Copyright © 2003 NLThomas
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TULSA, OKLAHOMA - The Cherokee Nation will offer a fourteen-week course in Cherokee Nation History on Tuesday evenings from 6:30-9:30 PM beginning January 7, and continuing through April 15, 2003.

The class will meet in Building B of the Union Board of Education's Educational Service Center, located at 5656 S. 129th E. Ave. between 51st and 61st, Broken Arrow, OK. The course is open to the public and is free of charge. Text books will be provided. Citizens of the Cherokee Nation are especially urged to attend.

The Cherokee Nation History Course was recently awarded honors as one of sixteen national finalists by Harvard University's "Honoring Nations" program of the Kennedy School of Government. The project recognizes outstanding initiatives that promote tribal excellence and tribal self-determination.

As part of a new initiative to teach Cherokee history from a Cherokee perspective, the community courses are one aspect of an effort that nationally renowned Indian scholar and activist Vine Deloria, Jr. called "the most exciting idea in tribal education I have ever heard of."

Offered to community members by the Cherokee Nation, this acclaimed course covers significant aspects of Cherokee legal, social, and cultural history from pre-contact to the present day. It employs many videos and group exercises, as well as lecture and discussion. The course addresses treaty rights and legislative agendas, as well as questions of culture and citizenship, with the goal of providing a better understanding of Cherokee nationality and identity.

All participants will receive a certificate from the Cherokee Nation upon completion of the class. To register for the course, contact Julia Coates at 1-800-256-0671 (ex.2389).