By Joy Hampton
October 8, 2009 — The Will Rogers Memorial Museums recently unveiled the all-new Will Rogers Heritage Gallery. The Heritage Gallery celebrates the Cherokee heritage of Oklahoma’s favorite son and highlights his family life.
The Claremore museum was already the focus of a Cherokee Nation cultural history tour. Now, the Cherokee Nation Cultural Tourism department will enhance its Will Rogers History Tour with extended visits to the Will Rogers Memorial Museums.
The newly opened gallery brings more depth to the perspective of Will Rogers’ life and history.
“The focus is on the Cherokee heritage of Will Rogers and his family history,” said Steve Gragert, Executive Director of the Memorial. “It fills a gap. We did not have much that gave attention to his Cherokee heritage which was an important part of his life. His father was a senator in the Cherokee Nation and also a judge. He was very much involved in the politics and government of the Nation.”
One of four tours currently offered by Cherokee Tourism, the Will Rogers tour includes a visit to Will’s birthplace in rural Oologah, Dog Iron Ranch. The tours are designed to acquaint visitors with the rich cultural legacy of this region.
“Although Will Rogers was a world-renowned statesman, philosopher and actor, he would always say that he was a Cherokee first. He was born in Indian Territory to a prominent Cherokee senator and judge,” said Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation Chad Smith. “The Cherokee Nation takes its responsibility very seriously in honoring the memory and furthering the story of Will Rogers through the exhibits at the Will Rogers Memorial Museums and the Will Rogers History Tours.”
The gallery will display artifacts, crafts and mementos that represent both Will Rogers’ Cherokee heritage, which is presented in pre- and post Trail of Tears eras, and an intimate account of Will Rogers’ family life.
The Pre-Trail of Tears exhibits include stickball ball and sticks sticks, a bow, baskets and pottery which depict early Cherokee life and represent the experience of Will Rogers’ grandparents who were subjected to forced removal.
Post-Trail of Tears exhibits include the depiction of life in Indian Territory and the progression of Will Rogers growing up on the ranch that was established by his father, Clem Rogers.
“These are items on loan to us from the Cherokee Heritage Center in Tahlequah,” said Gragert. “These items are representative of his life in the Cherokee Nation and are things he would have encountered as a youth growing up such as stickball, basketry and stoneware.”
Also on display will be a painting of John and Catherine Gunter, the grandparents of Will Rogers’ mother, Mary America Schrimsher Rogers, and Trail of Tears survivors.
A video made by Will Rogers about his family life is available for viewing.
“The video is composed of clips from a film he produced ‘One Day in 365,’” said Gragert. “The clips we use are scenes from his family life in Beverly Hills with his wife and children. It’s one day in the family’s life. It’s a silent film produced in the early 1920s. It never was released.”
The Rogers family exhibit shares an up-close and personal look at Will Rogers’ life with four separate presentations including: Clem Rogers photos and family details; Mary Rogers, Will Rogers’ wife, photos and family details along with family trees depicting the genealogy of Will Rogers as well as his father’s, mother’s and wife’s lineage; Will Rogers’ siblings photos and family details; and Will Rogers’ own family photos and details.
“Half of the exhibits in the new Heritage Gallery speak to his life as a Cherokee,” said Gragert. “The other half portrays his family life, growing up in Indian Territory, and then later with his own wife and children.”
The first of the Will Rogers Memorial Museums gallery renovations opened in June. The Jo Mora Diorama Gallery: “A View Through The Life of Will Rogers,” recreates in miniature, moments in time and place in Will Rogers’ life.
The renovation featuring the Will Rogers Heritage Gallery was directed by Jennifer Holt, curator of Will Rogers Memorial Museums, along with Mikel Yantz, curator of Cherokee Heritage Center in Tahlequah, Okla.
“Visitors to the Will Rogers Heritage Gallery will be awed by the presentation of materials and the attention to detail in the exhibits,” said Gragert. “The partnerships with the Cherokee Heritage Center and Cherokee Nation Cultural Tourism strike the perfect balance in preserving the memory and presenting the legacy of Will Rogers.”
Additional Cherokee Nation Cultural tours include the Cherokee History Tour, Cherokee Old Settler Tour and Civil War History Tour.
The Cherokee Nation Cultural Tourism Department was created in 2007 to promote the story of the Cherokee people. Efforts by the Cherokee Nation include developing guided community and educational tours, creating tourism partnerships and programs throughout northeastern Oklahoma, and launching a new Cherokee tourism-specific web site.
The historically authentic tours offered are available for purchase online at http://www.CherokeeTourismOK.com.
