It’s remarkable that a full generation of Americans and perhaps American history enthusiasts from around the world received their limited exposure to the Cherokee Nation from songs like Paul Revere and the Raiders “Indian Reservation,” the band’s first #1 hit in 1971 or Cher’s “Half-Breed,” also a #1 hit, in 1973.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsMQbedCZj0 (Lyrics)

While those songs and other’s like Tim McGraw’s 1994 hit “Indian Outlaw” are not necessarily offensive to the Cherokee people and contain some elements of historical and cultural accuracy, they do little to further the understanding of this unique segment of the American Indian population.

“What we find is that those songs are the basis of a conversation that we can build upon to really tell the Cherokee story,” says Kelli Bruer, a member of the Cherokee tribe from Catoosa Oklahoma.

For example, Tim McGraw’s song references teepees and hunting buffalo, neither of which are a part of the Cherokee heritage. And while Cher is indeed half Cherokee, she is considered a member of the Cherokee tribe, although the lyrics to her song say otherwise.

These little pop culture references are indeed a place to start when exploring the complex history of the Cherokee people.

And the place to begin a physical exploration is in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Located about 70 miles northeast of Tulsa, Tahlequah is the capitol of the Cherokee Nation. Yes, there is a real, physical Cherokee Nation, 14 counties in northeast Oklahoma recognized by the United States government as a sovereign nation. Members of the Cherokee Nation have dual citizenship. There are about 300,000 Cherokee in the United States and about 200,000 living in Oklahoma.

Tahlequah is home to the Cherokee Heritage Center, a 40-acre complex on the site of what was the first school of higher education for women west of the Mississippi (yes, built by the Cherokee, not white people).

A visit here, which could keep even the most cynical traveler engaged for hours, is a quick immersion into an oft untold chapter of American history. The Cherokee people are known as “the people of fire” based tales from their ancestors that they were living on islands off the coast of South America when those islands were consumed by fire, apparently volcanic eruptions.

There were 14 clans of the Cherokee that set out by boat to cross the Gulf of Mexico and eventually settle in what became Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and northern Alabama. Only seven clans survived and seven remain a significant designation in the Cherokee culture today. You’ll see 7-pointed stars and other symbols incorporating seven in much of their culture.

None of the stereotypical images of American Indians apply to the Cherokee. The Cherokee never lived in teepees, never hunted buffalo, never used smoke signals. Many Cherokee do not have physical features expected of American Indians. Many are blonde, blue-eyed, fair-skinned in large part because of early contact with Scottish and German miners in the southeast.

They had an alphabet, known as a syllabary, as early as 1809, and soon after that, had a printed newspaper. They had formal schools, had incorporated Christianity, and adopted European clothing styles.

One is tempted to use the word “civilized” to describe the Cherokee people of that period, but that one word sparks as much debate and potential for insult as other words that today are more easily recognized as politically incorrect. Civilized is a subjective term, and the argument is that white people who imposed “civilization” upon the Cherokee and other American Indian tribes did not behave in a civilized manner in so doing.

You learn these things while first visiting the outdoor Ancient Village which depicts Cherokee life prior to contact with Europeans. Then you move inside to where a significant component of the museum documents the forced removal of the Cherokee and other native inhabitants of the southeast United States by the US government.

The Trail of Tears is a mind numbing, heart rending exhibit that tells of that forced march of 16,000 Cherokee in the winter of 1838-39. Again, even the most cynical traveler will be moved as the winter winds howl through the exhibit, but not loud enough to mask to screams as grieving mothers are forced to leave their dying children along the trail and other atrocities endured by the Cherokee people on the 800 mile journey.

Then, you understand why the Cherokee are not comfortable with the use of the word “civilized” to describe their culture.

Throughout northeast Oklahoma, a number of sites to visit continue explaining the various factions of the Cherokee people, about the devastation of the Cherokee Civil War and the American Civil War, about the Golden Age of the Cherokee and more. Schools, cemeteries, courthouses, newspaper offices and Oklahoma’s only antebellum home all contribute to understanding this rich culture.

And then there are places like the Will Rogers Museum in Claremore. Yes, the witty, down-home entertainer of the 1920-30s was 1/4 Cherokee and his insightful wisdom remains equally entertaining today.

Tours are offered by www.cherokeetourismok.com and are customized for individuals, families and groups at a cost of $35 per person. Cherokee Tourism is a component of Cherokee Entertainment, which operates a number of casinos, restaurants and the hugely popular Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Catoosa. The company also sponsors the Cherokee Art Market and Cherokee Film Festival the first weekend in October, one of the better times to come explore the Cherokee Nation.

by Diana Lambdin Meyer

Lyrics 

They took the whole Cherokee Nation
And put us on this reservation
Took away our ways of life
The tomahawk and the bow and knife

They took away our native tongue
And taught their English to our young
And all the beads we made by hand
Are nowadays made in Japan

Cherokee people, Cherokee tribe
So proud to live, so proud to die

They took the whole Indian Nation
And locked us on this reservation
And though I wear a shirt and tie
I’m still a red man deep inside

Cherokee people, Cherokee tribe
So proud to live, so proud to die

But maybe someday when they learn
Cherokee Nation will return
Will return
Will return
Will return
Will return