Stories on the Square is every Wednesday in June

TAHLEQUAH – The Cherokee National Peace Pavilion in downtown Tahlequah was filled with students and community members for the first Stories on the Square event held every Wednesday in June. 

The first storyteller on June 3 was Cherokee Nation citizen Meekah Roy, 28, who is an interpreter for the Cherokee National History Museum and a former Miss Cherokee.

“I enjoy storytelling because I get to talk about some of my favorite stories,†she said. “I get to talk about Cherokee culture, history, and more importantly, beliefs.â€

She said the stories she shares have been passed down in her family for generations.

“My mom would tell me these as bedtime stories, and a lot of these (stories) she would get from my elisi, my grandma,†she said. 

Roy decided to become a storyteller in college after she realized many people her age are not as familiar with Cherokee stories like her family. 

“I'm continuing on the tradition, our oral tradition, passing down these stories,†she said. “The more people that hear them, the more people go and … look for more of the Cherokee culture and history.â€

Cherokee Nation citizen Melanie Giang, the project coordinator for the series, hopes that people attend the event in order to learn more about Cherokee culture.

“Cherokee storytelling is one of the many ways we preserve our culture with our community, as well as with our younger individuals that are coming up,†she said. “These stories have been told by many of our families and friends, and it's really important that we continue to have these events so that we can continue to preserve these stories and teach these lessons to people.â€

Every story that is shared during the series has cultural significance for Cherokee people, and they also teach valuable lessons to listeners.

“I think some of the lessons that I would like for them to learn would be that we all come from a similar place and that there's always something that we can learn from someone, whether it be someone as small as a water spider or someone as great as a vulture that can build a mountain,†Giang said.

After Roy finished sharing her stories, the children had the opportunity to color paper bandolier bags as part of the event's “make and take†craft project. Each event in the series will include a craft or cultural activity following the conclusion of the stories.

The series will take place every Wednesday in June at the National Peace Pavilion in Tahlequah from 10-11:30 a.m. The line up of storytellers includes Cherokee National Treasure Robert Lewis on June 10, Cherokee actress and storyteller Candice Byrd-Boney on June 17 and traditional Cherokee storyteller Larry Shade on June 24.

For more information about Stories on the Square, go to visitcherokeenation.com.