Copyright © 2004 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved

PARK HILL, OKLAHOMA – Time is running out for the public to visit the Cherokee Heritage Center in 2004. Visitors are encouraged to tour the attractions before the center closes during the month of January to prepare for next year’s events.

This is the last chance to see the Ninth Annual Cherokee Homecoming Art Show & Sale, which ends Dec. 31. Unlike the annual Trail of Tears Art Show, the homecoming show is only open to artists who have membership in the Cherokee Nation, United Keetoowah Band or Eastern Band of Cherokees. This distinction offers visitors the opportunity to purchase traditional Cherokee works just in time for Christmas.

The center opens again February 1, 2005 with the all new Cherokee Athletes exhibit. This winter exhibit will showcase Cherokee sports from the days of stickball games to present day sporting events. Cherokee athletes who have participated in high school, NCAA and professional games will also be featured.

Visitors to the Cherokee Heritage Center can tour the Ancient Village, Adams Corner Rural Village and the Cherokee National Museum. In the Ancient Village, visitors are guided through the village where they are educated on Cherokee history and practices as they would have been before European contact.

Adams Corner Rural Village is a reconstruction of a late 19th century rural Cherokee community that includes seven buildings indicative of the lifestyles of Cherokee people after European contact. Adams Corner includes Heritage Farm, home to many animals common in this period, including Dominique chickens, Guinea hens, Pineywood cattle and two Cherokee Mustangs whose ancestors walked with the Cherokee along the Trail of Tears.

The Cherokee National Museum houses historically and culturally significant artifacts and artwork. Visitors can learn about the journey of the Cherokee and four other tribes through the Trail of Tears exhibit permanently housed in the National Museum. Through special effects lighting, videos, audio recordings, art work, life-cast figures and holograms, this exhibit gives a detailed account of the Trail of Tears, a tragedy that has become a symbol for the suffering of all Indian people. The museum features a Museum Store where visitors can purchase handcrafted Cherokee clothing, pottery, prints, jewelry, baskets and weavings.

For more information on the Cherokee Heritage Center, the Cherokee Homecoming Art Show, or the 2005 calendar of events, please call 918-456-6007, call toll free 888-999-6007 and visit the Web site.

Related Cherokee Nation contact information:

Mike Miller, Cherokee Nation Director of Communications Phone: 918-456-0671 (ext.2210) Fax: 918-458-5580 E-mail: Communications@cherokee.org Larry Daugherty, Advertising Manager Cherokee Nation - Public Affairs Phone 918-456-0671 (Ex.2324) E-mail: ldaugherty@cherokee.org

Steven Swogger, Agriculture Liaison Natural Resources Department Phone: 918-456-0671 (ext.2546) FAX: 918-458-7673 E-mail: sswogger@cherokee.org Bradley D. Peak, Cherokee Nation Natural Resources Specialist Phone: 918-456-0671 (ex.2843) E-mail: bpeak@cherokee.org