The Cherokee Heritage Center is a four-acre wooded region located in Park Hill, near the city of Tahlequah in the state of Oklahoma, which has also been regarded as 'The Seat of the Cherokee Nation.'
This non-profit museum and educational center was established by a group of Cherokee Indian visionaries to help in the preservation, promotion and education of the rich culture and historical heritage of the Cherokee Indian tribe, one of the dominant Native American tribes still in existence in the United States today. The Cherokee Heritage Center includes an Ancient Village, which was established in 1967. The Ancient Village is home to a number of different Cherokee Indian families who continue to live the same way that their ancestors have been living for centuries. Visitors to the Cherokee Heritage Center are able to get up close and personal in learning about the daily life and activities of the Cherokee Indian tribe as they are treated to take a glimpse into Cherokee craft making such as basket weaving and flint knapping.
The museum situated within the Cherokee Heritage Center house numerous exhibits, including a genealogy center where visitors are able to trace the ancestry of the different families that continue to live within the heritage center. One of the popular exhibits housed in the museum is the Trail of Tears Exhibit. The exhibit includes six different galleries which include artifacts and documents tracing the forced resettlement endured by the ancestors of the Cherokee Indians living and working within the Cherokee Heritage Center.
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