Thursday, September 18, 2008

Cherokee


On the way home from Arrowmont I had to pass through Cherokee which is the reservation for the Cherokee Indian nation. I have been going there since I was a little girl. My parents seemed to be attracted to tacky tourist places when I was growing up! This place is the ultimate in tacky, but good for the Cherokee people for finding a way to make a living off of tourists after the way our government screwed them when all of this land was theirs. I like the place, it's fun and amidst all of the stuffed bears and tomahawks, there are a couple of new art galleries featuring local potters and artists. There are some beautiful coiled pots that I could sell my house and buy. They have also recently added these bears along the road throughout the town and they are so cool. I took a couple of snaps from my car. But the strangest thing of all was this abandoned motel. Did the motel get there first or did the trees?



This one was called Patriot Bear
Trail of Tears Bear
Forgot the name on this one, I photographed it in my car while driving so it's not so good

3 comments:

Judy Shreve said...

I've seen that hotel! Isn't it the strangest thing?!? And I love the bears too. Sometimes driving through Cherokee makes me sad -- that the once proud nation has been reduced to tourist art. Can you just imagine what that area looked like before the tourists got there?

Tracey Broome said...

I know what you mean. The saddest thing for me used to be watching some of the men dressed up in head dress and full costumes having their photos taken with the tourists. Then I decided the tourists were the ones that looked foolish and the Indians were getting over and making some money. I also used to hate the little caged bears some stores had out in front. Glad they don't do that anymore! I do think they are trying to re establish their proud culture with the museum there and the art galleries. The museum is wonderful!

Judy Shreve said...

Boy I had forgotten about the caged bears. And I haven't been to the museum or stopped at the art galleries. It's good to know they are working toward preserving their heritage.
I've enjoyed your photos -- : > )