Cherokee tours
Claremore Memorial, Oologah ranch on Cherokee tour list
Will Rogers Memorial Museum in Claremore and the Will Rogers Birthplace Ranch near Oologah are on the list of four Oklahoma tours launched by Cherokee Nations Cultural Tourism Department.
Available for on-line booking on line, the tours can be purchased at www.CherokeeTourismOK.com.
Tours are the Cherokee History Tour, Cherokee Old Settler Tour, Civic War History Tour and Will Rogers History Tour. Scheduled for March through August, each tour is $35, including appropriate fees, transportation and lunch.
The Will Rogers Memorial and Birthplace tour is 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and departs from the Cherokee Casino at Catoosa.
This journey honors the life of Will Rogers from his Cherokee roots to Hollywood and his influence on politics.
At the birthplace, visitors will see the historically restored house and log-walled room where Will was born and have a traditional Cherokee lunch overlooking Oologah Lake.
An interpretive actor and storyteller will be on hand to entertain visitors with tales of the Cherokee Nation and Will Rogers.
The Cherokee History Tour begins at the Cherokee Heritage Center and Museum near Tahlequah, which houses the Trail of Tears exhibit and an interpretive Ancient Village showing everyday Cherokee life pre-contact with Europeans. Adams Corner Rural Village illustrates the look and feel of the small communities that sprang up post-removal.
Guests will visit the Murrell Home, the only antebellum plantation home left in Oklahoma with an interpretative guide in period dress to share the homes history.
Visitors will also experience a living example of the town once considered the Athens of the West while touring historic Tahlequah properties including the National Capitol Building, Supreme Court Building and Prison, all listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Tahlequah is the capital of the Cherokee Nation.
To finish, visitors will tour Northeastern State University’s Seminary Hall, which was once the Cherokee Female Seminary and is a standing icon on the campus today. The Cherokee Female Seminary was the first institution of higher learning for women west of the Mississippi River.
The Cherokee History Tour departs from the Cherokee Tribal Complex and Catoosa Cherokee Casino.
Cherokee Old Settler Tour, departing from the Cherokee Tribal Complex in Tahlequah, begins with guests revisiting a time before the Cherokee Removal, or the Trail of Tears, when a group of Cherokees relocated to Arkansas beginning in 1808 and then to Indian Territory in 1828. This group was called the Western Cherokees, or Old Settlers. Guests will get a chance to view their historic sites.
Visitors will also tour Sequoyah’s Cabin State Park, Dwight Mission and the Fort Gibson Historic Site; all three locations are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Sequoyah’s Cabin State Park preserves on its original site the log cabin constructed by Sequoyah in 1829. He lived in the house until his death.
Dwight Mission was the site of an early printing press as well as a stopover point for many missionaries to the Cherokee.
It was also a school and provided adequate education opportunities for Cherokee children. Today it serves as a center where camps, conferences, training institutes and retreats may be held.
Fort Gibson Historic Site was established in 1824 to protect the western border of the United States and also maintain peace between the warring Cherokee and Osage.
The Civil War History Tour begins in the historic Capitol Square in Tahlequah, where guests learn of Confederate Brigadier General Stand Watie’s march through town, burning the Cherokee buildings as he went.
Visitors will also get to see and experience additional historic Civil War sites of what was once Indian Territory, visiting the Murrell Home, Fort Gibson and Honey Springs Battle Site, where the Union beat the Confederacy in the turning point of the Civil War in Indian Territory. Interpretive actors are on hand to recount the stories.
The Civil War History tour departs from the Tribal Complex
The online booking feature is a major step forward in the Cherokee Nation cultural tourism program which will serve as a launch point for Native American and history enthusiasts to experience firsthand Cherokee past and living culture, said David Stewart, CEO of Cherokee Nation Enterprises, which manages the Cherokee Nations Cultural Tourism Department.