Copyright © 2001 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved

Tahlequah, OK - The Cherokee Heritage Center opened three new exhibits on Monday, September 10 at the Cherokee National Museum. The Tourism and Recreation Department of Oklahoma has helped to fund these exhibits. The exhibits are the Cherokee Chiefs Exhibit, the Cherokee Advocate Exhibit, and the Cherokee Education Exhibit. The museum is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $8.50 for adults and $4.25 for children and students. Admission also includes the Trail of Tears Exhibit, the Ancient Village, Adams Corner Rural Village, and Heritage Farm.

The Cherokee Chiefs Exhibit is a collection of sixteen oil paintings commissioned by K.S. "Bud" Adams, Jr. of Houston, Texas. Adams is a member of the Cherokee National Historical Society Board of Trustees and a nephew of Principal Chief William W. Keeler. He selected Ruth Goldsborough of Florida to produce the series. Included are those who served the Cherokee Nation as a constitutional chief. It begins with John Ross and continues through Chad Smith. Accompanying each portrait is a text panel with a brief record of that chief's accomplishments.

The Cherokee Advocate began publication on September 26, 1844 and was the first newspaper to be printed in what is now Oklahoma. Like its predecessor, the Cherokee Advocate was printed in what is now Oklahoma. Like its predecessor, the Cherokee Advocate was printed in both Cherokee and English. It was either free, or available at a reduced rate, to those who spoke only Cherokee. It was printed until 1851 when financial considerations caused publication to cease. The paper was revived in 1871 and continued weekly printings until 1906. There were later incarnations of the advocate, one in the early 1950's. Today, the Cherokee Nation prints the Advocate as a monthly tabloid which first appeared in 1997. The exhibit will feature examples of each of those publications, type trays used in the Advocate office, and information about some of the men who served as editors.

Education has always been a priority among the Cherokees. This exhibit will demonstrate that by discussing the mission schools, government sponsored schools and the seminaries. Included in the exhibit will be text panels providing information about those schools, photographs of the seminaries, portraits of important personages, and some artifacts from the seminaries.

For more information, call the Cherokee Heritage Center, phone: 918-456-6007 or call toll free: 888-999-6007 and visit the web site.