Enjoy the best Cherokee cultural experience with this combo ticket to visit the Oconaluftee Indian Village and see Unto These Hills.
To start, you first have the freedom to decide a day from Monday until Saturday to see the Unto These Hills play, and Tuesday until Saturday to explore the Oconaluftee Indian Village. Once you arrive, you'll admire being surrounded by green vegetation and hear the sound of the flow of the mountain streams. On your village day, you'll witness craft demonstrations by award-winning artists who will explain the unique Cherokee crafting techniques. Then, learn about the historical Cherokee people in the living history section.
Discover one of America’s most powerful dramas which rewrites the Cherokee’s place in the world with the live open-air drama Unto these Hills. that starts with the arrival of the Spanish Conquistador, Hernando DeSoto in 1540. Then, the discovery of gold in Cherokee County in 1835 sets the stage for tribal lands to be overrun and generally disregard the cultural practices and freedoms of the Native population. Also, during this time, unscrupulous land agents descend upon the area, carrying out the Manifest Destiny ideology, as well as creating deep divisions among the Cherokee people. It is at this point where the heartbreaking story of Tsali and his family begins to unfold. At the end of the play, you'll marvel at the sculpted imagery and effective emotional symmetry, symbolizing the re-emergence of a people whose spiritual fortitude, social complexities, and human courage will never be broken.