Julie Reed, an assistant professor in the Department of History, recently led a discussion at the Cherokee National Prison Museum, as reported by Tahlequah Daily Press. Reed is a Cherokee Nation citizen.
The discussion came shortly after the Cherokee National Prison in Tahlequa opened an exhibit called “The Pardoned.”
The exhibit, which opened on June 16 and will run through January 1, 2018, discusses the pardoning process used in the Cherokee Nation and features stories about various prisoners and how their lives were affected by imprisonment and release.
The Cherokee National Prison was the only penitentiary building in Indian Territory from 1875 to 1901. It housed sentenced and accused prisoners from throughout the territory. The interpretive site and museum give visitors an idea about how law and order operated in Indian Territory. The site features a working blacksmith area and reconstructed gallows, exhibits about famous prisoners and daring escapes, local outlaws and Cherokee patriots, jail cells and more.