Cherokee Nation is sharing its rich history and thriving culture with students through education tours this fall. The free tours can be scheduled September – November, with reservations offered on a first come, first-served basis.

Jaycee Gideon, 20, of Stilwell, was crowned Miss Cherokee 2026-2027 during the annual leadership competition held in Tahlequah on Aug. 22. The tribe also crowned a new Junior Miss Cherokee, Maggie Rhodes, 14, of Tahlequah.

The original Cherokee musical shares the story of Ward, a legendary woman who was first honored in the 18th century as a Cherokee war woman but then as a peacemaker during the American Revolution.

Standing inside the recently opened Cherokee Immersion Middle School in Tahlequah, I saw much more than a new building. Beyond the welcoming atmosphere for learning, I saw another answer to generations of policies, including the boarding school era, that discouraged — and even…