Research & Scholarship

Scholars and graduate students at Western have access to extensive research facilities both on and off campus. Between Western's Hunter Library and regional museums and educational centers, we are privileged to be able to explore documents and collections of utmost importance to Native American and Cherokee study.

Hunter Library at Western

Hunter Library's holding includes nearly 500,000 books, one million units of microforms, and 3,000 periodicals, including newspapers and magazines. It has one of the largest map collections in the state. The library's Special Collections houses a rich variety of materials on regional, Appalachian, and Cherokee history.

Of particular interest to Native American scholars is Hunter Library's Cherokee Phoenix Project. The goal of the project has been to offer the English language articles concerning Cherokee Indian and regional history found in the Cherokee Phoenix newspaper, published by the Cherokee Nation from 1828-1834. Articles of a general nature or reprinted from other periodicals but having no direct relation to Cherokee or regional history were not included.

The university is located near several other depositories and has access to research facilities on the Cherokee Indian Reservation. Books may easily be borrowed from the libraries of UNC-Asheville and Appalachian State University.

The Museum of the Cherokee Indian, Cherokee, NC

The Museum of the Cherokee Indian is home to archives pertaining directly to the Cherokee. Among the collections are 4, 000 books, some quite old and rare, 1,000 black and white photographs from the 1880's and 1930's as well as 900 hundred reels of microfilm of documents from foreign archives. Visit museum archives.

Western's Sequoyah Distinguished Professorship in Cherokee Studies

Western’s Sequoyah Distinguished Professorship in Cherokee Studies, a $1 million endowed professorship, was established to provide for enhanced research by Western faculty and students into Cherokee history and culture. Funds to match a state grant for the position came from several sources, including the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians, National Endowment for the Humanities, the Friends of Sequoyah organization, Cherokee businessman James A. "Jimmy" Cooper, and Harrah’s Entertainment.

Dr. Tom Hatley, a native of Charlotte, is currently working in the scholarly position. Hatley earned a bachelor’s degree at Davidson College, a master’s degree in history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a doctoral degree in colonial and environmental history at Duke University, and trained in forestry at Yale University. He has written extensively on sustainable development and is an authority on the colonial-era Cherokees.

For more information on research and scholarship, contact Dr. Hatley or Eastman:
Dr. Tom Hatley (828) 227-2306 or Email hatley@email.wcu.edu
Dr. Jane Eastman (828) 227-3841 or Email jeastman@email.wcu.edu

Important National Archives

• The Newberry Library
  D'Arcy McNickle Center for American Indian History
  Native American Research
• The Library of Congress
  American State Papers
  American State Papers online
• The Appalachian Studies Association
  Appalachian Studies Home Page

Important Regional Archives

• North Carolina Office of of Archives and History
  N.C. State Archive Home Page
• North Carolina Archaeology (Formerly Southern Indian Studies)
  Online Editions

Funding Opportunities

As WCU’s Cherokee and Native American programs grow, we are working hard to build a unique set of scholarly and community resources. In order to achieve this goal, we need your help. We sincerely invite your participation as a donor or volunteer.

How will your gift of time or money be applied?

We have established a handful of specific priority funding needs. These are the areas where your gift will be most effectively applied. Needs include:

• The building of existing scholarships that can bring students to our campus and support Indian student programs
• The support of traditional knowledge—elders visiting our campus as teachers and mentors
• Community programs at the Cherokee Center, including science in the schools
• The setup and furnishing of our new Cherokee Center for Native American research, teaching and student activity.

Please join us

If you are interested in making a direct donation, a bequest or in receiving information on giving opportunities, please contact:

Jim Miller, Associate Vice Chancellor for Development
Division of Advancement & External Affairs
(828) 227-7124
Email jimmiller@wcu.edu

Support traditional knowledge. Among other projects, your gift allows us to continue to learn more about the lives of Cherokee men and women such as Walini. Photo by James Mooney, 1888.