Arkansas and Oklahoma Road Trip: Part Four
Welcome back to the Meandering Mandy blog! I am currently in the process of writing about my husband and I’s road trip through Arkansas and Oklahoma in May and June 2021! On the fifth day of our adventure, we started off at the Cherokee National History Museum. Smack dab in the middle of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, was the building that used to be used as the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court building, and before that, the Cherokee National Capitol building.
I LOVED this museum! I have been to quite a few museums in my life — okay, more like several, maybe even at least a hundred — especially if you count “museums” like the Ka-Do-Ha Indian Village that we had visited the day before (and written about in part three!). Anyway, out of the dozens of museums that I have visited, this has got to be one of the best museums! The artifacts were expertly put on display and the stories and facts were expertly written. I learned so much!
This professional museum exceeded my expectations, and I was enamored with all of the stories and facts I read. I was also sad, sad for the Cherokees and what the Europeans and Americans did to them. The Cherokees were treated poorly. Yet the museum presented the stories and facts objectively. The museum also showed what the Cherokees were doing today to keep their culture and history alive.
My only complaint was that there were a few narrow passageways. I sometimes tend to get claustrophobic, but I was too engrossed by the stories to feel closed in. I was fine standing in a narrow hallway reading the texts to learn about this resilient group of people! Also, it helped that there was only one other couple in the museum, and they were several rooms ahead of us.
Okay, I have one other complaint — the museum was free! Why is this a complaint, you may ask? I WANTED to give them money to support this amazing resource! I couldn’t even find a donation bucket! I learned so much, and it was such an enjoyable experience. Also, they required masks even if you were vaccinated, and they took our temperatures before entering with a high tech camera. Furthermore, they gave us a pen with a soft stylus that we could use on the touchscreens, so we wouldn’t leave germs or pick up germs! They definitely took this pandemic seriously and watched out for our safety even though our ancestors had severely harmed them! It felt like an honor to learn more about their history, and I highly recommend you visit if you find yourself in the eastern part of Oklahoma!
*I was not compensated for the reviews of any of these businesses.
