Cherokee Indian Heritage. The Cherokee Indian Reservation abuts the park boundary on the southeast. In Cherokee there are museums and shops where the art and crafts of these eastern woodlands Indians, thought to be of original Iroquoian stock, are displayed and offered for sale. Each year a play, “Unto These Hills,” is performed locally. It describes the Cherokee’s history and early encounters with Europeans. Most of these activities occur on the North Carolina side of the park. Mountain Folkways and Crafts. Mountain ingenuity and the human bent for creativity gave rise to crafts characteristic of the southern mountains. These are kept alive in various outlets surrounding the Smokies. In Gatlinburg you can visit the famed Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, which has done so much to revive original handicraft arts and support the artists by marketing their work. [Illustration: _Three main types of basketry are made by Cherokees. Rivercane baskets are now relatively scarce because the once-abundant cane is itself scarce now. White oak baskets are more common. Baskets are also woven from honeysuckle. Above are exquisite examples of basketry by Carol S. Welch, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians._] [Illustration: _The American Museum of Science and Technology at Oak Ridge National Laboratories provides a thoroughly modern contrast to the traditional folkways of the Smokies._] Armchair Explorations Some Books You May Want to Read The Great Smoky Mountains and their national park are both rich in lore, much of which has been collected and committed to print over the years. Your appreciation of a trip to these mountains can be greatly enhanced, both before and after, by reading accounts of the area’s history, natural history, and folklore. There are also field identification guides to nearly everything you see here, from rocks and flowers to spiders and mammals. And there are trail and hiking guidebooks full of good tips and advice on interesting trips, both day trips and overnights. Listed here are selected titles usually available for purchase at park visitor centers, or to be found in your public library. Many of these may also be purchased in bookstores in communities near the park. Several interesting and useful maps of the area are also available. For a more complete list of publications write to the Great Smoky Mountains Natural History Association, Gatlinburg, Tennessee 37738. This nonprofit association maintains a sales list of technical and other books about the Smokies as part of its efforts to enhance the interpretation of the park’s values to the public. Brooks, Maurice. _The Appalachians_, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1965. Broome, Harvey. _Out Under the Sky of the Great Smokies_, The Greenbrier Press, 1975. Campbell, Carlos. _Birth of a National Park in the Great Smoky Mountains_, The University of Tennessee Press, 1960.