A new exhibit at WCU highlights Cherokee language and culture
By Jose Sandoval
October 23, 2025 at 9:19 AM EDT
A newly installed exhibit at Western Carolina University invites visitors to learn more about the language and culture of the Cherokee people.
More than 40 people gathered for a public reception at the Bardo Arts Center Oct. 21 to recognize the collaborators and contributors to the Cherokee Language and Culture Exhibition.
Denise Drury Homewood, Executive Director of the arts center, said having the exhibit in that building sends a powerful message because the university is located on Cherokee land.
“ This space is here to honor and elevate the artistic voices of Native peoples through the consistent and ongoing programming here at Bardo Art Center,” Homewood said. “It's really a promise, both now and in the future, that indigenous creativity will always have a place here at Western Carolina University.”
A panel from the new Cherokee exhibit set up in the lobby of the Bardo Arts Center. (682x1024, AR: 0.666015625)
The project first started eight years ago, when a group of citizens from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), university staff, and other community leaders reached out to the Cherokee Preservation Foundation with the idea. The non-profit then provided an initial planning grant to support them in beginning the project.
Although the design of the exhibit changed multiple times over the years, its final layout features a series of permanent panels that highlight the work of EBCI authors and artists. The descriptions on the panels are written in Cherokee syllabary first and then translated into English.
Tinker Jenks, program director of the Cherokee Preservation Foundation, said she loves seeing the exhibition because it will permanently show Cherokee representation on campus.
“ There's a lot of Cherokee students that come to school (WCU) here and being able to see this exhibit here shows that they are important to the school and representation does matter to the students,” Jenks said.
Homewood said the university also received a planning grant from the foundation to potentially place historical markers of all the important Cherokee sites on campus.
The arts center opened in 2005 with bilingual signage in Cherokee syllabary and English throughout the building. It was translated by Myrtle Driver, Beloved Woman of the EBCI, who was the inspiration for the project.
More than 40 people gathered for a public reception at the Bardo Arts Center Oct. 21 to recognize the collaborators and contributors to the Cherokee Language and Culture Exhibition.
Denise Drury Homewood, Executive Director of the arts center, said having the exhibit in that building sends a powerful message because the university is located on Cherokee land.
“ This space is here to honor and elevate the artistic voices of Native peoples through the consistent and ongoing programming here at Bardo Art Center,” Homewood said. “It's really a promise, both now and in the future, that indigenous creativity will always have a place here at Western Carolina University.”
A panel from the new Cherokee exhibit set up in the lobby of the Bardo Arts Center. (682x1024, AR: 0.666015625)
The project first started eight years ago, when a group of citizens from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), university staff, and other community leaders reached out to the Cherokee Preservation Foundation with the idea. The non-profit then provided an initial planning grant to support them in beginning the project.
Although the design of the exhibit changed multiple times over the years, its final layout features a series of permanent panels that highlight the work of EBCI authors and artists. The descriptions on the panels are written in Cherokee syllabary first and then translated into English.
Tinker Jenks, program director of the Cherokee Preservation Foundation, said she loves seeing the exhibition because it will permanently show Cherokee representation on campus.
“ There's a lot of Cherokee students that come to school (WCU) here and being able to see this exhibit here shows that they are important to the school and representation does matter to the students,” Jenks said.
Homewood said the university also received a planning grant from the foundation to potentially place historical markers of all the important Cherokee sites on campus.
The arts center opened in 2005 with bilingual signage in Cherokee syllabary and English throughout the building. It was translated by Myrtle Driver, Beloved Woman of the EBCI, who was the inspiration for the project.