Cherokee Heritage Trails

Cherokee Heritage Trails. Tsalagi Usdi Nvnohi. Cherokee Heritage Trails (Tsalagi Usdi Nvnohi) wind through the mountains of North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia, in the heart of Cherokee homelands that once encompassed more than 140,000 square miles. Here, where Cherokee people have lived for thousands of years, visitors can explore places of myth and legend sites of villages, memorials, museums, and other places of significance in the Cherokee story., The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has more than 13,000 members. Many live on or near the Qualls Boundary, tribal lands that include the town of Cherokee, North Carolina. Annual festivals and events at some trail sites offer opportunities to meet Cherokee storytellers, basket weavers, stone carvers, wood carvers, gospel singers musicians and other artists from the Eastern Band. Enjoy sampling traditional foods, watching Cherokee stickball games, and hearing the Cherokee language., Museum of the Cherokee Indian, the main interpretive center for the Cherokee Heritage Trails, is a good place to begin. It tells the story of the Cherokee people through an award winning interactive exhibit that gives an overview of Cherokee heritage and experience. Owned and operated by tribal members, this museum is located in Cherokee, North Carolina, the main population center for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians., Other interpretive centers serve as starting points for many sites and one day scenic drives., In North Carolina , . Junaluska Memorial and Museum in Robinsonville presents the Snowbird Cherokee community and the story of Junaluska. , . Scottish Tartans Museum in Franklin orients visitors to Cherokee Middle Towns locations along the Little Tennessee River and describes the relationships of the Scots and Cherokees. , . Cherokee County Historical Museum in Murphy interprets the Trail of Tears and the “leech place” of Cherokee lore., In Tennessee , . Sequoyah Birthplace Museum in Vonore focuses on Sequoyah and the Overhill Cherokee towns. , . Red Clay State Historic Area commemorates 19th century Cherokee life and the removal of Cherokees from eastern Tennessee., In Georgia , . New Echota State Historic Site near Calhoun interprets 19th century Cherokee renaissance and removal., The Cherokee Heritage Trails Guidebook provides maps, photographs, stories and perspectives of Cherokee people to help visitors explore sites that cluster near these centers. Find updates on trial sites, a calendar of events, a Cherokee Artist Directory and more on the website www.cherokeeheritagetrials.org.