Museum of the Cherokee People

Museum Closed - Winter Hours
2024-12-23, 2024-12-16, 2024-12-09, 2024-12-02 | Museum of the Cherokee People, 589 Tsali Blvd, Cherokee, NC, 28719, United States
Through winter, Museum of the Cherokee People and the Museum Store will be closed on Mondays. MotCP’s administrative offices remain open.

Polymer Clay Mask Making Workshop
2024-12-13 14:00 - 17:00 (America/Kentucky/Monticello) | Museum of the Cherokee People, 589 Tsali Blvd, Cherokee, NC, 28719, United States
Learn the process of using polymer clay to create a mask. Participants will learn Michelle’s techniques for forming clay and the tools she uses to best help her process. Every participant will leave with their own handcrafted polymer mask.
This class is ideal for folks who are interested in mask creating using non-traditional mediums.
Museum-provided materials and instruction are included with a $30 fee, payable online during time of registration.
Students should purchase before class begins on December 13th:

Apron, or clothes that can get messy
Clay tools
1 Polymer Clay block per person (Museum will provide one block of white polymer clay, feel free to purchase more if you want specific colors)
1 Exacto knife per person
Clay tools
Something egg-shaped like a rock, egg foam ball per person
(Optional) Notetaking materials.
(Optional) A snack and/or water bottle. Filtered water is available in the building.

Assemblage/Collaging Workshop
2024-11-30 14:00 - 16:30 (America/Kentucky/Monticello) | Museum of the Cherokee People – Education Wing
On Saturday, November 30 from 2pm-4:30pm, explore the freedom and collaborative nature of art using a myriad of materials and methods.

Participants should bring materials they are willing to share (old magazines, a piece of cardboard, recycled or found paper, leaves, bubble wrap, newspaper, etc.) and materials for their own use only (a photo, specific text, etc.).

Workshop leader Isabella Saunooke grew up in Sylva and now lives in New York. She believes in art as a spiritual practice—a way to connect with the inner and outer world.
“I believe that by using provided and shared materials to create a collage, we are allowing ourselves to freely create, with no expectation of what the final product should be,” she shares. “We allow ourselves to capture a specific feeling or desire for the moment in time because that alone is enough to create something.”
This workshop, held in MotCP’s Multipurpose Room in the Education Wing, is free and open to the public. Registration is not required.

Museum Closed
2024-11-27 - 2024-11-28

Charlie Soap (Cherokee Nation) Biography Book Signing with Author Greg Shaw
2024-11-08 15:00 - 17:00 (America/Kentucky/Monticello) | Museum of the Cherokee People, 589 Tsali Blvd, Cherokee, NC, 28719, United States
You probably know the story of the late Wilma Mankiller, the first woman to serve as principal chief of the Cherokee Nation. However, you might not recognize her husband, Charlie Soap (Cherokee Nation), whose role as a Native community organizer is no less significant. Combining memoir, history, and current affairs, this book charts for the first time the life and work of this influential Cherokee. In managing public infrastructure projects, housing assistance, and water development in the Cherokee Nation, Soap exemplifies ga-du-gi, the Cherokee word for community members working together for the collective good.

Oklahoma native Greg Shaw has reported for the Cherokee Advocate and served as an executive for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In telling this stories, he gives voice to his sources. As a longtime colleague and friend of the family, Greg draws on his many travels and interviews with Soap as well as previously unpublished writings.

Kuwohi Talk
2024-11-07 17:00 - 19:30 (America/Kentucky/Monticello) | Museum of the Cherokee People, 589 Tsali Blvd, Cherokee, NC, 28719, United States
Museum of the Cherokee People is honored to welcome Mary Crowe (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians) and Lavita Hill (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), advocates who successfully led the effort to restore the name of Kuwohi (formerly known as Clingman’s Dome) in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
In this conversation, held on November 7 at 5pm in the Museum’s Multipurpose Room, Crowe and Hill will share their experience in restoring the name of this sacred place, from their initial inspiration to that day in September 2024 when the U.S. Board of Geographic Names officially made the historic change. This event is free of charge and open to all.

Family Connections: Where Do I Begin? Wolftown Community Genealogy Workshop
2024-10-28 17:30 - 19:30 (America/Kentucky/Monticello) | Wolftown Community Club Building
On October 28 from 5:30pm-7:30pm at Wolftown Community Club, join Museum of the Cherokee People Genealogist Robin Swayney (EBCI) to learn about how to trace your family’s personal history. In a workshop crafted especially for the Wolftown community, Robin will share techniques and tools for starting your own genealogical research.
This workshop is for members of Cherokee’s Wolftown community—stay tuned for more community-specific research workshops, coming soon!

Genealogy Workshop
2024-10-28 17:30 - 18:30 (America/Kentucky/Monticello) | Wolftown Community Club Building
Museum of the Cherokee People’s genealogy staff invites the Wolftown community to learn how to conduct research into your own family tree. This event is open to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians community.
To learn more about genealogy services at Museum of the Cherokee People, please visit the Genealogy page of our website.

Qualla-Ween: Museum of the Cherokee People’s Haunted Exhibit
2024-10-25 18:00 - 2024-10-29 17:00, 2024-10-25 08:00 - 17:00 (America/Kentucky/Monticello) | Museum of the Cherokee People, 589 Tsali Blvd, Cherokee, NC, 28719, United States
Welcome to your first day as a security guard at the Museum of the Cherokee People! As part of your training, you’ll need to be aware that staff have reported some eerie sounds and mysterious sights around the museum. There have even been stories of things going bump in the night. Are you ready to investigate these strange occurrences and ensure the museum is secure before closing time? Tickets available exclusively at the Museum box office. Tours are offered every half-hour. Last tour at departs at 4:30pm.

Cherokee, North Carolina is the place to be this Halloween! Qualla-Ween is a collaboration between Cherokee’s cultural partners.
In addition to the Museum’s haunted exhibit, experience:
Sgili Hunt at Oconaluftee Indian VillageHunt for the paranormal on a guided tour through the Village after darkOctober 17th-19th, 24th-26th, 31st

Legendary Fears: The Raven Mocker ScreamsThis haunted house at Mountainside Theatre is based on the Cherokee legend of the Raven MockerOctober 24th-31st

Kids’ Fest at Qualla Arts & CraftsStorytelling and craft classes that are fun for the whole familyOctober 25th-27th

Murder Mystery hosted by the Sequoyah FundTravel through downtown Cherokee to solve the latest murder mysteryOctober 25th-27th

Books on the Boundary: Blood Sisters by Vanessa Lillie (Cherokee Nation)
2024-09-25 17:30 - 19:30 (America/Kentucky/Monticello)
Books on the Boundary: A Museum of the Cherokee People Reading Circle meets to discuss its autumn read, Blood Sisters by Vanessa Lillie (Cherokee Nation).

Lillie’s page-turner follows a Cherokee archeologist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs who is summoned to rural Oklahoma to investigate the disappearance of two women…one of them her sister.

Blood Sisters is available for purchase in the Museum Store.

About the Author: Vanessa Lillie is the USA Today bestselling author of Blood Sisters, a new series centered on the stories of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, which was a Target Book Club pick and GMA Book Club Buzz Pick, as well as a best mystery of the year from the Washington Post, Amazon Editor’s and Reader’s Digest. Her other thrillers are Little Voices, For the Best and she’s the creator and coauthor of the # 1 Audible Charts bestseller and International Thriller Writers award nominated, Young Rich Widows, set in Providence, RI where she lives, with the Audible Original sequel Desperate Deadly Widows and print edition were recently released. Originally from Miami, Oklahoma, she is a proud citizen of the Cherokee Nation.Lillie was a Sisters in Crime board member and wrote a weekly column for the Providence Journal about her experiences during the first year of the pandemic. She hosts an Instagram Live show, ‘Twas the Night Before Book Launch, where she chats with authors the night before their book is out in the world.

Confluence: An Indigenous Writers' Workshop
2024-09-20 08:30 - 2024-09-22 14:00 (America/Kentucky/Monticello) | Museum of the Cherokee People, 589 Tsali Blvd, Cherokee, NC, 28719, United States
Save the date! Confluence: An Indigenous Writers’ Workshop returns for its second year. Created in partnership with author and MotCP board member Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), the series of workshops offers citizens of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians access to high-quality writing instruction from the world’s top Indigenous writers at no cost.
Two tracks are offered during Confluence: Christine Day (Upper Skagit Indian Tribe), author of the acclaimed middle-grade novel We Still Belong, leads a track focused on Young Adult Fiction. Calling For A Blanket Dance author Oscar Hokeah (Cherokee Nation, Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma) will instruct participants in the art of Literary Fiction. Each track will foster a welcoming environment for creative expression, discussion, and exchange. Space is limited, and registration is required.

Meet the Workshop Leaders

Christine Day (Upper Skagit Indian Tribe)
Christine Day is a citizen of the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe. Her first novel, I Can Make This Promise, was a best book of the year from NPR, as well as a Charlotte Huck Award Honor Book, and an American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor Book. Her second novel, The Sea in Winter, was a Top 10 Indie Kids’ Next selection, a finalist for the Pacific Northwest Book Award, and an American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor Book. She also wrote She Persisted: Maria Tallchief, a biography in Chelsea Clinton’s book series about inspirational women.
Her most recent book, We Still Belong, was released in the summer of 2023. In this warm hug of a novel, award-winning author Day assures readers that even with all the very real problems they may face, they are worthy, their voices matter—and they belong.
Christine lives with her family in the rainy and resplendent Pacific Northwest.

Oscar Hokeah (Cherokee Nation, Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma)
Oscar Hokeah is a regionalist Native American writer of literary fiction, interested in capturing intertribal, transnational, and multicultural aspects within two tribally specific communities: Tahlequah and Lawton, Oklahoma. He was raised inside these tribal circles and continues to reside there today. He is a citizen of Cherokee Nation and the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma from his mother (Hokeah and Stopp families), and he has Mexican heritage from his father (Chavez family) who emigrated from Aldama, Chihuahua, Mexico. Oscar’s debut novel was recently longlisted for the 2023 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction.
He holds an M.A. in English from the University of Oklahoma, with a concentration in Native American Literature. He also holds a B.F.A. in Creative Writing from the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA), with a minor in Indigenous Liberal Studies. He is a recipient of the Truman Capote Scholarship Award through IAIA, and also a winner of the Native Writer Award through the Taos Summer Writers Conference. Hokeah has written for Poets & Writers, Literary Hub, World Literature Today, American Short Fiction, and elsewhere.

MotCP After Hours: Welcome Home, Recent Acquisitions
2024-08-09 17:30 - 18:30 (America/Kentucky/Monticello) | Museum of the Cherokee People, 589 Tsali Blvd, Cherokee, NC, 28719, United States
Engage with the vibrant color and movement of contemporary artworks by Luke Swimmer (EBCI) and Brenda Mallory (Cherokee Nation).
Admire the exquisite craftsmanship and details of baskets, wearable art, and traditional crafts by Amanda Smoker (EBCI), Eva Bigwitch (EBCI), Hayes Lossiah (EBCI), and makers once known. Peer into the past as our team showcases selections from recently acquired photographs, including highlights from the collection of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and archival documents from Principal Chief John Ross (Cherokee Nation) and William Holland Thomas.
This event is free of charge, and all are welcome.

The Way We Connect with the World: Indigenous Film & Concert Event
2024-08-02 18:00 - 23:59 (America/Kentucky/Monticello) | Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort, 777 Casino Dr, Cherokee, NC, 28719, United States
In its third year, 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.

This year’s event is held at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort in the Council Fire Ballroom in Harrah’s Cherokee Hotel (second floor, above Selu Garden Café).

The Films

‘ᏗᏂᏠᎯ ᎤᏪᏯ (Meet Me at the Creek),’ 2024
Directed by Loren Waters (Cherokee Nation, Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma)
In order to revitalize cultural traditions, a Cherokee elder fights to restore the “irreversibly damaged” Tar Creek.

‘The Language of Ribbon,’ 2024
Documentary short
Directed by Tia Panther (EBCI)
Appearances can say a lot, but for women in a small community located in the mountains of North Carolina, a single article of clothing is worth a thousand words.

‘The Great Cherokee Grandmother,’ 2024
Narrative short
Written and directed by Anthony Sneed (EBCI)
A pleasant date between a man of Cherokee heritage and a Caucasian woman goes downhill when the woman flagrantly fixates on the very bane of Cherokee peoples’ existence: the Cherokee Grandmother syndrome.

INHABITANTS, 2021 | Trailer
A selection from the feature documentary
Directed by Costa Boutsikaris and Anna Palmer
INHABITANTS is a feature documentary that follows five Native American tribes across deserts, coastlines, forests, and prairies as they restore their traditional land management practices.

‘Mothertown,’ 2024 | Trailer
Documentary short
Directed by Anthony Sneed (EBCI)
The site of the original settlement of the Cherokee, the Kituwah mound, was thought lost for centuries. In her moving retelling of the efforts to reclaim the tribe’s land, former Chief Joyce Dugan and fellow tribe members foreground the spiritual, emotional, and social impact of Kituwah’s legacy. This is the story of how the Cherokee finally took their “land back.”

‘My Home, NC | Cherokee culture meets modern fashion,’ 2023
Documentary short
Production, editing, and cinematography by Brooks Bennett
Follow Luke Swimmer (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians) on his path from powwow dancer to designer with Buffalotown Clothing.

Live Music by Agalisiga Mackey (Cherokee Nation)
Agalisiga “Chuj” Mackey is a Cherokee guitarist/musician and singer-songwriter from the Cherokee Nation in Northeast Oklahoma. Chuj spent the early years of his life growing up on a creek bank in the small traditional Cherokee community of Kenwood. Chuj then moved to Tahlequah, the Cherokee Nation capital, to become a language learner at the Cherokee Immersion Charter School.
Chuj grew up participating in traditional ceremonies, ceremonial songs being the foundation of his voice which he carries with him as he creates more contemporary music. Chuj writes and sings original country-folk and blues music in the Cherokee language. He is inspired by classic country/blues artists like Jimmy Rodgers, R.L. Burnside, Merle Haggard, etc. Cherokee life and culture also informs his music as he sings about both the struggles and joys of growing up in a Cherokee community.
Additionally, he has performed at various events including the Cherokee National Holiday, the grand opening of the Bob Dylan Center, and the Anvdvnelisgi album concert in Cherokee, North Carolina. His goal is to perpetuate the Cherokee language and culture. In addition to his artistic endeavors, Chuj is a graduate of the Cherokee Language Master Apprenticeship program, music educator, and a father to a son who he plans to teach both the Cherokee language and music to. He plans to release his first full-length album October 2024.

Storyteller Workshop with Filmmaker Loren Waters (Cherokee Nation, Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma)
In advance of The Way We Connect with the World, explore the realm of film and storytelling with ‘ᏗᏂᏠᎯ ᎤᏪᏯ (Meet Me at the Creek)’ filmmaker Loren Waters (Cherokee Nation, Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma) at a Storytelling Workshop on August 1 from 1-4pm.
Open to aspiring filmmakers ages 15-22, with preference given to enrolled members of federally recognized tribes, the immersive experience will give attendees valuable insight into the dynamic world of filmmaking, creativity, and collaboration.
This workshop is free for all and will be held in the Museum of the Cherokee People’s Multipurpose Room. Registration is required via online form.

Museum of the Cherokee People is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, and this inspiring summer event is free for all to attend, thanks to the support of our generous sponsors. Uplift emerging Native creatives and amplify the power of self-representation in our tribal community: learn about sponsorship opportunities today by contacting Development Specialist Jeremy Hyatt (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

Reserve Your Free Tickets

Sgi (thank you) to our 2024 sponsors:

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Storytelling Workshop with Loren Waters (Cherokee Nation, Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma)
2024-08-01 13:00 - 16:00 (America/Kentucky/Monticello)
Step into the realm of film and storytelling with award-winning filmmaker Loren Waters (Cherokee Nation, Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma). Participants will embark on a captivating journey through Loren‘s emergent career and delve into her recent works, gaining invaluable insights into the dynamic world of filmmaking. In an immersive experience, Loren ignites creativity and collaboration through an engaging storytelling activity.
This community learning opportunity is open to participants aged 15-22, with preference given to Indigenous participants/aspiring filmmakers. Space is limited and advance registration is required.

Professional Development Workshop for Cherokee Artists
2024-07-13 10:00 - 16:00 (America/Kentucky/Monticello) | Museum of the Cherokee People, 589 Tsali Blvd, Cherokee, NC, 28719, United States
In this workshop, industry professionals will work with participants to give them the tools to showcase their work online and maintain an online presence. This opportunity is open to enrolled members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and presented by Museum of the Cherokee People in collaboration with Mountain Bizworks.
Schedule
10am-12:30pm: Optimizing Your Online Presence: Websites, Online Sales, & Communications (with LOAM Marketing)
This seminar will define the main pillars of a successful website, demystify SEO (search engine optimization), and explore best practices for setting up and maintaining a webshop. At the close of this segment, seminar participants will have a clearer understanding of their next steps towards a vibrant online presence, and the confidence to move forward with tips and tricks in their back pockets.
12:30pm-1:30pm: Lunch (Provided)
1:30pm-4pm: Simple Product Photography: Creating Effective Product & Promotional Images (with LOAM Marketing)
This workshop will focus on the components of successful promotional images and product photos. Whether participants have a DSLR camera or are using a smartphone, they will walk away with a strategy to optimize their photography set up in their own studios. Participants need to bring a smartphone to the workshop.
Click here to register.
Craft Your Commerce is an entrepreneurial program designed to connect, elevate and advance creative and craft-centered companies through a series of business training workshops and classes designed by makers for makers. CYC envisions a growing, engaged, and sustainable creative community that is a major economic driver to the WNC region.

Books on the Boundary: The Berry Pickers
2024-06-26 17:30 - 19:30 (America/Kentucky/Monticello) | Museum of the Cherokee People, 589 Tsali Blvd, Cherokee, NC, 28719, United States
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. This summer, the club has selected The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters (Mi’kmaq and settler ancestry). The 2023 novel is a national bestseller, 2023 Barnes & Noble Discover Prize Winner, and Winner of the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction.
“A stunning debut about love, race, brutality, and the balm of forgiveness.” —People, A Best New Book
About The Berry Pickers
July 1962. A Mi’kmaq family from Nova Scotia arrives in Maine to pick blueberries for the summer. Weeks later, four-year-old Ruthie, the family’s youngest child, vanishes. She is last seen by her six-year-old brother, Joe, sitting on a favorite rock at the edge of a berry field. Joe will remain distraught by his sister’s disappearance for years to come.
In Maine, a young girl named Norma grows up as the only child of an affluent family. Her father is emotionally distant, her mother frustratingly overprotective. Norma is often troubled by recurring dreams and visions that seem more like memories than imagination. As she grows older, Norma slowly comes to realize there is something her parents aren’t telling her. Unwilling to abandon her intuition, she will spend decades trying to uncover this family secret.
For readers of The Vanishing Half and Woman of Light, this showstopping debut by a vibrant new voice in fiction is a riveting novel about the search for truth, the shadow of trauma, and the persistence of love across time.
“A harrowing tale of Indigenous family separation . . . [Peters] excels in writing characters for whom we can’t help rooting . . . With The Berry Pickers, Peters takes on the monumental task of giving witness to people who suffered through racist attempts of erasure like her Mi’kmaw ancestors.” —The New York Times Book Review
About the Author
Amanda Peters is a writer of Mi’kmaq and settler ancestry. Her debut novel, The Berry Pickers was the winner of the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and the 2023 Barnes & Noble Discover Prize, and was shortlisted for the Atwood Gibson Fiction Award from the Writers Trust of Canada. Her work has also appeared in the Antigonish Review, Grain Magazine, the Alaska Quarterly Review, the Dalhousie Review and Filling Station Magazine. She is the winner of the 2021 Indigenous Voices Award for Unpublished Prose and a participant in the 2021 Writers’ Trust Rising Stars program. Amanda is a graduate of the Master of Fine Arts Program at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and has a Certificate in Creative Writing from the University of Toronto.
About Books on the Boundary
New in 2024, Books on the Boundary: A Museum of the Cherokee People Reading Circle is a quarterly book club that discusses the best fiction, nonfiction, and poetry written by Indigenous authors. Join us quarterly at the Museum of the Cherokee People Store, and join our online community for book discussion and selecting future books to read.

Puckertoe Moccasin Making Class, Part 2
2024-06-26 14:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York) | Museum of the Cherokee People – Education Wing
This workshop is full. Please email programs@motcp.org with the subject line ‘Moccasin Workshop Waitlist’ to be added to the waitlist.

On June 6 from 2-4pm and June 26 from 2-4pm, learn to make your own mocs in a two-part Puckertoe Moccasin Making Class led by Museum of the Cherokee People Director of Collections & Exhibitions Evan Mathis.

Participants can expect to be able to make one pair of plain leather moccasins. The first class will consist of a brief historical overview of puckertoe moccasins, followed by patternmaking and cutting leather and materials. In the second class, participants will construct their moccasins.

This workshop is open to enrolled members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Participants must purchase their own materials: leather (approximately $90-120), white latigo soles (approximately $20), sharp scissors, sinew, a small awl, lighter, and size 7 Glover needles.

Registration is limited to 10 people. To view the full workshop description and sign up, please visit https://bit.ly/3QNWusD. If you are unable to successfully register, the workshop is full.

LGBTQIA2S+ Archival Collections Gathering Event
2024-06-13 09:00 - 16:00 (America/Kentucky/Monticello) | Museum of the Cherokee People – Education Wing
Museum of the Cherokee People is pleased to partner with Unequolada for an LGBTQIA2S+ Archival Collections Gathering event on June 13 in the Museum’s Multipurpose Room.

Walk-ins are welcome from 9am-12pm and 1pm-4pm. Collections staff will be available to scan or photograph any archival items or objects relating to LGBTQIA2S+ experiences of members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, including but not limited to photographs, scrapbooks, audio/visual recordings, pamphlets and printed materials, posters, letters/written correspondence, visual art, sketchbooks, etc.

Staff will also be equipped to record oral histories for those interested in sharing their personal experiences, family histories, and recollections.

The Museum seeks to provide safe housing for these items and community access through the development of this collection.

Unequolada is a queer Anikituwah group. Our namesake is credited to a fluent-speaking queer Ankituwah elder. Their contribution is invaluable. Unequolada translates to rainbows. Building a safe and inclusive environment for our queer and Two-Spirit relatives is important for kin keeping, healing intergenerational trauma, and Two-Spirit and queer liberation. Our work aims to bring our community together and hold welcoming and safe spaces for our Two-Spirit and queer relatives.

Puckertoe Moccasin Making Class
2024-06-02 14:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York) | Museum of the Cherokee People – Education Wing

ᏗᏓᏂᏏᏍᎩ ᎦᏓᏆᏟ Didanisisgi Gadagwatli: A Showcase of Pottery from the Mud Dauber Community Workshop at the Museum of the Cherokee People
2024-05-24 17:30 - 19:30 (America/Kentucky/Monticello) | Museum of the Cherokee People, 589 Tsali Blvd, Cherokee, NC, 28719, United States
An exhibition of work by students in the Museum of the Cherokee People’s annual community learning pottery workshop, led by renowned ceramic artist Tara McCoy (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), Didanisisgi Gadagwatli showcases the dedication of a new era of Cherokee artists.
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.
Exhibited Artists: Mona Taylor (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), Faith Long-Presley (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), Steven Long (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), Chelsea Hemphill (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), Hope Long (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), Jake Stephens (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), Lori Sanders (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), Monique Taylor (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), Juanita Paz-Chalacha (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), Kaliya Wachacha (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), Adelia Crowe (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians)
About the Instructor: Tara McCoy (Eastern Band Cherokee), graduated from Cherokee High School and furthered her education at Guilford College in Greensboro, NC. She graduated with a B.S. degree in Sports Medicine. After graduating, she returned to the Qualla Boundary in Cherokee, North Carolina and worked in various programs including Cherokee High School/Coaching, UNITY Treatment Center, Dora Reed Daycare and Women’s Health before settling down into a role at Cherokee Choices, a Diabetes Prevention Program, for 14 years. She currently serves as the Right Path Leadership Specialist at the Ray Kinsland Leadership Institute where her role is to help develop selfless leaders deeply rooted in Cherokee culture identity and leadership through teaching Cherokee values, culture, history, and language.
She is a 2011 Right Path Program Alumni, a 2011 Remember the Removal Bike Ride Legacy Rider, founder and supporter of the Cherokee Cancer Support Group, artist member of the Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual, Inc. and promotes Cherokee art by organizing and teaching art shows and classes in her community. A member of the Wolf Clan, she has a lifetime’s experience in multi-medium Cherokee arts and is dedicated to teaching others both traditional and contemporary forms.
She began formally studying pottery, finger weaving, and beadwork in high school and has expanded her skills in the area of shell carving in the last four years after studying with renowned shell carver Dan Townsend. She has studied with Tammy Beane of Alabama and admired other Cherokee potters for their work, such as Joel Queen and the late Amanda Swimmer. McCoy is inspired by her culture, Cherokee legends, and nature as she crafts her designs. Her art has won multiple awards and ribbons in North Carolina and Oklahoma as well as being exhibited in museums across the country. McCoy believes everyone is an artist. She lives in the Birdtown community of Cherokee.

Member Appreciation Night
2024-05-23 17:30 - 19:30 (America/Kentucky/Monticello) | Museum of the Cherokee People, 589 Tsali Blvd, Cherokee, NC, 28719, United States
Join us for an evening celebrating you: our members! Enjoy behind-the-scenes tours, refreshments, and conversation at this exclusive after-hours event.
Past members are invited to renew their memberships, ensuring they continue to be a part of our vibrant community, and current members can learn more about how to upgrade their memberships, tailoring their support to match their evolving interests and engagement. Not a member of the Museum of the Cherokee People? Join today.
RSVP to Development Specialist Jeremy Hyatt (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians) at Jeremy.hyatt@motcp.org, by May 16.

Community Listening Session
2024-05-16 | Museum of the Cherokee People, 589 Tsali Blvd, Cherokee, NC, 28719, United States
The Museum of the Cherokee People actively seeks input from the community for the update of its main exhibition. In the early phases of reimagining the exhibit, last renovated in 1998, Museum leadership will hold a listening session at the Museum, encouraging members of Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to share their visions for a community-centered, community-voiced exhibit.
The main exhibit update is part of the Museum’s ambitious plans to prioritize self-representation in its exhibits and offerings, create an accessible space for all Cherokee people, and increase the safety of the objects in its care using museum best practices and Cherokee cultural protocols.
Attendees will be able to view and share feedback on conceptual drawings for the Museum’s future offsite collections housing and public facility. Complimentary dinner will be served.

Missing & Murdered Indigenous Relatives Archiving Event
2024-05-02 09:00 - 17:00 (America/Kentucky/Monticello) | Museum of the Cherokee People – Education Wing
Museum of the Cherokee People seeks to provide a safe place to house copies of community materials for its Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Collection. Community members are invited to bring items to be archived, including but not limited to photos, archival materials, newspaper clippings, video recordings, voice recordings, and any other materials (both physical and digital) that show images or provide information about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Museum of the Cherokee People Collections staff will be available to make digital scans on the spot and return the original material to its keeper. Requests to place access restrictions on relatives’ photos will be honored. Lunch will be provided during these sessions.
Qualla Boundary MMIW is a group of community members from the Qualla Boundary focused on honoring our Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives, protecting our relatives, using traditional practices, and educating ourselves and the community. Qualla Boundary MMIW is supported by the Center for Native Health.

Museum Store Spring Cleaning Sale
2024-03-19 09:00 - 2024-03-31 17:00 (America/Kentucky/Monticello) | Museum of the Cherokee People, 589 Tsali Blvd, Cherokee, NC, 28719, United States
Sale applies to select merchandise only. All sale items are final sale and are not eligible for returns or exchanges. Items included in the sale are not eligible for additional discounts.

The Museum Store is open daily from 9am-5pm.

Gadugi Pottery Workshop with Tara McCoy (EBCI)
2024-03-16 09:00 - 16:00 (America/Kentucky/Monticello)
The Gadugi Pottery Workshop, led by Tara McCoy (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians) is a community learning opportunity designed to increase and improve traditional pottery-making in the tribal community. Registration is now open for the 2024 workshop to enrolled members of federally recognized tribes. Participants must commit to attending each day of the workshop:
January 11, 12, 13, 2024, 9am-4pm
February 16 & 17, 2024, 9am-4pm
March 15 & 16, 2024, 9am-4pm
Space is limited and this opportunity is offered at no charge. Interested participants should email their name and contact information to programs@motcp.org.

sov·er·eign·ty: Expressions in Sovereignty of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Opens at MotCP
2024-03-15 09:00 - 17:00 (America/Kentucky/Monticello)
sov·er·eign·ty: Expressions in Sovereignty of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, an exhibition that illuminates the complexities of tribal sovereignty and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ continuing legacy of resilience, opens March 15, 2024 in the Museum of the Cherokee People’s changing exhibition space. Entry is included in general admission.
