Dr. King’s Public History class with Director Ernestine Berry of the John Hair Cultural Center and Museum (Fall 2018)
HIST 4023: Public History (Fall 2018) provided an introduction to public history practices, methodologies, and issues centered on U.S. histories and memories, which also included direct engagement with local public historians and community-based projects in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.
HIST 4023: History of the American West (Spring 2019) included a service-learning component to support ideas and parts of the “Missing Pieces” exhibit that would attract and engage with children and youth.
In Fall 2018, Dr. King organized a public history course that supported the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokees’ John Hair Cultural Center and Museum by examining, studying, and designing exhibit labels on historic Cherokee documents that the museum gathered from throughout the country and translated from Cherokee to English for the first time. The new exhibit, “Missing Pieces: Rediscovering Keetoowah Law, Language, and Literature” is open to the public from March 30, 2019 to March 2020. Some students exceeded expectations of the class by volunteering on their own time without any compensation. One student, for example, volunteered weekly and worked with the museum director, Ernestine Berry, throughout the fall semester. Both the students and museum director have benefited from meeting and working together through this public history course. As students learn and appreciate the needs of community, they foster reciprocal relationships that promote inclusive excellence in the university and beyond.
“Thank you and your brilliant class for taking part in the exhibition preparation. They are a real joy to have working here at the museum.”- Director Ernestine Berry to Dr. Farina King
Learn more about the John Hair Cultural Center and Museum in this recording of “John Hair Cultural Center and Museum- United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians Virtual Tour” with the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums (ATALM)
Students had hands-on training and experiential learning that bolstered their résumé, while developing skills in public history that are respected and desired by various career tracks. Several of the students from the course are pursuing internships and graduate studies in history-related fields. The class included some of the following excursions and meetings with professionals in museums and historic sites:
Sarah Sutton of Sustainable Museums
Ernestine Berry, Director of the John Hair Cultural Center and Museum
Brenda Kay Bradford, Head of Archives at Northeastern State University
Ashley Stoddard, Special Collections Historical Specialist at Northeastern State University
Beth Herrington, City of Tahlequah Historic Preservation Board
Indian Territory Genealogical & Historical Society
Neil Morton, emeritus NSU professor and Dean of Graduate Studies and co-author of Cherokee Nation: A History of Survival, Self Determination, and Identity
Carolyn McClellan, former Programs Assistant Director of the National Museum of the American Indian
Cherokee Heritage Center and Archives with Callie Chunestudy and Jerrid Miller
Hunter’s Home with Jennifer Frazee
Thank you for all the support and service of our community professionals and friends!
Giduwa Cherokee News featured our NSU public history service-learning project:
Students presented about their work and service with the museum and class in a symposium open to the public:
Here is the Giduwa Cherokee News (December 2018) article about public history students’ presentations:
In the Spring 2019 semester, students in Dr. King’s class (History of the American West) contributed ideas and efforts to support the “Missing Pieces” exhibit by considering ways to connect with children and youth visitors at the museum. One student group with Kayte Anton, John Waters, and Kaleb Standridge designed and created a painted wooden puzzle table for the museum to teach young visitors about the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokees’ Seal. Read more about their work via the following article link: “NSU Students Create New John Hair Museum Table Exhibit.”
Farina King, Ph.D. 