Changing Exhibitions
sov·er·eign·ty
• March 15, 2024 - December 29, 2025 •
sov·er·eign·ty: Expressions in Sovereignty of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians illuminates the complexities of tribal sovereignty and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ continuing legacy of resilience.
Featuring objects sourced from the Museum of the Cherokee People’s own collections, sov·er·eign·ty is designed to educate visitors about the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ autonomy, its relationship with the federal government, and how the tribe has defined its own relationship with its land, people, and culture.
The Museum of the Cherokee People is the tribal museum of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), one of three federally recognized Cherokee tribes alongside Cherokee Nation and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians. The EBCI is a self-governed, autonomous nation with over 16,000 enrolled members living around the world—it has its own laws, elections, and government—and is the only federally recognized Tribal Nation within the boundaries of what is currently known as North Carolina. In this exhibition, visitors will learn how, through adaptability and innovation, the EBCI has combated attempts to eradicate, remove, and assimilate its people and remained on the Qualla Boundary—57,000 acres (0.00067661% of the original Cherokee territory) which is owned by the EBCI and held in trust by the federal government.
Previous MotCP Exhibitions
Disruption: An Artist Intervention of the Museum's Main Exhibition
September 11, 2022 to December 29, 2023
A Living Language: Cherokee Syllabary in Contemporary Art
June 12, 2021 to October 31, 2021
November 19, 2021 to March 14, 2022
