While the history of the Museum of the Cherokee Indian stretches back nearly 60 years, the story told in that North Carolina facility is lost in centuries of world history. Located near the community of Franklin, the museum tells of people living, sometimes just surviving, during the Paleo and other periods of world history.
Exhibits include detailed displays and descriptions of life through ensuing periods, as the people began to support themselves through agriculture and trade, rather than hunting and gathering. The Woodland and Mississippian periods are extensively represented. But as the old saying goes, to know a person it is necessary to walk a mile in his shoes, or come as close as possible to seeing the world through the other persons eyes.
This is a large part of the mission of the Museum of the Cherokee Indian. Permanent exhibits display artefacts and information gathered over 10,000 years, while well-informed hosts and group programs expand the experience and stimulate the imagination. As the museum mission statement notes, it is the vision of the museum's founders and employees "To perpetuate the history, culture and stories of the Cherokee people."
Archives contain old and rare books, photographs dating back to the 1800s, manuscripts and other materials covering 200 years of history. This section of the museum has grown into a research center of great importance to the understanding of the Cherokee. Research appointments must be made ahead of time, in order to access the extensive materials.
The Museum of the Cherokee Indian moved to the current building in 1976. The extensively renovated facility (1998) is open from June through September.
