Museum of the Cherokee People

Fingerweaving Fridays
2026-03-06 14:30 - 16:30, 2026-03-13 14:30 - 16:30 (America/Kentucky/Monticello)
Bring a current project or begin a new one using the Museum’s supplies.

Cherokee History & Stories
2026-04-06 17:00 - 18:00, 2026-05-04 17:00 - 18:00, 2026-06-01 17:00 - 18:00, 2026-07-06 17:00 - 18:00, 2026-08-03 17:00 - 18:00, 2026-09-07 17:00 - 18:00, 2026-10-05 17:00 - 18:00, 2026-11-02 17:00 - 18:00 and 1 more date

Confluence: A WCU Litfest Panel
2026-04-09 12:30 - 15:00
Hear four bright Indigenous voices in contemporary literature Thursday, April 9 at 12:30pm at Confluence: A WCU Litfest Panel.
Writers Vanessa Lillie (Cherokee Nation), Debora Taffa (Quechan [Yuma] Nation, Laguna Pueblo), and Shane Hawk (Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma) join our own Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians) in conversation.
Presented by the WCU Department of English Studies and the Museum of the Cherokee People with support from North Carolina Arts Council and South Arts, this event is a part of Western Carolina University’s Spring Literary Festival, an annual event dedicated to bringing established and emerging literary talent to the WCU campus and region.
Confluence: A WCU Litfest Panel is free of charge and open to all. Registration is not required.
Western Carolina University’s annual Spring Literary Festival has a long tradition of bringing established and emerging literary talent to our campus and region. It reflects WCU’s commitment to providing the best humanities education possible to its students and to bringing the best of the arts to the mountains.
The festival grew out of Western Carolina University’s Visiting Writers Series, the oldest such series in North Carolina. While the area has a rich literary heritage all its own, the festival seeks to secure that heritage’s place on the nation’s literary stage by bringing local and national writers together.

Sculpt Your Own Water Beetle with Karen Sixkiller (Cherokee Nation)
2026-04-23 15:00 - 17:00
Many of our oldest Cherokee stories feature small, humble creatures who accomplish the most important things! Learn a little more about the Grandmother Spider bringing fire and Water Beetle creating earth stories while we celebrate spiders and insects by learning how to sculpt your own.
All supplies provided. Space is limited. Registration is open to all aged 8 and up.
To Register:
Registration opens at 3pm EST Friday, April 10. Space is limited, and advance registration is required via online form.
A link will be posted to the Museum’s social media accounts and on motcp.org/community-learning.
Workshops fill quickly: if you are unable to complete the online registration form, the workshop is full. To be added to the waitlist, email dakota.brown@motcp.org with subject line “Waitlist: Beetle Workshop.” We encourage interested folks to set an alarm/reminder to sign up!

Artist Talk with Karen Sixkiller (Cherokee Nation)
2026-04-24 16:30 - 17:30 | Museum of the Cherokee People – Education Wing
Karen Sixkiller (Cherokee Nation) explores the aspects of magical realism and symbolism that combine her larger-than-life water beetle with the faceted geometric “mud” he perches on. Follow the technical journey of Karen Sixkiller’s simple clay maquette through the process of becoming a large bronze piece of public art.

Karen Sixkiller is a contemporary sculptor residing on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state. Sixkiller creates sculptures using metal, ceramic, glass beads, leather/suede and fabric. As a Cherokee Nation citizen much of her work is informed by Native American understandings or stories. Cherokee Nation has purchased many of Karen Sixkiller’s ceramic and mixed media sculptural pieces for display in official buildings. She has permanent public art installations in Tahlequah OK, Olympia and Port Angeles WA, and now Asheville NC; as well as several temporary installations in Coeur d’Alene ID, Olympia WA and Lake Oswego OR. Her work has been featured at multiple Indigenous and non-Indigenous art shows.

Cherokee Language Workshop with Ogadudala
2026-05-04 17:00 - 18:00, 2026-05-06 17:00 - 18:00, 2026-05-11 17:00 - 18:00, 2026-05-13 17:00 - 18:00, 2026-05-18 17:00 - 18:00, 2026-05-20 17:00 - 18:00, 2026-05-25 17:00 - 18:00, 2026-05-27 17:00 - 18:00 | Museum of the Cherokee People – Education Wing
Every Monday and Wednesday in the month of May, come practice your Cherokee with Ogadudala, with Cherokee Language Master Apprentice Program (CLMAP) graduates Dreyton Long, Madison Hye Long, Elvia Walkingstick, and Meshay Long and Dadiwonisi graduate Jack Cooper.No registration is required, and language workshops at MotCP are free of charge.

Opening Reception - Didanisisgi Gadagwatli: A Showcase of Pottery from the Mud Dauber Community Workshop at the Museum of the Cherokee People
2026-06-05 18:00 - 19:30 | Museum of the Cherokee People, 589 Tsali Blvd, Cherokee, NC, 28719, United States
McCoy developed her pottery workshop three years ago when she noticed a decline in practicing ceramic artists in the Cherokee community. Compelled to do her part in ensuring that there are future generations of Cherokee potters, she developed a three-month intensive workshop that invites aspiring potters from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and other federally recognized tribes to learn all facets of Cherokee ceramics.
