We went to the Chrokee Indian Village early in the morning. The “indian reservation” is basically an outdoor museum, at each booth people explain what they are doing. There is a village set up with a guide at each stop. You will be given a walking tour with a personal guide as well. Then, you can sit and enjoy all the demonstrations. They do get the audience involved. On site you will find the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, Oconaluftee Indian Village, “Unto These Hills” Outdoor Drama (scene reenactments, indian dances, etc…), Qualla Co-op Arts (blow dart demonstrations, pottery making, etc…) and Crafts (weaving-spinning-grinding techniques), souvenir shops, and other family attractions. I enjoyed the dancing and the song they sing to the dancing most of all. The reservation is located adjacent to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Blue Ridge Parkway. It is home to more than 12,500 members of the Cherokee Indian nation. The village is small and does not take long to go through.
There is a River park nearby that is free and got good reviews.
This is not something that I would take a trip to do again. If you are on the NC side, you may want to stop in. We know someone who is Cherokee, so it was neat for us to see some of her history.
We went early in the morning, went through some shops on the NC side, hit Clingman’s Dome on the way back. I wish we had also stopped at Mingus Mill on the way back.
Address – 398 US Highway 441, Cherokee, NC 28719
Website – http://www.cherokeesmokies.com/oconaluftee_village.html
Great Smoky Vacations 