August 12 through September 10, both virtually and in person at Cherokee Springs Plaza in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Deadline to submit is 5 p.m. CST on Friday, July 8.

For more information about rules and how to enter, go to cherokeehomecomingartshow.com.

Calling Cherokee artists! 🎨 Artwork is being accepted for the 27th Annual Cherokee Homecoming Art Show & Sale. This art show features all-Cherokee artists and will be presented August 12 through September 10, both virtually and in person at Cherokee Springs Plaza in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Deadline to submit is 5 p.m. CST on Friday, July 8.

For more information about rules and how to enter, go to cherokeehomecomingartshow.com.

05/19/2022

The Indian Relocation Act of 1956, also known as Public Law 959, was enacted in an era of federal policies designed to assimilate Native people into urban populations. Often, Indian people became severed from their traditional communities and families as a result. The relocation act also provided adult vocational training to Native people. In this 1959 photo, Cherokee Nation citizen Katherine Oosahwe (left) and classmate Hazel Frazier check a pressed garment during their training in dry cleaning at Oklahoma State Technical School in Okmulgee.

Image courtesy of the Oklahoma Historical Society and Gateway to Oklahoma History.