Cherokee Nation, Gilcrease Museum partner in preservation effort
Partnership protects more than 2,000 historical documents
TULSA, Okla. – Just in time for Native American Heritage Month, the Cherokee Nation is partnering with Gilcrease Museum to preserve more than 2,000 historical Cherokee documents that reside in the museum’s archival collection.
Cherokee Nation officials presented the museum with $20,000 to preserve the “John Ross Papers,” a collection of more than 2,000 pages of Ross’s handwritten letters spanning from 1820 to his death in 1866. Principal Chief John Ross was the longest serving Cherokee chief in history. He led the Cherokee people across the Trail of Tears 175 years ago and remained the Cherokees’ chief in Indian Territory until his death.
“John Ross served the Cherokee Nation as our Principal Chief for nearly 40 years, through some of the darkest then the most resurgent of times,” said Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker. “The amount of money it will take to protect his collection of writings pales to the value of what is included in the stories and letters he wrote. The collection of writings by Chief John Ross holds the important history of the Cherokee Nation and the Cherokee people, through the most significant time in our history.”
The project will help ensure proper care and preservation of an archival collection critical to the study of Cherokee history in the 19th century. The funding includes a conservation assessment, sleeve re-housing for each page and an intern to work on the project.
“The conservation assessment of the John Ross Papers is critical to care of an archival record essential to research of Cherokee Nation in the 19th century,” said Duane H. King, Ph.D., executive director of Gilcrease Museum and vice president for Museum Affairs for The University of Tulsa. “The 11-lineal feet of primary records in this collection chronicle some of the most important events in Cherokee history, including the forced removal of 1838-39, the post removal factionalism of the 1840s and the American Civil War.
“These documents record the history of the Cherokee Nation as it was happening and represent the official and private correspondence of John Ross, who served as Principal Chief from 1828-1866. The John Ross Papers were obtained by Thomas Gilcrease more than seven decades ago.”
As a part of the partnership and to honor Native American Heritage Month, Gilcrease Museum is offering free admission Nov. 12-17 to Native Americans. Patrons must present their CDIB card to receive free admission.
This project complements an ongoing partnership between Cherokee Nation translators and Gilcrease Museum to translate documents written in Cherokee to English for the first time ever. The team is currently translating a Civil War period diary that recounts the hardships in and around the Cherokee Nation, and a second manuscript of an oral history of the Cherokee Nation referencing dates and contents of treaties and other important events.
