TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – A little over six months ago, Cherokee Nation set out on a mission to increase accessibility to Cherokee history and culture through a new course, Cherokee Nation: A History of Resilience.
The course provides a timeline of Cherokee history and events, with an emphasis on traditional Cherokee arts, culture and oral history from pre-European contact through present day. It is offered for free to the public with registration on a first-come, first-served basis both throughout the Cherokee Nation Reservation and to at-large communities.
More than 350 individuals earned certificates of completion in 2023.
“Interest and demand for this program continues to grow, and we couldn’t be more pleased with its success in just this short time,” said Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. “We know that by investing our time and resources into sharing our history and culture, we’re providing a resource for people to learn our authentic story.”
The course is supported by three Cherokee Nation citizens: Catherine Foreman Gray, David Fowler and Will Chavez. New dates and locations for the course have been secured for 2024, and the list continues to grow to meet demand.
Currently, the schedule for the course that takes place weekly from 6-8 p.m. on their respective dates includes five locations within the Cherokee Nation Reservation:
Feb. 22 – March 21 (Thursdays)
Vian Community Foundation Building
July 16 – July 30 (Tuesday and Thursdays)
Tri-Community Association in Tahlequah
July 23 – August 20 (Tuesdays)
Jay Community Center
May 9 – June 6 (Thursdays)
Native American Fellowship, South Coffeyville
Sept. 10 – Oct. 8 (Tuesdays)
Helmrich Center for American Research at Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa
Additional dates and times will be added throughout the year, including in at-large areas in connection with Cherokee Nation at-large organizations. The course is offered in a condensed format to at-large communities upon request.
The team has also developed a new series of monthly lunch-and-learns that will run February to November. The presentations are hosted by historians, artists, authors and more and explore specific topics and historical events such as Cherokee Removal, contemporary Cherokee history and cultural lifeways.
The first presentation is slated for Thursday, Feb. 22, with Ty Wilson, president of the Cherokees for Black Indian History Preservation Foundation, on the history of the annual Freedmen celebration in Cherokee Nation.
All lunch-and-learn presentations are hosted from noon to 1 p.m. at the Tahlequah Armory Municipal Center at 100 N. Water Ave. and will be made available on Visit Cherokee Nation’s YouTube at a later date.
For more information and a list of upcoming dates, please visit www.VisitCherokeeNation.com.