For generations, New Echota has been remembered as the place where the Cherokee Nation's story in Georgia came to a tragic end, reflecting a historical narrative shaped largely through Eurocentric perspectives.

University of Georgia doctoral student Delancey Paden Griffin believes it's time to tell a fuller story.

A citizen of the Cherokee Nation and a second-year doctoral student in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences Department of Anthropology, Griffin is partnering with Cherokee communities to reinterpret one of Georgia's most significant historic sites. Through support from a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, Griffin is combining archaeology with community collaboration. Her research demonstrates how New Echota represents centuries of Cherokee governance and cultural continuity—not simply the events that led to the Trail of Tears.

"I hope people leave with a better understanding that the Cherokee Nation didn't disappear after removal," Griffin said. "We're still here as sovereign nations, and I hope visitors come away with a deeper understanding of our values and how our history continues to shape who we are today."

Located near present-day Calhoun, Ga., New Echota served as the capital of the Cherokee Nation from 1825 until the forced removal of Cherokee people in the late 1830s. It was home to the Cherokee Phoenix, the first newspaper published by an Indigenous nation in the United States, as well as the Cherokee National Council, Supreme Court, and other institutions that reflected a sophisticated constitutional government.

Today, New Echota reflects Cherokee life before removal. Griffin says the site's story—and the way many people understand Cherokee history—often ends there.

"One of the biggest misconceptions that people have regarding removal is that it led to the extinction of Cherokee people or that adopting European-made goods meant we lost our culture," she said. "There's a lot of unlearning to do because previous curricula and popular culture haven't accurately reflected our history."

She says those misconceptions extend beyond museum exhibits to decades of historical scholarship. Many early histories were written by non-Cherokee scholars with little opportunity to consult Cherokee communities or record oral histories. Griffin points to works that described the Cherokee Nation only in the past tense or referred to the "virtual extinction" of the Cherokee people after removal.

"The constant use of past tense and an ignorance of events occurring beyond the Trail of Tears reflects how our resilient history is written from a non-Cherokee perspective," she said.

Griffin's project began with collaboration, not excavation. Partnerships with the Cherokee Nation, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, tribal historic preservation officers, and Cherokee community organizations uncovered research priorities and sparked discussions around ways the site can better reflect Cherokee perspectives. Community members also contribute through educational programs, heritage gardening, and public events at New Echota.

For many Cherokee citizens, she said, archaeology carries a painful legacy of excavating ancestral burials and displaying funerary objects in museums. Griffin's research instead relies on non-invasive survey methods and emphasizes transparency, collaboration, and shared decision-making.

"I see this Ph.D. program and the opportunities afforded to me as something to distribute amongst my community," she said. "The conversations I've had with other Cherokee community members have always left me with a renewed sense of purpose because they also seem as interested and excited about the project as I am."

The archaeological component of Griffin's dissertation will include one of the first comprehensive non-invasive surveys of New Echota. Many written accounts collected by historians are contradictory or overlook important cultural context. Griffin hopes archaeology can complement those records by revealing how the Cherokee capital was organized and how its civic spaces reflected longstanding traditions of governance.

One example illustrates why that broader perspective matters. The reconstructed National Council House follows one 19th-century description of a rectangular, two-story building. Yet archaeologists in the 1950s uncovered evidence of a massive circular structure nearby, a form long associated with Cherokee and other Southeastern Indigenous council houses. For Griffin, discoveries like that suggest continuity rather than cultural replacement, revealing that Cherokee political traditions endured even as the nation adopted new governmental institutions.

“Delancey’s work and approach to archaeology is part of a broader community of young Indigenous scholars who are ushering in a new era of not just how we do archaeology, but why understanding the past is core to making the world a better place,” said Victor D. Thompson, Distinguished Research Professor in Franklin's Department of Anthropology and executive director of the Georgia Museum of Natural History

Ultimately, Griffin hopes visitors leave New Echota with a deeper understanding not only of the Trail of Tears but also of the Cherokee Nation's enduring history.

"We're still here," she said. "We're still a functioning nation with our own culture, language and traditions."