CHEROKEE, N.C. – The Museum of the Cherokee Indian has announced that award-winning author and educator Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle has joined the Museum’s Board of Directors, elected by unanimous vote by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) Tribal Council.
“I am excited to join such an energetic and visionary team at the Museum,” Clapsaddle says. “I look forward to being a part of its important work of community building through the sharing of our rich cultural history, arts, and innovations.”
The Museum of the Cherokee Indian has announced that award-winning author and educator Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle has joined the Museum’s Board of Directors, elected by unanimous vote by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) Tribal Council. (Photo courtesy of Museum of the Cherokee Indian)
A member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Clapsaddle holds degrees from Yale University and the College of William and Mary. Her debut novel, “Even As We Breathe”, released by the University Press of Kentucky in 2020, was a finalist for the Weatherford Award and was named one of NPR’s Best Books of 2020. In 2021, it received the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award.
Her first novel manuscript, “Going to Water”, is the winner of the Morning Star Award for Creative Writing from the Native American Literature Symposium (2012) and a finalist for the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction (2014).
Clapsaddle’s work has appeared in Yes! Magazine, Lit Hub, Smoky Mountain Living Magazine, South Writ Large, and The Atlantic. After serving as executive director of the Cherokee Preservation Foundation, she returned to teaching at Swain County High School for over a dozen years. She is the former co-editor of the Journal of Cherokee Studies and also serves on the Board of Trustees for the North Carolina Writers Network. Clapsaddle established Bird Words, LLC in 2022 and works as an independent contractor and consultant. She resides in Qualla, N.C. with her husband, Evan, and sons, Ross and Charlie.
“The Museum of the Cherokee Indian warmly welcomes Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle as a board member,” says Museum Board Chair Samantha Ferguson. “With her demonstrated commitment to the community and dedication to sharing the stories of the Cherokee people, Annette will be a valued voice and representative of the Museum.”
The Museum Board includes three seats that are appointed at the recommendation of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Council. Two seats are reserved for the Museum’s recommendation and are subject to approval by Council. Clapsaddle was recommended by the Museum’s nominating committee, and the appointment was approved unanimously by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Council, which approves every seat on the Museum board.
The Museum of the Cherokee Indian’s Board of Directors comprises Samantha Ferguson, Chair (2019–24); Myra Cloer, Vice Chair (2017–22); Anita Lossiah, Secretary (2019–24); Cory Blankenship, Treasurer (2020–25); Dawna Paul (2020–22); Perry Shell (2019–24); Marie Junaluska (2020-25); Louise Reed (2021-26), and Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle (2022-27). Ex-officio members include EBCI Principal Chief Richard Sneed, EBCI Tribal Chair Richard French, and Friends of Sequoyah Board Chair Gene Branson.
- Museum of the Cherokee Indian release
