A seventy-minute drive southeast from Tulsa on Hwy-51, TAHLEQUAH is the capital of the Cherokee nation, formed in 1839 when the Trail of Tears finally reached its end. The sophisticated Cherokee had a written constitution, published the first newspaper in Indian Territory (in both Cherokee and English) and set up the Cherokee female seminary, the first higher education school for women west of the Mississippi. The seminary stands today on the campus of Northeastern State University on Hwy-82, which has more Native American students than any other academic institution in the US.

Tahlequah itself is uncommercialized, and the Cherokee Heritage Center , three and half miles south off US-62, presents Native American culture with more dignity than might be expected. The museum is largely interactive, leading the visitor across the Trail of Tears with the use of powerful audiovisual displays (Mon-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 1-5pm; closed Jan). The entrance fee ($8.50) also gets you into a reconstructed seventeenth-century Indian village that offers arts and crafts demonstrations (Mon-Sat 10am-4pm, Sun 1pm-5pm; closed Jan). Summer performances are put on at the Tsa-La-Gi Amphitheater (tel 1-888-999-6007, ), including the gripping Trail of Tears drama.

For a town with such a lovely Main Street, Tahlequah has a pretty poor selection of hotels. The best is the Holiday Inn Express , 1 Holiday Drive (tel 918-456-7800; $50-75), which has a pool. The not-so-exciting, but slightly cheaper, Tahlequah Motor Lodge at 2501 S Muskogee Ave (tel 918/456-2350; $50-75), is another choice. The Restaurant of the Cherokees , on US-62 (tel 918/456-2070), serves American-style buffet and is located next to the excellent Cherokee Nation Gift Shop.

Tahlequah

• Tahlequah

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