Cherokee Language Workshop
2026-01-21 17:00 - 18:00, 2026-01-26 17:00 - 18:00, 2026-01-28 08:00 - 17:00 (America/Kentucky/Monticello) | Museum of the Cherokee People – Education Wing
Speak more Cherokee in 2026! Local second language learner group Aniyona leads a free Cherokee language workshop, open to all, at Museum of the Cherokee People for the month of January. Arrive early to secure your spot.

Museum Closing Early at 1pm
2026-01-24 09:00 - 13:00 | NC

Museum Closed
2026-01-25, 2026-01-26 | NC

Museum Opening Late
2026-01-27 10:30 - 17:00 | NC

Museum Closed
2026-02-02 - 2026-02-03, 2026-02-02 | NC
MotCP is closed due to ongoing weather conditions.
Please monitor our social media and Google listing before visiting for the most up-to-date information.

Cherokee History & Stories
2026-02-02 17:00 - 18:00, 2026-03-02 17:00 - 18:00, 2026-04-06 17:00 - 18:00, 2026-05-04 17:00 - 18:00 | NC

Fingerweaving Fridays
2026-02-06 14:30 - 16:30, 2026-02-13 14:30 - 16:30, 2026-02-20 14:30 - 16:30, 2026-02-27 14:30 - 16:30, 2026-03-06 14:30 - 16:30, 2026-03-13 14:30 - 16:30 | NC
Bring a current project or begin a new one using the Museum’s supplies.

Cherokee History & Stories
2026-02-09 17:00 - 18:00 | Museum of the Cherokee People – Education Wing
Kathi Littlejohn (EBCI) leads an informal lecture in the TJ Holland Education Room.

Books on the Boundary: 'The Bone Thief' by Vanessa Lillie (Cherokee Nation)
2026-02-18 17:30 - 19:00 | NC
Books on the Boundary: A Museum of the Cherokee People Reading Circle is a quarterly book club for members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and guests. Club meetings take place on-site at the Museum Store unless otherwise noted.
Winter’s Read: The Bone Thief by Vanessa Lillie (Cherokee Nation)
When a Native teenager vanishes from her small town—a place with dark ties to an elite historical society—archaeologist Syd Walker is called to investigate…from bestselling author Vanessa Lillie.
In the hours before dawn at a local summer camp, Bureau of Indian Affairs archaeologist Syd Walker receives an alarming call: newly discovered skeletal remains have been stolen. Not only have bones gone missing, but a Native teen girl has disappeared near the camp, and law enforcement dismisses her family’s fears.
As Syd investigates both crimes, she’s drawn into a world of privileged campers and their wealthy parents—most of them members of the Founders Society, an exclusive club whose members trace their lineage to the first colonists and claim ancestral rights to the land, despite fierce objections from the local tribal community. And it’s not the first time something—or someone—has gone missing from the camp.
The deeper Syd digs, the more she realizes these aren’t isolated incidents. A pattern of disappearances stretches back generations, all leading to the Founders Society’s doorstep. But exposing the truth means confronting not just the town’s most powerful families, but also a legacy of violence that refuses to stay buried.
From the national bestselling author of Blood Sisters (a Washington Post Best Mystery of the Year and Target Book Club pick) comes a new Syd Walker novel that proves the sins of the past are destined to repeat until the truth is finally unearthed.

Unrelenting Art Market
2026-03-17 12:00 - 18:00 | Museum of the Cherokee People, 589 Tsali Blvd, Cherokee, NC, 28719, United States
Shop art, handmade goods, and more from Native vendors at the Unrelenting Art Market!

Interested in vending? Apply here: weblink.donorperfect.com/unrelenting

On Tuesday, March 17, Museum of the Cherokee People (MotCP) opens ‘ᏧᏂᏲᏍᎩ ᏂᎨᏒᎾ: ᏣᎳᎩ ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎯ ᏃᎴ ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏁᎦ ᏓᏂᎦᏘᎴᎬ ᎠᏰᎵ ᎤᏙᏒᎲᎢ Unrelenting: Cherokee People and the American Revolution,’ a first-of-its-kind exhibition centering Native voices, perspectives, and creativity in response to the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.
On view through December 30, 2026, the exhibition features historic objects in conversation with works by Cherokee artists, merging cultural heritage, military history, and contemporary art for a nuanced examination of a pivotal moment in Cherokee and American history.

Opening Reception - Unrelenting: Cherokee People and the American Revolution
2026-03-17 16:30 - 18:30 | Museum of the Cherokee People, 589 Tsali Blvd, Cherokee, NC, 28719, United States
A pivotal moment for Cherokee sovereignty, the American Revolution marked a change for Cherokee government, land base, community, and family structure. Featuring historic objects in conversation with works by contemporary Cherokee artists, Unrelenting delves into 250 years of Aniyvwiya innovation, adaptability, and resistance, centering Native voices, perspectives, and creativity in response to the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.

RESCHEDULED: 2026 James A. Cooper Memorial Lecture in Cherokee Studies
2026-03-20 17:00 - 20:00 | Museum of the Cherokee People – Education Wing
The James A. Cooper Memorial Lecture in Cherokee Studies is pleased to present ‘The Future of Tribal Sovereignty, Powered by the Past‘ by Stacy Leeds (Cherokee Nation), Willard H. Pedrick Dean, Regents Professor and Foundation Professor of Law at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State University on March 20 at 5pm in the TJ Holland Education Room of Museum of the Cherokee People. A reception will follow.
Dean Leeds is leading scholar of Indigenous law and policy, with extensive experience in law, higher education, economic development, and conflict resolution. Leeds holds law degrees from the University of Wisconsin (LL.M.) and the University of Tulsa (J.D.), an M.B.A. from the University of Tennessee, and a B.A. in history from Washington University in St. Louis.
As the first Indigenous woman to serve as a law school dean, Leeds led the University of Arkansas School of Law (2011–2018) and later became the university’s inaugural Vice Chancellor for Economic Development (2017–2020). She has held faculty and leadership roles at the University of Kansas, the University of North Dakota, and the University of Wisconsin. She is an elected member of the American Law Institute and the American Philosophical Society. She is a past recipient of the ABA’s Spirit of Excellence Award and the Cherokee National Statesmanship Award.
Leeds is a former Cherokee Nation Supreme Court Justice. She has served as a trial and appellate court judge in many jurisdictions and as a commercial arbitrator.
The James A. Cooper Memorial Lecture is free and open to all. Registration is not required.

Confluence: A WCU Litfest Panel
2026-04-09 12:30 - 15:00 | NC
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.

Books on the Boundary: Firekeeper's Daughter
2026-04-15 17:00 - 18:30 | NC
This event is free and all are welcome. Registration is not required.
With four starred reviews, Angeline Boulley’s debut novel, Firekeeper’s Daughter, is a groundbreaking YA thriller about a Native teen who must root out the corruption in her community.
Eighteen-year-old Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in, both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. She dreams of a fresh start at college, but when family tragedy strikes, Daunis puts her future on hold to look after her fragile mother. The only bright spot is meeting Jamie, the charming new recruit on her brother Levi’s hockey team.
Yet even as Daunis falls for Jamie, she senses the dashing hockey star is hiding something. Everything comes to light when Daunis witnesses a shocking murder, thrusting her into an FBI investigation of a lethal new drug.
Reluctantly, Daunis agrees to go undercover, drawing on her knowledge of chemistry and Ojibwe traditional medicine to track down the source. But the search for truth is more complicated than Daunis imagined, exposing secrets and old scars. At the same time, she grows concerned with an investigation that seems more focused on punishing the offenders than protecting the victims.
Now, as the deceptions–and deaths–keep growing, Daunis must learn what it means to be a strong Anishinaabe kwe (Ojibwe woman) and how far she’ll go for her community, even if it tears apart the only world she’s ever known.

Sculpt Your Own Water Beetle with Karen Sixkiller (Cherokee Nation)
2026-04-23 15:00 - 17:00 | NC
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 | 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.
