Copyright © 2001 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved

TAHLEQUAH, OK - The public is invited to attend a forum, Tuesday, February 13, 2001 at the Cherokee Heritage Center to take part in the planning process for the Cherokee National Museum Trail of Tears exhibit slated to open May 12, 2001.

Four Cherokee scholars will be at the center for an intensive site visit in which they will help formulate plans for the Trail of Tears Exhibit. A reception and book signing of the works of the scholars will take place following the day’s activities at the Center.

Each of the four scholars will lecture and host a question and answer period in their respective areas of expertise. The goal is to gather information from the Center staff and the interested public to formulate a comprehensive final plan for the new exhibit.

The scholars who will be at the Center are: Dr. Rayna Green, director of Native American Studies at the Smithsonian Institution, who has extensive knowledge of exhibit design. She designed a Trail of Tears exhibit for the Smithsonian Institution. She has done extensive research and is an expert on what Cherokee artifacts are available through the Smithsonian, other museums and in private collections.

Dr. Duane King has been curator of the Cherokee Museum in North Carolina as well as the Cherokee Heritage Center. He is currently the executive director of the Southwest Museum in Los Angeles. Though not a tribal member he is considered an expert on Cherokee language and history. He serves on the National Park Service Advisory Board.

Dr. Howard Meredith is emeritus head, American Indian Studies, University of Science and Art at Chickasha. He developed and was the primary instructor for the first Cherokee Clemente course. He is working to translate and convey Cherokee thoughts and traditions in terms that are meaningful to Cherokees and non-Cherokees alike.

Dr. Rennard Strickland, Dean of the University of Oregon School of Law is known as the premier Cherokee legal scholar. His knowledge of Cherokee history is surpassed only by his abilities as a critic of Cherokee art and literature. The forum is sponsored in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities.