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Tahlequah, OK - A brand new book entitled "Cherokee" will launch from the Cherokee Heritage Center with a book signing on Saturday, August 31 from 2 to 5 p.m.

Both David G. Fitzgerald, who did the photography for the book, and Robert J. Conley, who wrote the text for the book will be present to autograph the book.

" Cherokee" is the first large-format photo-essay book about the Cherokee people's history and culture. One of this country's most inspiring original peoples, the Cherokee's poignant story is one that is difficult to believe: from their shameful treatment at the hands of European settlers in the Southeast in pre-Colonial years and on into the Jacksonian era, which vastly diminished their population; to their federal "Removal" in the early 1800s over the "Trail of Tears" to Indian Territory in Oklahoma during which a large portion of their people died; to their struggle to keep their land when Oklahoma reached statehood; to the federal "relocation" of many of their people in the 1950s; to their current prosperity as a distinct nation. Presented in this elegant volume, the tale of the Cherokee's courage and strength is at once poignant, dramatic, and enlightening.

A native of Oklahoma City, photographer David Fitzgerald had found himself enthralled with the powerful history of the Cherokee people. As he says about the photos in the book, "Within my pictures lies the strength of a proud people regaining their national sovereignty, which was tragically stripped from them in the 1800s and then sadly repeated in the years that followed.

A professional photographer for three decades, David has published seven books, including Oklahoma Crossroads, Oklahoma II and Bison: Monarch of the Plains. His work has appeared in numerous publications and is held I several public and private art collections. Photographs from this book are being shown in a Smithsonian exhibition, Cherokee: A Portrait of a People, which opened in November 2001 in Washington, D.C. and will be touring nationally.

Cherokee author Robert J. Conley has written more than twenty novels about Cherokee history, including The Peace Chief and War Woman, (Real People Series), and he has also published numerous stories and poems. A three-time winner of the Spur Award, he also has received the Cherokee Medal of Honor and two Writer of the Year awards from the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers. He lives in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, the capital of the Cherokee Nation.

For more information, contact the Cherokee Heritage Center, phone: 918-456-6007 and visit the website.