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TAHLEQUAH, OK - The Cherokee Heritage Center will hold a community volunteer work day on Saturday, April 13 to do maintenance and repairs in the Ancient Village. The Tsa-La-Gi Ancient Village at the Cherokee Heritage Center is a replica of a pre-European contact Cherokee village and is invaluable in educating the public about Cherokee history.

The village at the Cherokee Heritage Center was built in 1963. More than 30 years have passed and several of the replica homes in the ancient village need rebuilding.

Work will begin as early as 8 a.m. and crews will continue working as long as there is daylight. “Volunteers are welcome to come by at any time during the day and stay as long as they would like,” said Ann Woodward, the volunteer program manager at the Cherokee Heritage Center. "There are ways everyone in the family can help from picking up brush to shaving poles."

The Cherokee Heritage Center is asking for volunteers to help build up walls, patch roofs, clean up the grounds, repair the ponds, and other general maintenance. There will also be a hamburger grill-out for volunteers to enjoy.

"In our modern day society we have the luxury of watching out for only our own homes", Woodward said. "Historically, the communities would have pitched in to repair different homes. The days reminiscent of barn raising or ‘osi’ raising, in our case, will be revisited with communal work and, of course, home cooked food for all the hard working volunteers."

The State of Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department provides funding for the Ancient Village and grounds at the Cherokee Heritage Center. For more information please contact Anne Woodward, volunteer program manager, by phone: 918-456-6007 or call toll free, 888-999-6007. Anne can also be contacted by e-mail.