Photo cutline: John Hair Cultural Center and Keetoowah Museum staff include (l to r) Museum Director Ernestine Berry, Raelie Grayson, Marilyn Craig, Kyndal Aimerson and Assistant Museum Director Barbara Girty Foster. By Raelie Grayson
Keetoowah Museum Social Media
Since 2011, the John Hair Cultural Center & Keetoowah Museum has been serving both the United Keetoowah Band and the people of Tahlequah. Named after former Keetoowah chief, John R. Hair (1932-2021), the JHCC&KM is dedicated to bringing Keetoowah history, culture, and traditions to the public through educational exhibits and cultural experiences.
The museum consists of a gift shop, open exhibit gallery, Keetoowah history gallery, research library, and classroom. The gift shop supports tribal members by purchasing arts and crafts made by local Keetoowah artists. The open exhibit gallery features the most recent history and cultural exhibits. Guided tours through the history gallery are given by Ernestine Berry, museum director. The tours start with explaining traditional life pre-European contact and continue through the modern day. The classroom serves as both a meeting and demonstration room.
The museum offers a variety of programs dedicated to cultural preservation available to both Keetoowah citizens, as well as community members. One such program is Back to Basics, a year-long program that allows participants to learn in various activities such as fishing, canning, and quilting to promote self-sufficiency. The museum also hosts group tours for adults and school children. They offer craft classes for groups and the gift shop sells craft kits to make corn husk dolls, mini gourd masks, and arrowhead necklaces.
In Fall 2020, the JHCC&KM was awarded an Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grant to initiate a pilot program for language revitalization. This program uses a modified system for teaching the Keetoowah language based on visual/audio association as opposed to reading/writing memorization. Several Keetoowah speakers were given the opportunity to teach students within their communities. The Spring 2024 Community Pilot Program for Keetoowah Conversational Language was an event where students and teachers came together for a traditional meal, gospel singing, ring toss tournament and a language bowl.
RedPony Film Academy was a short learning camp held in September 2022 and March 2023. Based in Arizona and founded by tribal member, Dr. Eddie Webb Ed.D. MFA, the film academy consisted of both Keetoowah and non-Keetoowah tribal members. Participants were taught the basics of camera equipment, the film industry, how to shoot film, how to edit, and how to make documentary films. The footage captured during the 72 Annual Keetoowah Celebration was separated into short segments and was later uploaded to the official Keetoowah Museum YouTube Channel.
UKB employees can also join in during the monthly ‘Lunch & Learn’ programs held at the JHHCM&KM classroom. During their lunch hour, employees are provided a lunch and are taught traditional crafts such as weaving baskets, making cornhusk dolls, molding pinch pots, and crafting miniature stickball sticks.
Finally, the JHHC&KM has a large archive dedicated to Keetoowah history. Containing documents, maps, photographs and donated artifacts, the archives is available for use upon request.
The John Hair Cultural Center & Keetoowah Museum is the forefront for learning Keetoowah history. From the beginning at Clingman's Dome in North Carolina, to the Old Settlers who settled in Arkansas in the late 1700s, then migrated to Indian Territory in the 1820s, to modern times in Northeastern Oklahoma, the Keetoowah people both share a rich heritage with the Cherokee and maintain their own identity.
For more information about the culture, history, and lifeways of Keetoowah people, contact the museum at 918-871-2866.
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