Craft demonstration, courtesy Cherokee Heritage Center
Cherokee Heritage Center
Park Hill, Oklahoma
Set in the heart of the Cherokee Nation, the Cherokee Heritage Center sits on the original site of the first-ever Cherokee National Female Seminary and has preserved the culture and stories of the Cherokee people since 1967. It’s there that groups can tour the Indian Territory’s oldest penitentiary at the newly opened Cherokee National Prison Museum, learn how justice was decided in the Cherokee Nation at the Cherokee National Supreme Court Museum or just tour around the center’s interactive exhibits and cultural workshops.
“The Cherokee Heritage Center is a treasure trove of Cherokee history and culture and offers visitors so many different ways to learn about this amazing tribe,” said Cheryl Trask, a Cherokee citizen and operations manager for the Cherokee Nation Entertainment and Cherokee Nation Cultural Tourism.
Along with exploring the Ancient Village, Adams Corner Rural Village, Nofire Farms and the Cherokee National Archives at the center, Trask also recommends groups check out one of her favorite parts of the center, the Cherokee National Prison Museum, to see the reproduction gallows and original cell block and get an idea of what it was like to be incarcerated at the start of the 20th century.
