Museum of the Cherokee People

Immersive Cherokee Language with David Jumper (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians)
2025-03-10 17:00, 2025-03-12 17:00 - 18:30, 2025-03-17 17:00, 2025-03-19 17:00 - 18:30, 2025-03-24 17:00, 2025-03-26 17:00 - 18:30, 2025-03-31 17:00, 2025-04-02 17:00 - 18:30 (America/Kentucky/Monticello) and 1 more date | Museum of the Cherokee People – Education Wing
Led by David Jumper (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), this new biweekly series is an intensive (not excelled, or advanced level) workshop that empowers participants to use language as much as possible during class through call and response, partner and group work, and questions and answers.

Topics will include everyday activities that apply to everyone, and a general outline for class will be provided. All ages and “levels” of learners are welcome, and registration is not required.

Biweekly, 5pm-6:30pm:
Week 1: March 3 & 5
Week 2: March 10 & 12
Week 3: March 17 & 19
Week 4: March 24 & 26
Week 5: March 31 & April 2
Week 6: April 7 & 9

Meet the instructor:

ᏏᏲ! ᏕᏫᏗ ᏗᎳᏔᏕᎩ ᏓᏆᏙᎠ. ᏅᎩᏍᎪᏦ ᎢᏯᏆᏕᏘᏴᏓ ᏃᎴ ᏩᏲᎯ ᏛᎩᎶᏒ. ᎠᏤ ᎩᏚᏩ ᏗᏙᎴᏆᏍᏗ ᏓᎩᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᎰ ᏃᎴ ᏔᎵᏁ ᎠᏂᏯᎠ ᏣᎳᎩ ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ ᏕᎦᏕᏲᎲᏍᎪ. ᎭᏅ ᏣᏆᎴᏅᎲ ᎦᎶᏂ ᎧᎸ 2010 ᏥᎨᏒ. ᏔᎵ ᎢᏳᎾᏕᏘᏴᏓ ᎤᏂᏴᏍᏗ ᏓᎩᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᎸ ᎩᎳ ᎠᎬᏱ ᏣᏆᎴᏅᎲ.

ᏴᏫᏯ ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ ᎠᏆᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᏃᎴ ᏗᏇᏲᏗ ᏗᎩᎸᏉᏗ. ᏂᎪᎯᎸ basketball ᎤᎾᏁᏦᏗᏍᏊ ᎣᏍᏓ ᎠᎩᏰᎸᎰ. ᎣᎯᏍᏙᏗ ᎠᎾᏁᏦᎥᏍᎩ Ꮎ ᏧᏴᏨ ᎦᏯᎴᎾ “ᎠᏣ ᏚᎾᎳᏏᏕᎾ”! ᏂᎦᏓ ᎠᏂᎩᏚᏩ ᏣᎳᎩ ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᎤᏂᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ ᏓᏆᏚᎵᏍᎪ! ᎢᎬᏌ ᎢᎦᏤᎵ ᏥᎩ! ᏣᎳᎩ ᎯᏥᏬᏂᏍᎨᏍᏗ!

ᎩᎳ ᎠᎬᏱ ᏣᏆᎴᏅᎲ ᏗᎩᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᏗ ᏔᎵ ᎢᏳᎾᏕᏘᏴᏓ ᎤᏂᏴᏍᏗ ᏥᏓᎩᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᎸ. ᎤᏙᏓᏋᏓ ᎢᎪᎯᏓ ᏃᎴ ᏧᏙᏓᏋᏓ ᎢᎪᎯᏓ ᏥᎨᏒ ᏔᎵ ᎢᏯᏂ ᎠᏂᏬᏂᏍᎩ ᏧᎾᏟᏃᎮᎸ ᎠᏆᏛᎦᏅ. ᏍᎩᏛ ᎤᎡᎸᏗ ᏴᏫᏯ ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ ᎤᎪᏗᏓ ᏣᏆᏙᎴᏋ. ᎠᏎᏃ ᏂᎦᏓ ᎠᏂᎩᏚᏩ ᎨᏍᏗ ᏧᏐᏯ ᏱᏄᎾᏛᏁᎴ. ᎯᎠᏃ ᎣᎯᏍᏙᏗ ᎨᏐ ᏂᎦᏓ ᏱᎦᏚᎵ ᎢᎦᏙᎴᏆᏍᏗ ᎢᎩᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ, ᎠᏛᏓᏍᏙᏗ ᏃᎴ ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ. ᎣᏍᏓ ᎨᎰ ᎢᏥᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ ᎠᎴ ᎢᏥᎪᎵᏰᏗ ᏱᏥᏏᎾ ᎠᏎᏃ ᎢᎦᏤᎵ ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ, ᏐᎢ ᏕᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ ᎢᏳᏍᏗ, ᎢᎦᏛᏓᏍᏙᏗ ᏃᎴ ᎢᎩᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ ᎨᏎᏍᏗ ᏧᏙᏓᏋᏓ ᎢᎪᎯᏓ!

Hello! My name is David Jumper. I’m 43 years old and I come from the Wolftown community. I work at The Atse Kituwah Academy, and I teach second grade Cherokee language arts. I started there in August 2010. When I first started, I worked in the 2-year-old classroom.

I love learning and teaching the Cherokee language. I always like watching basketball games. The North Carolina Tarheels are the best! I want all Cherokees to learn the Cherokee language! It belongs to only us! Everyone speak Cherokee!

My first few years working at the Academy I was placed in classrooms with at least 2 fluent speakers where I could hear them converse with each other in the language. This is where I excelled the most in my language journey. Although not everyone is as fortunate as I have been. I feel that this is the best way to learn, listening and practicing speaking. Reading and writing are good ways to memorize language but our language, just as any other language, must be heard and spoken as much as possible EVERY DAY!

Cherokee History & Stories Workshop Series
2025-04-06 15:00 - 16:30, 2025-05-04 15:00 - 16:30, 2025-06-01 15:00 - 16:30, 2025-07-06 15:00 - 16:30, 2025-08-17 15:00 - 16:30 | Museum of the Cherokee People – Education Wing
Kathi Littlejohn, an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, has been telling Cherokee stories for more than 40 years at events, festivals, and schools. She has been leading Cherokee history tours for five years to historically and culturally significant places in Western North Carolina. She has produced four CDs of Cherokee stories: ‘Cherokee Legends,’ Volume I, II, and III and ‘Cherokee Stories of the Supernatural,’ available at select gift shops. She also completed a series of YouTube videos named “Cherokee History and Stories, “What Happened Here?”

Big Y Genealogy Workshop
2025-05-12 18:00 - 20:00 | Big Y Community Building
Join Museum of the Cherokee People Genealogist Robin Swayney (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians) to learn about how to begin tracing your family’s personal history.

In a workshop crafted especially for the Big Y community, Robin will share techniques and tools for starting your own genealogical research.

This workshop is exclusively intended for members of Cherokee’s Big Y community—stay tuned for more workshops coming to your community!

To learn more about genealogy offerings at Museum of the Cherokee People, click here.

ᏓᏂᏏᏍᎩ ᎦᏓᏆᏟ Didanisisgi Gadagwatli Mud Dauber Pottery Art Market
2025-05-29 11:00 - 16:00
From 11am-4pm, shop for ceramic art and much more at an art market on the Museum lawn, with current and former students of the Didanisisgi Gadagwatli Mud Dauber Community Workshop at Museum of the Cherokee People among the participating vendors.

At 5pm, get a first look at the works on view and mingle with the artists at the official Didanisisgi Gadagwatli: A Showcase of Pottery from the Mud Dauber Community Workshop at the Museum of the Cherokee People opening reception.

Admission to the art market and opening reception are free with a Museum ticket. General admission to Museum of the Cherokee People is always free for enrolled members of federally-recognized Tribes and Museum members.

Opening Reception - ᏗᏓᏂᏏᏍᎩ ᎦᏓᏆᏟ Didanisisgi Gadagwatli: A Showcase of Pottery from the Mud Dauber Community Workshop
2025-05-29 17:00 - 19:00
Celebrate the opening of ᏗᏓᏂᏏᏍᎩ ᎦᏓᏆᏟ Didanisisgi Gadagwatli: A Showcase of Pottery from the Mud Dauber Community Workshop at the Museum of the Cherokee People. Students of Tara McCoy (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians) will exhibit works they handcrafted throughout the winter during this intensive three-month workshop.
From 11am-4pm, shop for ceramic art and much more at an art market on the Museum lawn, with current and former Didanisisgi Gadagwatli students among the participating vendors.

At 5pm, get a first look at the works on view and mingle with the artists at the official Didanisisgi Gadagwatli: A Showcase of Pottery from the Mud Dauber Community Workshop at the Museum of the Cherokee People opening reception.

Both the art market and opening reception are free with Museum admission. General admission to Museum of the Cherokee People is always free for enrolled members of federally-recognized Tribes and Museum members.

Opening at 10:30am
2025-06-12 08:30 - 10:30
MotCP will open at 10:30am after a morning staff meeting.

Books on the Boundary: 'The Art Thieves' by Andrea L. Rogers (Cherokee Nation)
2025-06-18 17:30 - 19:00 | Museum of the Cherokee People, 589 Tsali Blvd, Cherokee, NC, 28719, United States
From the author of the Walter Award-winning ‘Man Made Monsters’ comes a YA novel that conjures our futures in startling life—the ones that we are headed towards, and the ones we can still work towards. It’s the year 2052. Stevie Henry is a Cherokee girl working at a museum in Texas, trying to save up enough money to go to college. The world around her is in a cycle of drought and superstorms, ice and fire … but people get by. But it’s about to get a whole lot worse. When a mysterious boy shows up at Stevie’s museum saying that he’s from the future—and telling her what is to come—she refuses to believe him. But soon she will have no choice.

Andrea L. Rogers is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. She grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but currently lives in Arkansas. She graduated with an MFA from the Institute for American Indian Arts. Her literary horror and speculative fiction stories have been published in Waxwing, Yellow Medicine Review, The Santa Fe Literary Review, Transmotion, The Massachusetts Review and River Styx. Capstone published her children’s book ‘Mary and the Trail of Tears’ which was included on the best books of 2020 by both NPR and American Indians in Children’s Literature. Her essay “My Oklahoma History” appeared in ‘You Too? 25 Voices Share Their #METoo Stories’ from Inkyard Press. Her short story “The Ballad of Maggie Wilson” is included in ‘Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids,’ a MG short story Anthology from Heartdrum, an imprint of Harper Collins, released on February 9, 2021. Her picture book called ‘When We Gather,’ for HeartDrum was released May 7, 2024. It is a story about community and wild onion dinners.

Books on the Boundary is Museum of the Cherokee People’s book club dedicated to highlighting today’s best Native fiction, nonfiction, and more. Meetings are held in person in the Museum Store. Books on the Boundary is free of charge and open to all; registration is not required.

Member Night
2025-06-26 16:30 - 19:00
On Thursday, June 26, we’re hosting a special event just for Museum of the Cherokee People members!

At Member Night, enjoy behind-the-scenes experiences guided by Museum leadership, wine and charcuterie, and fellowship with our Museum team and your fellow members.
Member Night is free for active museum members. Not a member yet? Find the level that’s right for you and your family at motcp.org/support-motcp.

Book Signing with Benjamin E. Frey (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians)
2025-07-09 14:00 - 16:00 | Museum of the Cherokee People, 589 Tsali Blvd, Cherokee, NC, 28719, United States
Today there are roughly two hundred first-language Cherokee speakers among the seventeen thousand citizens of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina. In 2019 the United Keetoowah Band, the Cherokee Nation, and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians declared a state of emergency for the Cherokee language.
In Rising Above Eastern Band Cherokee citizen Benjamin E. Frey chronicles his odyssey of being introduced to the Cherokee language with trepidation as a young adult and his eventual work revitalizing the Cherokee language in a Cherokee way. In the first book to examine the process of language shift and revitalization among this band, Frey explores the institutional, economic, and social factors that drove the language shift from Cherokee to English, interpreted through the lens of a member of the Eastern Band Cherokee community in conversation with other community members. Rising Above navigates Frey’s upbringing, the intricacies of language and relationships, the impact of trauma, and the quest for joy and healing within the community.
In addition to language documentation and preservation, Rising Above explores how to breathe new life into the language and community, using storytelling to discuss the Cherokee language, its grammatical components, and its embedded cultural ideologies alongside its interactions with broader American society.
Benjamin E. Frey (Eastern Band Cherokee) is an assistant professor of Cherokee language and culture at the University of North Carolina–Asheville. He is the coauthor, with John D. Loftin, of People of Kituwah: The Old Ways of the Eastern Cherokees.

Cherokee History & Stories Workshop
2025-07-20 15:00 - 16:30 | Museum of the Cherokee People – Education Wing

Closed For Maintenance
2025-07-25 - 2025-08-06

Storytelling Workshop with Loren Waters (Cherokee Nation, Kiowa Tribe)
2025-07-31 15:00 - 17:00 | Museum of the Cherokee People, 589 Tsali Blvd, Cherokee, NC, 28719, United States
Loren will share her films and talk about her journey as an Indigenous storyteller and how she brings her values, identity, and purpose into the filmmaking process. Together, we’ll explore how storytelling can be a tool for healing, visibility, and change. Participants will learn the beginnings of how to embark on telling their own stories, no experience needed!
Loren Waters (Cherokee/Kiowa) is an award-winning filmmaker whose creative work spans directing, producing, and casting through her production company, Waters Media. Named to the 2025 Forbes 30 Under 30 list, Loren is also the Executive Director of the Lindy Waters III Foundation, where she is dedicated to serving Native youth and uplifting Indigenous communities.
Her work has been showcased at esteemed festivals like Sundance, SXSW, and Hot Docs. Her Academy Award-qualifying short documentary film, Tiger, received the Short Film Special Jury Award for Directing at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, along with 6 other awards on the festival circuit.
She has contributed to renowned films and television series, including The Lowdown, Reservation Dogs, and Fancy Dance, as the youngest Indigenous casting director in the industry. Her achievements have been recognized with prestigious awards such as the New York Foundation of the Arts – Anonymous Was a Woman Environmental Art Grant, the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation LIFT Award, and the Running Strong Foundation Dreamstarter Environmental Justice Award.
Her short documentary, ᏗᏂᏠᎯ ᎤᏪᏯ (Meet Me at the Creek), has garnered significant acclaim, receiving First Place at the UBUNTU Climate Arts & Storytelling Showcase and recognition as a Best Mini-Doc Top 10 Finalist at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival.
Loren’s storytelling is deeply rooted in cross-cultural Indigenous experiences and celebrates community collaboration, as she continues to shape a vibrant and inclusive future through her work.

The Way We See the World: Film, Music, Art at Harrah's Cherokee Casino & Resort
2025-08-01 | Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort, 777 Casino Dr, Cherokee, NC, 28719, United States
Museum of the Cherokee People’s signature event returns for an evening of Indigenous self-representation in film and art in the Council Fire Ballroom of Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort in Cherokee, NC.

Since 2022, MotCP’s annual The Way We event highlights Native pop culture and showcases timely perspectives for Cherokee people, primarily by Cherokee people. These community-centered events put Native self-representation in the spotlight and uplift creative work that explores identity through artistic expressions in film, music, visual art, and more.
Film Lineup
Redbird (2025) | Directed by Emma Barrow (Cherokee Nation)
A Cherokee woman fights to protect her niece from an unlawful adoption by her white grandparents as she reckons with feeling distant from her own culture.

Tentsítewahkwe (2024) | Directed by Katsitsionni Fox (Mohawk) with Xochitl Fox (Mexica/Azteca)
Embodying the Mohawk value of tentsitewahkwe (we pick it up again), Jessica Shenandoah goes on a knowledge-gathering journey across all four seasons to reinvigorate the healing, land-based practices of her foremothers. Jessica reclaims knowledge that has been asleep for generations due to the destructive effects of boarding schools, forced religion and land theft.

Thin Places (2025) | Written & Directed by Brit Hensel (Cherokee Nation)
After her sister Tama’s untimely passing, Birdie learns that the bond between them is stronger than life and death. In between states of memory and heartbreak, Tama and Birdie show how we can continue on in a different way if we are willing to listen.

Tiger (2025) | Directed by Loren Waters (Cherokee Nation, Kiowa Tribe)“Tiger” highlights an Indigenous award-winning, internationally acclaimed artist and elder Dana Tiger, her family, and the resurgence of the iconic Tiger t-shirt company.

Live Music by Sugah and Thuh Cubes
Art Market
Chena George (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians)Amy Postoak (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians)Jakeli Swimmer (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians)Kevin Tafoya (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Santa Clara Pueblo)Laura Walkingstick (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians)Jennifer Wilson (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians)

Event Schedule
5-6pm: VIP Reception
5:30pm: Doors Open, Art Market Opens
6pm: Welcome
6:15pm: Film Screenings
8pm: Live Music by Suga & Thuh Cubes

Quallatown Makers
2025-08-12 16:30 - 18:30, 2025-08-19 16:30 - 18:30, 2025-08-26 16:30 - 18:30 | Museum of the Cherokee People, 589 Tsali Blvd, Cherokee, NC, 28719, United States
Quallatown Makers is a free community opportunity for fellowship and artmaking. With the goal of perpetuating Cherokee art and knowledge-sharing, the Museum of the Cherokee People Art Studio will be open from 4:30-6:30pm biweekly on Wednesdays beginning June 18. Bring your own craft (all artforms welcome!), sip coffee (bring your own snacks if you like), and work on your project with like-minded makers. This opportunity is open our Qualla Boundary community. No registration required: just show up.

Community Open House
2025-08-20 16:00 - 18:00 | Museum of the Cherokee People, 589 Tsali Blvd, Cherokee, NC, 28719, United States
Join the Museum team for a free night of activities for the whole family. Take a guided tour of the Museum’s exhibits, get up close and personal with a curated selection of objects from the Museum’s collections, participate in social dances with our Museum of the Cherokee People Atsila Anotasgi Cultural Specialist team, and enjoy light refreshments.

Fingerweaving Fridays
2025-08-29 14:00 - 16:00 | Museum of the Cherokee People, 589 Tsali Blvd, Cherokee, NC, 28719, United States
Join Lead Atsila Anotasgi Cultural Specialist Nola (EBCI) in a crafting circle. Enrolled members of federally recognized Tribes are invited to bring a project they’re currently working on or begin a new weaving using materials brought from home or sourced from the Museum’s selection. Beginners and experienced weavers welcome; instruction available. This opportunity is free of charge and registration is not required.
