National Museum of the American Indian To Hold Cherokee Days March 31 Through April 2
Credit: Image courtesy of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian will hold Cherokee Days Friday, March 31, through Sunday, April 2, from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. This free event showcases the shared history and cultural lifeways of the three federally recognized Cherokee tribes—Cherokee Nation, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians. A full schedule of events will be available on the museum’s website.
In the museum’s Potomac Atrium, artisans will demonstrate basket weaving, loom weaving, bead work, twining, stone carving, woodcarving, flint knapping, painting and pottery, as well as how to make the balls used in stickball and moccasins. There will also be storytelling, traditional flute music, singing and performances by the Cherokee National Youth Choir (Cherokee Nation) and the Atsila Anotasgi Dancers (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians).
Visitors can also watch filmmaker favorites and selections from the Cherokee Almanac Series from OsiyoTV each day in the museum’s Rasmuson Theater. The screenings will be followed by question-and-answer sessions with some of the producers and directors who created the programs. Also in the theater will be a presentation on “Who Are the Keetoowahs?,” which will share with visitors the history of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians.
In the museum’s imagiNATIONS Activity Center, children can make corn husk dolls, clay turtle medallions, miniature gourd masks or try paper mat weaving (Sunday only). The activities are free, but tickets are required and are available on a first-come, first-served basis in the imagiNATIONS Activity Center on the museum’s third floor. The public can check the online schedule or the signage in the museum for exact times for each activity.
Visitors will be able to meet Principal Chief Joe Bunch (United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians) Friday, March 31, at 11 a.m. and Saturday, April 1, at 10 a.m. on the museum’s fourth floor. Cherokee Nation’s Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. also will meet with visitors Friday, March 31, at 1 p.m., on the museum’s fourth floor. Cherokee Nation will hold tribal ID renewal during Hoskin’s meet and greet.
A banner exhibition will also be on display during the event in the museum’s Potomac Atrium. “Three Nations: One People” will educate visitors about the three Cherokee tribes and their shared culture.
About the National Museum of the American Indian
In partnership with Native peoples and their allies, the National Museum of the American Indian fosters a richer shared human experience through a more informed understanding of Native peoples. The museum in Washington, D.C., is located on the National Mall at Fourth Street and Independence Avenue S.W. Connect with the museum on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and AmericanIndian.si.edu.
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SI-94-2023
