Cherokee Heritage Trails Guidebook - by Barbara R Duncan & Brett H Riggs (Paperback)

About the Book

Enriched by Cherokee voices, this guidebook offers a unique journey into the lands and culture of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in the mountains of North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. Stories, history, poems, and philosophy enrich the text and reveal the imagination of Cherokees past and present. 144 color photos.

Book Synopsis

Enriched by Cherokee voices, this guidebook offers a unique journey into the lands and culture of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in the mountains of North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. Every year millions of tourists visit these mountains, drawn by the region's great natural beauty and diverse cultural traditions. Many popular aspects of Cherokee culture are readily apparent; beneath the surface, however, lies a deeper Cherokee heritage--rooted in sacred places, community ties, storytelling, folk arts, and centuries of history.

Cherokee Heritage Trails Guidebook is your introduction to this vibrant world. The book is organized around seven geographical hubs or communities within the original Cherokee homeland. Each chapter covers sites, side trips, scenic drives, and events. Cherokee stories, history, poems, and philosophy enrich the text and reveal the imagination of Cherokees past and present.

The Museum of the Cherokee Indian in Cherokee, North Carolina, is the main interpretive center for the Cherokee Heritage Trails. Among the many other featured sites are Kituhwa Mound, origin of the mother town of the Cherokees; Junaluska Memorial and Museum, with a preserved gravesite and medicine plant trail; and Unicoi Turnpike Trail, part of the Trail of Tears and one of sixteen national millennium trails in the United States.

Review Quotes

A comprehensive guidebook. . . . Travelers are invited to look beyond easily visible aspects to find a deeper Cherokee heritage. . . . [The] writers . . . enrich the text with Cherokee stories, history, poems and philosophy."--Carolina Country

A gem of a book."--Journal of Applachian Studies

A handsome book . . . it's an ideal gift."--Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A wonderful introduction to the culture, history, and geography of the Cherokee homeland. . . . An essential purchase for anyone interested in exploring Cherokee country and what it has meant and continues to mean to be Cherokee."--Appalachian Journal

Both comprehensive and authoritative. A number of native American groups have added their distinctive voices to this volume."--Christian Science Monitor

Culture comes to life as the reader meets those who keep the traditions of dance, song, stories, poems, pottery making, basket weaving and beadwork--as well as the Cherokee language and philosophy--alive. . . . Whether experiencing the trails from a car, on foot or through the pages of this authentic guide, the reader. . . is offered rare views of the Cherokee's beloved homeland and of the descendants of its original people."--Parkway Milepost

Enriched by Cherokee voices, this guidebook offers a unique journey into the lands and culture of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in the mountains of North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia."--Historical News

Your introduction to [a] vibrant world."--Blue Ridge Digest