All three Cherokee tribes partnering for ‘Cherokee Days’
One year after hosting a highly successful event at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., the Cherokee Nation, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians are again partnering to host “Cherokee Days.”
The public educational program is April 10-12 in Washington D.C., and includes an exhibit showcasing a timeline of historical milestones, live cultural art demonstrations and scheduled cultural performances.
The three Cherokee tribes will share the Cherokee story that spans time immemorial to the Trail of Tears to the successes of the modern tribes.
Cherokees originally inhabited the lands in what are now present-day Tennessee, North Carolina, Alabama and Georgia. Following the 1838 forced removal of 16,000 Cherokees to present-day Oklahoma, many defied the relocation and remained in North Carolina.
The Cherokees forced along the Trail of Tears were led by Principal Chief John Ross. They established Tahlequah as the Cherokee Nation’s capital in 1839. The Eastern Band, which resides in Cherokee, North Carolina, became federally recognized in 1868.
A diverse and multifaceted cultural and educational enterprise, the National Museum of the American Indian is an active and visible component of the Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest museum complex. The NMAI cares for one of the world’s most expansive collections of native objects, including photographs, paper and photo archives and media covering the entire Western Hemisphere.
