In the early 1900s, the Appalachian Mountains were consumed by a logging boom. Many Eastern Band of Cherokee Indian families subsisted on the logging economy up through the 1940s. In 1911, the Weeks Act was passed and created the United States National Forest system and in 1934 land was purchased to start the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which officially opened in 1940 by the dedication of Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The development of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park brought a new economic opportunity to the Eastern Band of Cherokee with one entrance to the park routing visitors through the Qualla Boundary. MotCP, along with what is now referred to as the cultural partners, played a vital role in building the foundation of the tourist economy in Cherokee in the late 1940s and 1950s.

The Museum of the Cherokee People opened in 1948, making it one of the oldest tribal museums in the United States. Formed with a collection acquired by Samuel E. Beck, the museum was located in a small log cabin-style building at the intersection of US Highways 441 and 19.

Tragically, in 1958, the original building burned down. The fire was believed to be the result of faulty wiring and is said to be “one of the biggest fires in Cherokee’s history” according to then-EBCI vice chief and head of the fire department Walter Jackson. The collections were off-site at the time of the fire, and leadership began formulating plans to build a new museum.

MotCP’s current location was opened in May of 1976, after a 13-year-long capital campaign to secure funding for the new construction. Owned from 1952 to 1970 by Cherokee Historical Association, the Museum of the Cherokee People was established as its own 501(c)3 nonprofit in 1970. Funding was secured by 1973 and construction began in 1974, with an architectural design that drew inspiration from the surrounding mountain landscape.

In 1998, the Museum opened its newly renovated exhibit. Using experts in the field of Cherokee history to bring the exhibit to life, the final result proved to be innovative for its time. The mannequins used in the exhibit were modeled after Cherokee people from the community and Cherokee oral history is highlighted at the start of the exhibit. The archaeological timeline intended to orient visitors, and the dark, cave-like atmosphere sought to provide an immersive experience.

In early 2022, a full inventory of the collections within the main exhibit was completed. During the inventory, the Museum, with the help of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Tribal Historic Preservation Office, identified several objects that were funerary or ceremonial and some objects that needed conservation after their 24-year stint on view. The decision was made to pull the objects off view and invite Cherokee artists to participate in an intervention of these cases. The result is an exhibition, titled Disruption, on view now.

Given that the current main exhibit is 25 years old, it is time for a facelift. Many exhibition strategies have changed in that time, and we are re-thinking the traditional timeline method of telling the Cherokee story, and most importantly, ensuring Cherokee self-representation in the stories we tell. Also, excitingly, the Museum is building an off-site collections facility that will safely house our archival and object collections. These collections will be available to our community, makers, and researchers to support the creation of both art and scholarship within our Cherokee community.