North Carolina's Oconaluftee Village

North Carolina's Oconaluftee Village offers a glimpse of a rich heritage

The historical Oconaluftee Indian Village of Cherokee, NC, will opened for its 48th summer season May 15, and will remain open on a daily schedule through October 25.

The Village is located in the ancient homeland of the Cherokee Nation and near the North Carolina entrance to the Great Smoky National Park, and southern terminus of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Also a part of the Oconaluftee Village is the Cherokee Arboretum and Nature Trail, which this year will feature one hundred forty-one different day lilies, which should be at their peak in late June and early July. A part of the National Recreation Trail System, this trail also features a Cherokee herb garden.

In the Village itself, visitors can enjoy colorful demonstrations of Indian handwork such as basketry, pottery, finger-weaving, beadwork, woodcarving and sculpture, mast making, the fabrication of bows and arrows, and canoe building.

A major feature of the Village is the seven-sided Council House, which was the political, religious and cultural center of Cherokee life.

An escorted tour of the Village by Cherokee guides in authentic Indian costumes also includes demonstrations of Traditional tribal dances, use of the blow gun, replicas of early Cherokee homes, and the unique "hothouse."

Since its opening in 1952, the Oconaluftee Indian Village has been toured by more than six million visitors from all fifty states and many foreign countries.

Information: phone 828/497-2111; website: www.dnet.net/~cheratt