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North Carolina:
Cherokee, Oconaluftee Indian Village Time Travel Experience. Turning
wood into a canoe doesn’t seem like such a big deal. All it takes is a few power
tools and a little know how, or even better, a trip to the local sporting goods
store. No problem. One trip to the Oconaluftee Indian Village in Cherokee, NC –
where the Cherokees recreate the painstaking six-month task of hulling a canoe –
will change the way you look at these floating vessels forever.
The same can be
said for baking bread, taking medicine, making a bed and turning up the
thermostat. In this Cherokee village, an authentic replica dated to the
mid-1700s, many simple tasks take on new significance for the people who visit.
Cherokee has created a time travel experience that gives guests a fun and
interesting way to think about life at home. And to realize the impact
technology has had – for better or worse.
“Wandering through the village, you can’t help but relate these activities to
our own daily tasks,” said James Bradley, executive director of Cherokee
Historical Association. “We are all so focused on multi-tasking and
technological advances help us do that. Coming here you can, slow down to
recognize the beauty of doing one thing at a time and doing it well. Our culture
celebrates that idea.”
Residents of this replica village are involved in numerous activities – many
still practiced today – that visitors see while on tour. Canoe hulling is one
example. This lengthy process catches many by surprise – it looks like nothing
more than a huge downed tree with a smoldering fire in the center. This process,
as the crafter explains, is a traditional burning method that creates an opening
in the center of the log. The tree is packed with clay, which causes the fire to
burn towards the center, and the burned sections are chipped away using stone
tools. After six to eight months, the resulting canoe will be 20-30 feet long
and hold twelve passengers.
Nearby,
a Cherokee wife is home preparing a fire and waiting patiently until it is just
right for making bread – corn pones or bean bread were common – from cornmeal
that is ground by hand. There is no bread machine here. The family meals are
served in pottery dishes that are also carefully made, often by the same hands
that grew and cooked the food in them. The pottery making techniques on display
during this tour were handed down through generations and are still used by
Cherokee artists today.
In a
nearby home, an earthenware pot may be found boiling with a special tea made
from one of many medicinal herbs used by Cherokee healers. Blackberry leaves and
roots were prepared to treat many ailments, from relieving swollen joints to
soothing a sore throat. Bark of the Black Gum tree was steamed to help with
chest pain. The village includes a sweat lodge where Cherokee healers would help
the sick, boiling herbs to make a steam that could be inhaled or crushing leaves
over hot rocks to make a paste. This insulated lodge allowed the vapors and
steam to be enclosed for better concentration.
Many guests arrive to Oconaluftee Indian Village expecting the teepees and
wigwams like in the movies. These dwellings were common for other tribes that
moved around, but the Cherokee Indians settled in this region and therefore
built more permanent housing. At the center of village is the seven-sided
council house, where the sacred fire burns to symbolize the strength and unity
of the Cherokee people. Inside, the house has benches along its sides to seat
members of the seven clans of the tribe for trials and discussions of tribal
matters.
Guests
on tour will find a variety of structures, some late 1700s cabins made of
hewn-logs, as well as earlier hut-like homes with brush and clay roofs. Here,
making a cozy bed requires more than fluffing a few sheets. Cherokee men and
women actually “made” the beds using oak frames and boughs of hemlock or broom
sage. Warm covers of buffalo and beaver skin were laid on top. During Western
North Carolina winters, there was no way to efficiently heat these structures on
frosty nights. Cherokee families built cave-like rooms underground called
hothouses. Like a carefully set thermostat, the earth regulated the heat while
families slept around a slowly burning fire.
Throughout the village, Cherokee guides share stories about the great history
and tradition of the tribe. Tales such as the meaning of the Booger Dance and
the famed Eagle dances, are explained with great enthusiasm and intrigue. The
storyteller’s visual pictures captivate guests who enjoy a forgotten pastime –
quietly listening and imagining. The addition of native dress, seeing activities
such as mask making and arrowhead knapping, and witnessing authentic scenery all
combine to creates a most unique storytelling experience. No remote control
required.
“Our village is the one place guests immerse themselves in our past and gain an
understanding of how it shaped our rich traditions,” said Bradley. “We
constantly research our heritage, making changes and additions – like the new
native dress added this year – to make the attraction truly authentic. It is a
fun experience for everyone.”
Oconaluftee Indian Village is open 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., seven days a week from
May through October. Children younger than six admitted free.
In the Area.
Museum of the Cherokee Indian. Award-winning, interactive space celebrates 11,000 years of
Cherokee history and culture under one roof. With help of writers and designers
from Disney Imagineering, interactive features, stunning video and special
effects audio make the tour as much about entertainment as education. Here,
members of the museum staff draw on their ability to be storytellers in addition
to being archivists, historians and teachers.
“We have put a lot of
emphasis on making the history of our people an exciting adventure for guests,”
said Ken Blankenship, executive director of the museum. “We understand that
while many people know we are here in North Carolina, they have no idea what
significance the Cherokees have in world history until they step inside our
doors. You can see their eyes light up with that realization.”
The self-guided tour
starts in the intriguing story lodge where animated Cherokee myths surround
guests and immerse them in a significant part of the tribe’s culture. Learn the
story of the legendary Sequoyah, creator of Cherokee written language. An
especially poignant stop at the museum is at the Trail of Tears exhibit, where
the reality of that event is presented in moving detail. Along with permanent
exhibits, the museum offers new exhibitions and special events to honor Cherokee
history each year.
The
Museum of the Cherokee Indian is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., except
Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Days. Other Cherokee, NC attractions include: Oconaluftee Indian
Village, a 1750 replica of a Cherokee village; tribal art galleries such as
Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual; and the region’s renowned outdoor drama “Unto
These Hills.” For information call toll-free 1-866-554-4557, 1(828) 497-3481 or
www.cherokee-nc.com
Content and
/images/ezine provided by Cherokee Tourism. Copyright 2009
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