Just outside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, in Cherokee, North Carolina, a groundbreaking new exhibition is reframing what most Americans think they know about the Revolutionary War.
A First-of-Its-Kind Exhibition for America's 250th Anniversary
Museum of the Cherokee People is telling the story of the American Revolution entirely from a Cherokee perspective, researched and curated by Cherokee scholars.
ᏧᏂᏲᏍᎩ ᏂᎨᏒᎾ: ᏣᎳᎩ ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎯ ᏃᎴ ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏁᎦ ᏓᏂᎦᏘᎴᎬ ᎠᏰᎵ ᎤᏙᏒᎲᎢ Unrelenting: Cherokee People and the American Revolution opened this spring and is on view through December 30, 2026. The exhibition features historic objects, including weapons, adornments, and archival materials, with new work by contemporary Cherokee artists including spoken word, painting, beadwork, ceramics, and more, all responding to actual treaties and documents from the Revolutionary period.
“As a sovereign nation and the tribal museum of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, we are so pleased we can present this self-funded, independent exhibition from a Cherokee perspective,” says MotCP Executive Director Shana Bushyhead Condill (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians).
Why "Unrelenting"? The History Most History Books Skip
Unrelenting is built to start that conversation, and to make clear that Cherokee history didn’t end in the 1700s. As Condill puts it, the contemporary artworks throughout the exhibition “make it impossible for the viewer to put us, as Cherokee people, in the past.”
“Because American nationalist mythology pretends like Native people belong in the past, our contemporary existence contradicts the dominant memory and commemorative landscape of the United States,” adds guest curator Brandon Dillard (Cherokee Nation). “With Unrelenting, we just wanted to invite people to think about some of those things and recognize how complicated it all is… and most importantly, to welcome complexity when thinking about the past.”
Unrelenting Events this Fourth of July Week
Cherokee History & Stories: Cherokees After 1776
Monday, July 6 · 5:00 PM ET TJ Holland Education Room, Museum of the Cherokee People
Join Kathi Littlejohn (EBCI) for an informal lecture focused on what happened to Cherokee communities in the years following the Revolution.
Listen, Lunch & Learn: Cherokees in the American Revolution
Wednesday, July 8 · 12:00 PM ET · Virtual Panel
Can’t make it to Cherokee in person, or want to keep learning after your visit? Tune into this free virtual panel featuring Rebecca Nagle (Cherokee Nation), Brandon Dillard (Cherokee Nation), Maggie Blackhawk (Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe), and C. Joseph Genetin-Pilawa for a wide-ranging conversation on Cherokee perspectives during the Revolutionary era.
Learn With Us
Unrelenting features special interpretation just for young people. Bring the whole family on a self-guided tour, using the prompt questions to discuss the objects and history that surround you.
MotCP’s Educator Resources allow visitors to go deeper. Find a Print-at-Home Packet, Reflection Booklet, Further Reading recommendations, and even coloring pages available for download here.
About Museum of the Cherokee People
Established in 1948, the Museum of the Cherokee Indian is one of the longest-operating tribal museums in the country. Located in Cherokee, North Carolina on the Qualla Boundary, the sovereign land of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and ancestral homelands of all Cherokees, the Museum shares the history, culture, and stories of the Cherokee people through its exhibitions, collections, and programs.
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