Cherokee Blog

Both a physical as well as spiritual journey, the annual Remember the Removal Bike Ride (RTR) follows the 950+ miles on the northern route of the Trail of Tears over a span of three weeks. This year, 11 Cherokee Nation (CN) citizens in Oklahoma and eight enrolled members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) will depart from New Echota, Georgia, on June 3, and ride together to Tahlequah, Oklahoma, arriving on June 21.

Planning your trip to Cherokee, NC, this summer? Whether it’s your first time or your annual family tradition, there’s a ton to see and do—you won’t want to miss a thing! With so much happening, including over a hundred free events throughout the year, we’ve put together a list of our top five favorite Cherokee summer experiences that your whole family will enjoy.

In her role as Genealogist and Archivist at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, Robin Swayney gets to help others who want to better understand their family histories. She uses different Cherokee Indian historic rolls (1817 to the present) to help people determine if their ancestors were documented as Cherokee Indian. For $20, those curious about their Cherokee lineage can fill out their family names on a lineage chart and make an appointment with Robin to purchase roll searches of those family names.

The Kananesgi Pottery Festival is set for Saturday, April 28, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Cherokee Fair Grounds. Attendees can look forward to storytelling, vendors selling pottery, and presentations on Cherokee Pottery. The Pottery Festival’s purpose is to be an educational resource for people interested in Cherokee pottery, a sales opportunity for the potters (and a chance for buyers to meet the potters behind the work), and a chance for potters to talk to each other.

Goodbye snowy days of winter, hello warm spring afternoons! Although the beginning of this season always starts out with chilly weather, we have passed the official starting line of spring. Yay for longer days and time spent in the beautiful outdoors! As the flowers return to Cherokee lands and the blossoms appear on the trees, we are extra excited to welcome guests looking for springtime adventure in Cherokee, NC. Here are five must-see experiences this spring!