My first update from Cherokee...

Today is my fifth day here in Cherokee and my third day working with the folks at Cherokee Historical Society. We spent our first two days mapping out the grocery stores and the farmer’s markets and looking for places to go swimming for free. We found all of that plus dozens of the typical tourist-type vendors selling everything from t-shirts to tomahawks.

What I’ve done so far:

Oconaluftee Indian Village—The Village is where I have spent most of my time in Cherokee so far. It is a reenactment village set in the 1700’s. There are finger-weavers, bead workers, wood and stone carvers, basket-makers, canoe makers, and more. Tour guides take you through the different areas and you are also free to explore on your own and ask lots of questions. Every day at 12 and 3 some traditional dances are performed in the village square. On my second day here one of the female dancers wasn’t able to dance and so I filled in for her. I am now on the schedule to dance two days a week. : ) I am posting a picture of me in the outfit I wore yesterday and hopefully Luke will be able to get some video of me dancing today so that I can post that.

 Me dressed up and ready to dance.

 Some of our bead workers.

 Some of the ladies working on their pottery. The cooked their pots on a fire instead of using a kiln. The hardness of the wood is what determined whether the pot would come out brown or black. Potters would often use a mix of hard and soft woods to create the multi-colored pottery you see in the middle of this picture.

 Some awesome carving.

Here are some baskets hanging to dry in the basket making area.

 Unto These Hills Drama—The drama chronicles some of the Cherokee history and performances will open to the public on June 1^st. I have been lucky enough to sit in on some rehearsal time and to meet many of the people who are working on stage and behind the scenes. Below is a picture of rehearsal and some of the background scenery.

This is a pretty short update but I will be able to get some more detailed posts up this weekend.