The Cherokee Heritage Center, operated by the Cherokee National Historical Society, is located three miles south of Tahlequah, on the original site of the Cherokee Female Seminary. This remote area, covered with dense underbrush, was cleared in the mid-1960s and transformed into an attraction Newsweek magazine once called, "One of America's Top Ten Off-the-Road Locations." The Ancient Village at Tsa-La-Gi opened in 1967 and gave visitors a glimpse of pre-contact Cherokee lifestyle.
The Cherokee Heritage Center offers many attractions and exhibits, like the Ancient Village, Adams Corner Rural Village, the Cherokee National Museum, the Museum Shop and the Trail of Tears Exhibit.