Cherokee society was well-established and organized around a strong sense of community with an oral tradition that maintained its history through myths and carefully protected rituals. The people who sustained the oral history were revered myth-keepers like John Ax, Swimmer, and Catawba Killer. After learning how the buzzard made the mountains, visitors enter a time walk into Paleo and Archaic Periods, through Woodland, Mississippian Periods, first contact with whites right into the Twentieth Century. The new exhibit area's technology makes Cherokee history a personal experience. Interactive opportunities abound, and the Museum's strong artifact collection is showcased in settings that conjure up how each item was used.
Visitors remember that some living person once made that effigy pot or used the arrowhead.
While preserving the ancient beliefs, the Museum also finds other ways to increase understanding about the Cherokee culture. The Museum maintains an archives and publishes The Journal of Cherokee Studies , the oldest academic journal devoted entirely to one Native American group. The Museum has an on-going schedule of artisans who demonstrate both ancient and modern art forms, and there is a Museum Outreach Program for civic and school groups. These projects are for extending students knowledge of the Cherokee beyond general historical information. Create a timeline of the Cherokee Nation and their significant historical events.