TheCherokee National Holiday is an annual event held eachLabor Day weekend inTahlequah, Oklahoma. The event celebrates the September 6, 1839 signing of the Constitution of theCherokee Nation inOklahoma after theTrail of TearsIndian removal ended.
Originally begun in 1953, the event has grown into one of the largestfestivals in Oklahoma, attracting in excess of 70,000 attendees coming from all over theUnited States. Many attendees are alsotribal members of the "Five Civilized Tribes" (theCherokee, and also theChickasaws, theChoctaws,Creeks, andSeminoles). Others who routinely attend the event are theEastern Band of Cherokee Indians located in westernNorth Carolina and also theUnited Keetowah Band which, like theCherokee Nation, are headquartered in Tahlequah.
The holiday hosts many different cultural and artistic events such as a two-night intertribalpow wow,stickball,Cherokee marbles,horseshoes and cornstalk shoot tournaments,softball tournaments,rodeos,car andart shows,gospel singings, the annualMiss Cherokee pageant, the Cherokee National Holiday parade, and the annual "State of the Nation" address by thePrincipal Chief of the Cherokee Nation.
Each year a committee chooses a new theme for the annual celebration. Some recent themes have included:
Due toCOVID-19 pandemic, the 68th Annual Cherokee National Holiday was a "virtual holiday."[3] Many events still took place and spectators were able to watch online to see the Chief's State of the Nation address, Cherokee art show, Miss Cherokee competition, as well as, demonstrations of traditional games. However, events such as the annual parade, fishing derby, powwow, softball tournament, arts and crafts, food markets and vendors were canceled and initially set to resume in 2021. However, due to the pandemic continuing into 2021, the 69th Annual Cherokee National Holiday was announced as a "hybrid" celebration featuring virtual and smaller scale in-person events, with the expected return to normal delayed until 2022.[4] After two years of purely virtual participation the 70th annual celebration was held in-person. Officials stated that virtual participation would still be provided for some elements of the holiday due to COVID concerns.[2][5][6]
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