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Cherokee
Nation Celebrates 63rd Cherokee National Holiday Sept. 4-6
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Tribal Film
Fest, native plant tours, new events featured during 2015 celebration.
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Tahlequah,
OK – August 2015 / Newsmaker Alert / More than 100,000 visitors are
expected for the 63rd
Cherokee National Holiday, which runs Sept. 4-6 in Tahlequah. The tribe’s
largest annual celebration commemorates the signing of the Cherokee Nation
Constitution in 1839.
This
year’s “reunion” theme incorporates family gatherings and large-scale activities
and extends this year to the bison herd that has returned to Cherokee Nation
soil for the first time in 40 years.
New
attractions this year include a performance of “Peter and the Wolf” in
Cherokee, tours on Cherokee ethnobotany, a reunion for descendants of former
Principal Chief John Ross, a tribal film festival and free trolley transportation
around Tahlequah. Annual favorites also return to the Cherokee National
Holiday, such as the only parade emceed in Cherokee, the State of the Nation
address by Principal Chief Bill John Baker and one of the largest intertribal
powwows in the country. All events are free.
“The
Cherokee National Holiday is something we look forward to each and every
year. It marks the largest homecoming of Cherokee citizens and is a three-day
celebration of Cherokee history and heritage,” said Cherokee Nation Principal
Chief Bill John Baker. “From the annual powwow to the downtown parade,
cultural demonstrations to the traditional games, great food and wonderful
music, there is something for everyone to experience. We encourage everyone
to come enjoy the hospitality of the Cherokee Nation.”
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Dance
students from Encore Performing Arts in Tahlequah will perform “Peter and
the Wolf” to a recording in Cherokee by the Cherokee National Youth Choir
at 2 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 5, at the Tahlequah Armory Municipal Center.
Officials
with the Cherokee Nation Seed Bank and Native Plant site will give tours
on traditional Cherokee plants and feature author Clint Carroll, assistant
professor of American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota. Carroll
will show a short film on Cherokee ethnobotany in an effort to bridge the
gap between traditional Cherokee elder beliefs and modern mindsets. The
event is noon to 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday,
Sept. 5, in the Osiyo Training Room behind the Restaurant of the Cherokees.
The
tribe’s One Big Family Reunion event is scheduled from 1-4 p.m., Saturday,
Sept. 5, at the W.W. Keeler Complex. It is designed to help Cherokee citizens
trace their family lineage to the Dawes Roll. Tribal officials are hoping
to use data collected to create a family tree database similar to Ancestry.com.
The
Ross Family Reunion will be held at the American Legion Post 135, located
on the north side of Tahlequah, at 1:30 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 5.
The
Tribal Film Festival features more than 45 native films. It will be hosted
at the Dream Theater in downtown Tahlequah from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday,
Sept. 5.
Annual
favorites, the Cherokee National Holiday parade will offer more than 100
floats or marching bands winding down Muskogee Avenue in downtown Tahlequah.
The parade will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 5.
Following
the parade, Chief Baker will deliver his State of the Nation address at
11:30 a.m. at the Cherokee Nation Capitol Square. The speech has been a
tradition at this site since the mid-1800s for citizens who want to hear
highlights from the tribe’s year of progress.
The
Cherokee National Holiday Powwow offers more than $35,000 in prize money
for Southern Strait, Northern Traditional, Fancy, Jingle and other dance
categories. The powwow was named as the second largest powwow in the country
by Indian Country Today in 2014. It’s held at the Cherokee Cultural Grounds
and begins at 5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 4, and continues Saturday, Sept.
5, starting at 2 p.m.
The
10th Annual Cherokee Holiday Art Show on Sept. 4-6 at the Tahlequah Armory
Municipal Center features Native artists from across the country. A children’s
fishing derby with 300 fishing poles donated by professional angler Jason
Christie and his sponsor, Lew’s, will be given away to the first 300 participants.
It kicks off at 7:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 5. Traditional games,
art and food vendors, a car show, fireworks and a performance Sunday, Sept
6, by the Pumpkin Hollow Band are also part of the lineup.
The
Cherokee Nation will offer free trolley rides between event sites Sept.
4-5. To find a complete list of the 63rd Cherokee National Holiday events,
visit www.Cherokee.org and click
on the Cherokee National Holiday quick link.
About
Cherokee Nation
The
Cherokee Nation is the federally recognized government of the Cherokee
people and has inherent sovereign status recognized by treaty and law.
The seat of tribal government is the W.W. Keeler Complex near Tahlequah,
Oklahoma, the capital of the Cherokee Nation. With more than 315,000 citizens,
9,000 employees and a variety of tribal enterprises ranging from aerospace
and defense contracts to entertainment venues, Cherokee Nation is one of
the largest employers in northeastern Oklahoma and the largest tribal nation
in the United States. To learn more, please visit www.Cherokee.org.
For
Media Inquiries:
Cherokee
Nation
Julie
Hubbard
918-207-3896 |