THE PROJECT
Cherokee Conservation Foundation
OUR MISSION
At Cherokee Conservation, our project is rooted in clear goals: to protect, preserve, and amplify Cherokee culture while uplifting the next generation. We believe heritage isn't just something from the past, but an exciting future worth empowering.
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This initiative gathers stories, art, language, and traditions from Cherokee communities and strives to create spaces where they can be honored, taught, and passed on.
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Our interview process is now open, and we cannot wait to start cataloging and restoring native images, interviewing citizens and digitally collecting their stories, and actively seeking the repatriation of Cherokee art and artifacts.
HERE'S HOW WE DO IT:
CATALOGING AND PRESERVATION
ART RECLAMATION AND CURATION
STORTELLING AND YOUTH ENGAGEMENT
Our mission lives in the details: what we preserve, what we share, and what we create for the next generation.
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We catalog and digitize historic Cherokee images such as tintypes, lithographs and photographs, ensuring these visual legacies are protected and accessible for decades to come.
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We work to identify and reclaim Native art wherever it may be: pieces scattered across private collections, archives, or forgotten storage, restoring the important stories they carry.
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Through filmed or recorded interviews, we gather the stories of Cherokee families. These voices, full of memory, resilience, and identity, form a living archive for future generations.
We engage Native youth through art competitions, story telling, and poetry contests. Winners receive prizes and certificates that recognize their creativity and cultural pride.
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We support civic engagement by helping Native individuals register to vote and participate in community leadership, especially those living beyond Cherokee Nation boundaries.