The 99th Annual Cherokee Fair Comes to the Cherokee Indian Fairgrounds
By Maria Scandale
October 2, 2011
Guests who want to come along for the whole ride through a spectrum of fascinating heritage can watch the people’s history unfold through age-old artifacts or live re-enactments. Not far from the fairgrounds, the tribe maintains the lauded Museum of the Cherokee Indian as well as the Oconaluftee Indian Village, a re-created window to Cherokee life 250 years ago as a time of great change began.
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is a federally recognized tribe that is separate from the more populous Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. The Eastern Band is made up largely of Cherokees who evaded the U.S. Government’s forced removal of 1838, the infamous Trail of Tears.
Tribal history says the Cherokee have been at home in the Great Smoky Mountain territory of western North Carolina for 11,000 years. That means the 99th Annual Cherokee Fair of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians on October 4-8 is a relatively new celebration. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians have been reaching out to visitors with the message of “Shi-yo and welcome.”
This years 99th Annual Cherokee Indian Fair, held at the Cherokee Indian Fairgrounds on Highway 441 (Tsali Blvd.) in Cherokee, North Carolina.
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is a federally recognized tribe that is separate from the more populous Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. The Eastern Band is made up largely of Cherokees who evaded the U.S. Government’s forced removal of 1838, the infamous Trail of Tears.
Tribal history says the Cherokee have been at home in the Great Smoky Mountain territory of western North Carolina for 11,000 years. That means the 99th Annual Cherokee Fair of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians on October 4-8 is a relatively new celebration. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians have been reaching out to visitors with the message of “Shi-yo and welcome.”
This years 99th Annual Cherokee Indian Fair, held at the Cherokee Indian Fairgrounds on Highway 441 (Tsali Blvd.) in Cherokee, North Carolina.
“The fair was started to introduce visitors to the area, to our Cherokee crafts and culture, ” said Mary Ferguson, tribal director of travel and tourism for the tribe. “We love for people to come, and we love for people to learn about our culture.”
The fair is as colorful as its fireworks, with nightly entertainment, a lively carnival midway, food, crafts, games and activities for all ages. You’ve got Think Litefoot and Charlie Daniels on the music roster, and contests that choose not only Teen Miss Cherokee, but the man with the longest hair, the baby that crawls the fastest, and the most proficient shooter of the traditional blowgun. This is only a part of the five-day picture.
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