"the People's Paths!" Cherokee News Path - CN Hosts Traditional Native Games Series

The Cherokee Nation will host a series of traditional native games throughout the spring and summer in several area communities. Traditional games are important to Cherokee culture and are a great place to learn about and take part in activities that have been passed down from generation to generation.

“This is a great opportunity to get involved with your community and compete in traditional games,” said Cherokee National Holiday coordinator Lou Slagle. “We have a lot of fun holding these community competitions. I encourage everyone to come out and take part in these community games. Even if you don’t participate, they are great to watch.”

The preliminary games will be held at five community locations throughout the tribe’s jurisdictional area. Participants will have the opportunity to compete against one another in Cherokee marbles, horseshoes, blowgun, corn stalk shoot, stickball and hatchet throwing. The top winners from each event will receive a t-shirt and an invitation to compete in the community play-off games on September 6 at the Cherokee National Holiday.

The community games will be held on the following dates and locations:

Saturday, April 25, Colcord at Colcord School
Saturday, May 23, Kenwood at Kenwood School
Saturday, June 20, Claremore at Will Rogers Downs
Saturday, July 11, Sallisaw at Sallisaw City Park located off of Hwy 64
Saturday, August 1, Bell at the Bell Powwow
Sunday, September 6, finals held in Tahlequah during Cherokee National Holiday

There is no charge for attending or participating in the games and the events are open to the public. All games at all locations will begin at 10 a.m., with six different competitions going on simultaneously.

For more information on the Horseshoe competition contact Jody Reese at (918) 822-2428. For the Blowgun competition contact Sharon Dry at (918) 453-1689. For the Corn Stalk Shoot competition contact Debra Grayson at (918) 822-2260. For the Stickball competition contact J.P. Johnson at (918) 453-5157. For the Hatchet Throwing competition contact Pete Vann at (918) 822-2260 and for the Marbles competition or any additional information contact Lou Slagle at (918) 453-1689.