By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
ONE FEATHER STAFF
Juanita Wilson, an EBCI tribal member, will have the opportunity to impact state policies concerning American Indian children. She has been selected to serve on the North Carolina State House Study Committee to Preserve the Culture and Customs of Indian Children.
“It is a terrific honor, as a Native American, to have the opportunity to advocate for our youngest citizens,” said Wilson. “I have advocated for our young people on many levels.”
Wilson helps direct the “Project Today, Not Tomorrow” (PTNT) program for Swain County Schools, serves as chairperson of the Board for the Region A Partnership for Children, and also serves as an adult advisor for the Cherokee Youth Council.
With the PTNT grant, Wilson related, “We target 7th-12th graders with my grant, but I am also working with the elementary school to see how we can strengthen and expand Sacred Path to middle and high school levels.”
She continued, “To serve on this committee would enable me to put these collective experiences to use. I will work to make the voices of the people heard and the well-being of the young will continue to be at the heart of all I do.”
In addition to Wilson, the following were appointed to the committee: Rep. Ronnie Neal Sutton (chair), Rep. Sarah S. Stevens, Rep. Edith Doughtie Warren, Rep. Michael Harold Wray, Beverly Collins-Hall, Tammy Jacobs, Charisse Johnson, Kara Jones, Rhonda Jones, Rick Oxendine, Julia Phipps, and Gregory A. Richardson.
