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The Cherokees encountered their first
white man in 1540, Spaniards searching for gold. 250 years later Tecumseh, a hotheaded
warrior from the north urged the Cherokees to go to war against the white man, but
Junaluska with counsel from Sequoyah decided it would be best to live in peace with the
white men. The Great Eagle Dance - a dance of triumph from the past is performed to
celebrate the victory the Cherokees and the white men claimed at Horseshoe Bend against
other Indians that threatened the American Nation, but the victory celebrations were to be
short lived.
One of the most
compelling outdoor dramas, Unto These Hills, tells the tragic story of how the Cherokee
ancestors were forcefully driven out of the Great Smoky Mountains and marched 1,200 miles
to Oklahoma. You will never forget how Tsali gave his life as sacrifice, so that a handful
of his people could remain on the land of their heritage. |