Cherokee, North Carolina
Cherokee, North Carolina
Guests: Barbara Duncan & Bo Taylor
Thursday, December 9, 1999
Transcript
The Museum of the Cherokee Indian sits almost exactly in the center of the Qualla Boundary, which seems appropriate since this is where the heart of the ancient Cherokee is preserved. It is here that the age-old philosophies are maintained and explained; it is here that the stories and symbols are stored and kept alive. At the Museum you can learn how North American’s first inhabitants lived, endured, and survived.
| Cherokees inhabited the continent for thousands of years before Europeans found the land -- and them. Cherokee society was well-established and organized around a strong sense of community with an oral tradition that maintained its history through myths and carefully protected rituals. The people who sustained the oral history were revered myth-keepers like John Ax, Swimmer, and Catawba Killer. In many ways, the myth-keeper's responsibilities were the same as the Museum's - to perpetuate the history, culture, and stories of the Cherokee people. |  |
In early 1998, the Museum undertook a $3.5 million renovation of its exhibit area, so the Cherokee story would continue to be told in the most effective way. The new exhibit area uses state-of-the-art technology (fiber optics, special effects, computer-generated images, and sophisticated audio systems) as it starts each visitor with the Cherokee explanation of how the world came to be. After learning how the buzzard made the mountains, visitors enter a time walk into Paleo and Archaic Periods, through Woodland, Mississippian Periods, first contact with whites right into the Twentieth Century.
The new exhibit area's technology makes Cherokee history a personal experience. Interactive opportunities abound, and the Museum's strong artifact collection is showcased in settings that conjure up how each item was used. Visitors remember that some living person once made that effigy pot or used the arrowhead.
While preserving the ancient beliefs, the Museum also finds other ways to increase understanding about the Cherokee culture. The Museum maintains an archives and publishes The Journal of Cherokee Studies, the oldest academic journal devoted entirely to one Native American group. The Museum has an on-going schedule of artisans who demonstrate both ancient and modern art forms, and there is a Museum Outreach Program for civic and school groups.
Teachers, here are some suggested backgrounds questions to investigate with your students prior to the Town Meeting.
What states now cover what was the Cherokee nation?
Who is Sequoyah and what is he famous for creating?
Who is Tsali? What did his courage win for the Cherokee people?
What event is know for causing there to be two bands of Cherokee - one in the east and one in the west?
Who was the first European explorer to have contact with the Cherokee?
How did the Cherokee govern themselves?
These projects are for extending students knowledge of the Cherokee beyond general historical information.
Create a timeline of the Cherokee Nation and their significant historical events.
Investigate Cherokee myths and legends. What types of mysteries do they attempt to explain? How are they similar and/or different to other myths and legends that attempt to explain the same thing?
Make a table to compare and contrast the Cherokee with other Native American tribes for such things as: geographic location, clothing style, diet, housing structures, language, tools, games, etc...
| Barbara Duncan Education Coordinator Museum of the Cherokee Indian |
Bo Taylor Museum Archivist Museum of the Cherokee Indian |
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Barbara R. Duncan serves as Education Coordinator for the Museum of the Cherokee Indian. She conducts workshops and graduate courses for teachers K-12, and has worked with teachers for twenty years. Her Ph.D. is in Folklore and Folklife, and her most recent book is Living Stories of the Cherokee, published by University of North Carolina Press. This book presents seventy-two traditional Cherokee stories as told by contemporary Cherokee storytellers. Living Stories of the Cherokee received the Thomas Wolfe Literary Award for 1999, the Storytelling World Award for 1999, and was chosen by the American Library Association to be featured on the series "Storylines Southeast" on National Public Radio. |
Bo Taylor serves as Archivist for the Museum of the Cherokee Indian. He is an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indian. Mr. Taylor has a Bachelor of Science degree in Anthropology with a minor in Cherokee Studies from Western Carolina University. He can read and write in the Cherokee language. Mr. Taylor gives lectures on the history of the Cherokee Indian, performs traditional Cherokee dances, and dances at Native American Pow-wows. |
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