Museum features Crosslin Smith exhibit, others

May 22—A new exhibit at the Saline Courthouse Museum in Rose features Crosslin F. Smith, a spiritual leader of the Cherokee people.

Smith passed away Feb. 24, 2024. The exhibit, titled "Crosslin Smith: The Healer's Journey," opened May 14 and runs through Sept. 14, 2024.

The grandson of Chief Redbird Smith, Crosslin Smith was also a spiritual leader within the Keetoowah Society at the Stoke Smith stomp grounds.

An article featured in the Cherokee Phoenix, Feb. 27, 2024, titled "Cherokee Nation mourns the passing of spiritual leader Crosslin Smith," spoke of the man's life as a keeper of the "old ways."

A press release from Cherokee Nation May 27, 2024, on the exhibit, said Crosslin Smith was a revered elder of the Cherokee people.

"This special exhibit honors his life, influence and the profound cultural knowledge he preserved for future generations," said Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. in the release.

A episode on "Osiyo: Voices of the Cherokee People," featured Smith in season 4, episode 4. He spoke of his grandfather and his advice to Smith as a young man about spirituality.

"My grandfather said when they ask you what you believe in — the curiosity seekers mostly come from tourist people — you reply, 'I believe in the old way,'" Smith said.

The inevitable question was, "What is the old way?" Spirituality in the Cherokee people dates back to ancient times, Smith said.

"When the Cherokee people could still do what the creator taught them to do — if they did succeed and become one with the spirit the Creator had given them when they were born, in unison, togetherness — when they did this the Creator actually spoke to them," Smith said in the film.

He shared a story of a time in his youth when he walked past a fish pond and saw a flock of birds. As he approached them, all but one of the flock few off. Smith picked it up. As he walked to school with his books in one hand and the bird in the other, he had to make a decision at the schoolhouse door whether to drop his books or the bird to open the door.

When Smith opened his hand, the bird flew off, and Smith said he questioned how he was able to capture the bird and whether it had been injured. He described how he felt. His physical attributes completely left him and his spirit coincided with the spirit of the animals he captured, Smith said.

"When you eliminate all things except your spirit — that's power," Smith said in the film.

The exhibit includes pieces demonstrating Smith's pride of military service and his dedication to education. It also includes books and objects that tell the story of his commitment to keep Cherokee traditional spirituality alive for future generations, states the CN press release on the exhibit.

A second exhibit at the museum tells the history of the property and how it remained the only courthouse of nine that were built in 1883 by the Cherokee National Council.

Learn more

To learn more about the exhibits and activities on the museum grounds, visit the Saline Courthouse Museum Facebook page, www.facebook.com/SalineCourthouse.