Unto These Hills
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Unto These Hills is the second oldest outdoor historical drama in the United States after The Lost Colony in Manteo, North Carolina. The play, written by Kermit Hunter (who is also credited with writing the scripts for many other outdoor dramas), opened at the Mountainside Theatre in Cherokee, North Carolina July 1, 1950.
The play opens with the 'discovery' of the Cherokee by Hernando de Soto in 1540 and then jumps to 1811 to follow the story of the Cherokee of this region up to their removal, via the Trail of Tears, in 1828. The drama includes many famous Cherokee leaders including Sequoyah, Junaluska, Chief Yonaguska or Drowning Bear, and Will Thomas (adopted son of Drowning Bear and the first and only white chief of the Cherokee).
The drama is operated by the Cherokee Historical Association which also operates the Museum of the Cherokee Indian and the Oconaluftee Indian Village, a re-creation of an authentic Cherokee village circa 1750. All these operations are located on the Qualla Cherokee Indian Reservation.