- Cherokees for Black Indian History Preservation Foundation -
Cherokees for Black Indian History Preservation Foundation (CBIHP) is a Cherokee history and culture organization based in Tahlequah, the capital of the Cherokee Nation. Founded as a community-based effort in 2014 and incorporated as a nonprofit in March 2015, CBIHP was created to “preserve the Native American narrative with primary emphasis on understanding Black Indian history.”
The foundation’s mission is to keep Native American history and culture alive through education, promotion, and community outreach for present and future generations. Its work focuses especially on Black Indian and Black Cherokee stories—histories that have often been overlooked, misrepresented, or allowed to fade from public memory. CBIHP shares this history through books, documentaries and films, public programs, music, and spoken word, always to honor ancestors and strengthen community understanding.
CBIHP is a participant in the Cherokee Nation Community & Cultural Outreach Program and was recognized as the Cherokee Nation Community & Cultural Outreach Non-profit of the Year in 2017, only two years after becoming a non-profit organization. The foundation has helped bring important works into the world, including the history book Oklahoma Black Cherokees, edited by Cherokee historian Karen “Coody” Cooper with the help of CBIHP President Ty “GWY” Wilson, 1st American – Cherokee, a bilingual Cherokee–English children’s book designed to support Cherokee language preservation by Ty 'GWY' Wilson, and CHEROKEE FREEDMEN: We Are Cherokee the first installment of the Black Cherokee book series.
Beyond publishing, CBIHP creates spaces for community learning and celebration. The organization convenes the Cherokee History Symposium, a one-day gathering where scholars, historians, authors, and museum professionals share their work with the public, and it has hosted culturally rooted events such as the Green Country Roots Festival, the Cherokee History Symposium, and other community programs in and around Tahlequah. Through these efforts, CBIHP connects elders, families, and youth, ensuring that Black Cherokee and Cherokee Freedmen history remains visible, valued, and alive.
At its heart, Cherokees for Black Indian History Preservation Foundation is a family- and community-born initiative: a grassroots effort that began around a kitchen table and grew into a recognized cultural institution. Today, CBIHP invites anyone interested in Native American and Black Indian history to learn, participate, and help “preserve the Native American narrative” so that future generations inherit a fuller, truer story of who the Cherokee people have been and who they are.
The foundation’s mission is to keep Native American history and culture alive through education, promotion, and community outreach for present and future generations. Its work focuses especially on Black Indian and Black Cherokee stories—histories that have often been overlooked, misrepresented, or allowed to fade from public memory. CBIHP shares this history through books, documentaries and films, public programs, music, and spoken word, always to honor ancestors and strengthen community understanding.
CBIHP is a participant in the Cherokee Nation Community & Cultural Outreach Program and was recognized as the Cherokee Nation Community & Cultural Outreach Non-profit of the Year in 2017, only two years after becoming a non-profit organization. The foundation has helped bring important works into the world, including the history book Oklahoma Black Cherokees, edited by Cherokee historian Karen “Coody” Cooper with the help of CBIHP President Ty “GWY” Wilson, 1st American – Cherokee, a bilingual Cherokee–English children’s book designed to support Cherokee language preservation by Ty 'GWY' Wilson, and CHEROKEE FREEDMEN: We Are Cherokee the first installment of the Black Cherokee book series.
Beyond publishing, CBIHP creates spaces for community learning and celebration. The organization convenes the Cherokee History Symposium, a one-day gathering where scholars, historians, authors, and museum professionals share their work with the public, and it has hosted culturally rooted events such as the Green Country Roots Festival, the Cherokee History Symposium, and other community programs in and around Tahlequah. Through these efforts, CBIHP connects elders, families, and youth, ensuring that Black Cherokee and Cherokee Freedmen history remains visible, valued, and alive.
At its heart, Cherokees for Black Indian History Preservation Foundation is a family- and community-born initiative: a grassroots effort that began around a kitchen table and grew into a recognized cultural institution. Today, CBIHP invites anyone interested in Native American and Black Indian history to learn, participate, and help “preserve the Native American narrative” so that future generations inherit a fuller, truer story of who the Cherokee people have been and who they are.