Recently, the Museum of the Cherokee People on the Qualla Boundary has entered a new, exciting phase of its existence — one seeking an ideal balance between preservation of the past and perpetuation of the continual evolution of the sacred culture.
“We’re fortunate to be in a community that does have tourists,” said Shana Bushyhead Condill, executive director at the museum and a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. “But, [we want] to swing the pendulum back towards our community, so that our people here would think of this [museum] as theirs.”
One of the oldest tribal museums in the country, the Museum of the Cherokee People was opened in 1948. Originally, the organization, its artifacts,and exhibits were showcased in an old log cabin building. By 1976, the museum launched its current site on Tsali Boulevard in the heart of the Cherokee community.
“So, we’ve been here for [a while],” Condill said. “But, the museum has always been innovative. Folks running it were always looking to be at the forefront of what’s going on in museums, and were really forward thinking in how they were presenting the collections.”
The last renovation of the museum came in 1998, which included state-of-the-art facilities for displaying the exhibits. It was the same time Condill came into the fold at the museum as an intern.
“We get to tell our own story, and we get to make our own money,” Condill said of the museum’s mindset in recalibrating its image, something also at the heart of the tribe’s conversations on its cultural identity. “And we need to think about how we do that.”
Since that time, there have been world-class exhibitions showcased at the museum. The offerings are grouped into three key areas of education and exploration: Atsila Anotasgi Cultural Specialists (storytellers, dancers, Cherokee language speakers, artists), School Opportunities (school and youth groups), and Community Learning Opportunities (workshops, lectures, classes, events).
But, for Condill, she’s looking further ahead with one question in mind — how do you tell the Cherokee story to a modern-day audience?
“A lot of our staff are younger than me. And they felt the films were ‘dated’ and ‘didn’t love that our creation story is portrayed as kind of cartoony,’’’ Condill said. “The bar [for integrity and portrayal] has been risen [from when I was a kid] — and I just love that.”
Condill also points to a lot of inaccuracies and stereotypes that continue to be attached to the Cherokee tribe. Whereas initially those inaccurate portrayals were used to increase local tourism and the amount of money spent on the Qualla Boundary, times have changed and there’s been a big push to tell a more authentic and accurate story.
“You look around [at tourist shops] and see tomahawks and pink headdresses, stuff that doesn’t represent who we are authentically as Cherokee people,” Condill said. “We’re proud of our history, where the exhibit we have up right now [allows] us to flex our sovereignty.”
With strengthening the museum’s cultural mission through a fresher, clearer lens by which the tribe and visitors alike can focus in on the proud history and current state of the Cherokee people, so, too, came a powerful name change in the fall of 2023 — from the former Museum of the Cherokee Indian to the Museum of the Cherokee People.
“We need to really be intentional about what we say, how we say it, and who we say it to,” Condill said. “We’re not only building on the work of seven generations [behind] us, we’re also laying a foundation that allows those seven generations ahead [of us] to build on that and keep going.”
This article was first published in the 2024 issue of the Blue Ridge Craft Trails Magazine. Read more articles from the magazine here.
