Junaluska Memorial and Museum

Named an interpretive site along the Trail of Tears, the Junaluska Memorial and Museum "highlights the unique place Graham County has in the history of the Cherokee."

Preview your trip on the web: Junaluska Memorial and Museum

Learn more

• Native American Nations Find dozens of websites on tribes and nations of Indians of North America from the Abenaki, Alaskan Natives, Cherokee, Hawaiian Natives, Lumbee, and the Tuscaora.
• History of the Cherokee Tells the history of the Cherokee people, incorporating both legend and fact, through chapters that cover the times before the Europeans settled the United States, first contacts with the settlers, the Trail of Tears, and the Civil War. Find also images, maps, and suggestions for further reading.
• Lesson plan: Along the Trail of Tears A part of history is often forgot when teaching younger students. This is the relocation of the Cherokee Indians when the white settlers wanted their property. The US Government moved whole groups of Indians under harsh conditions. This trip became known as the Trail of Tears. Using this as a background students will explore and experiment with persuasive writing as they try to express the position of Cherokee leaders.
• Lesson plan: The Removal of the Cherokee Indians This lesson allows students to assess the influence of the Trail of Tears. Students will read a brief history of the Cherokee Indians, past and present. They will watch the Unto These Hills video and read excerpts from Native Americans and government officials during the Indian Removal. Students will write an essay supporting or opposing the Indian Removal Act.
• Lesson plan: Cherokee Relocation Using primary sources from the Documenting the American South collection, students will investigate the boundaries of the Cherokee lands set for North Carolina after the Revolutionary War.

Related pages

• Museum of the Cherokee Indian: Official site of the museum of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina.
• Cherokee County Historical Museum: Students can see artifacts, books, papers, photographs, and other materials significant to the history, culture, and heritage of Cherokee County, NC.
• Waynesborough Historic Village: Visitors to this recreated village will feel as if the have stepped back in time. "Waynesborough's focus begins in 1701 with the first Tuscarora visit and ends in 1900 with a complete economic and social shift to Goldsboro."

Related topics

• Learn more about American Indians, Cherokee Indians, Graham County, Junaluska, North Carolina, Trail of Tears, culture, history, and history museums.

Legal

This museum highlights Graham County’s place in Cherokee history and honors the Cherokee leader, Junaluska, whose burial place is near by. The county is the home of the Snowbird Cherokee, whose ancestors resisted being removed from their land during the forced evacuation to Oklahoma. It also has the only part of the Trail of Tears road that was cut in North Carolina.

The museum, which is dedicated to preserving Cherokee history and culture, displays arrowheads, spearpoints, pottery, and other artifacts which have been found in the Cheoah Valley. Visitors learn about the time of the Trail of Tears and the life of Junaluska.

Located on Junaluska Drive in Robbinsville, the museum’s hours are from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, with the museum suspending its Saturday hours from late September through March. To schedule a visit to the museum, phone (828)479-4727.

Directions:From Asheville, take I-40 West to Exit 27. Take Highway 74 South through Sylva and Nantahala. Turn right on NC 129 to Robbinsville. Turn left at East Main Street in Robbinsville and take the 1st left onto South Main Street. Junaluska Drive will be on the left.

View Larger Map