Cherokee Nation is hosting a grand opening celebration for its newest tourism destination, the Cherokee Nation Anna Mitchell Cultural & Welcome Center, located in Vinita just off iconic Route 66.
TAHLEQUAH â Self-taught potter. Cherokee National Treasure. Teacher. While there are many ways to describe her, Anna Belle Sixkiller Mitchell is widely known as the revivalist of traditional Southeastern-style pottery with her legacy impacting other Cherokee arts.
âThere may have been other people that tried this, but sheâs the first person to take it to the levelâ¦after removal in Oklahoma to revive the art of Southeastern traditional pottery,â Victoria Vazquez, Mitchellâs daughter, said. âShe wanted to make it as much as like our ancestors would have before the Trail of Tears as possible.â
When working to revive the style, Vazquez said her mother had no one to go to on the subject, so she took to research.