The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma broke ground on a museum that will honor Chief John Ross, who led the tribe during the Trail of Tears.

The tribe will restore a former school for the museum. The project is expected to be completed in mid to late summer of 2011.

“The schoolhouse gives us an opportunity to tell the phenomenal story of John Ross, who is buried a couple of hundred yards from here in the Ross Cemetery,” Chief Chad Smith said at the dedication ceremony, The Muskogee Phoenix reported. “The lessons of his life, the trials and tribulations he led us through, is just phenomenal. He was in office for 38 1/2 years, and led the Cherokees during the removal and the Civil War. We’re looking forward to hundreds of school children and the general public coming here to learn.”

The schoolhouse was built in 1913 and was used up until the 1950s.

Get the Story:
Tribe breaks ground on Ross Museum (The Tahlequah Daily Press 12/3)
Museum to tell of chief (The Muskogee Phoenix 12/2)