Cherokee Pearls

Pearls have long been prized for their beauty by Cherokee and other Indigenous people's of the Americas. Freshwater mussels were cultivated to produce pearls that were traded throughout North America. 

Did you know that the largest cache of pearls ever found is in South Eastern Oklahoma at Spiro Mounds (a Missipian Culture site that predates European exploration). 

Today we celebrate Cherokee traditions of adornment with shell, pearl and copper.