By ROBERT JUMPER
Tutiyi (Snowbird) and Clyde, N.C.
“The old Cherokees would wade waist deep just after daybreak and throw the water over their heads and say, ‘Wash away anything that may hinder me from being closer to you, God.’ And then they would add their own intentions for a good life, or for a good relationship with brothers or sisters. Seven times, they would throw water over themselves. Or they would duck in the water seven times. And when they got out of the water, they had a look into a likely quartzite crystal found in geodes-and if it was inverted, pointing down, then they had to go back and do it all over again.”-Dr. Barbara Duncan, Our State Magazine, 2016
There has been an abundance of water adventures on the Qualla Boundary recently. It is no secret how treasured water is to the Cherokee people, particularly the water that flows naturally through Cherokee land. From finding your way to hydrating to eating to purifying, the waters of the Qualla Boundary are very much sacred to the Principal People. Anything to do with or affecting our water resources catches the attention of the community.
The repair and replacement of water and sewer lines has been a constant presence in 2024. If you need to routinely travel Acquoni Road, it has been impossible to miss the ongoing ditch-digging that has accompanied the project. The Water and Sewer Department has diligently kept traffic disruption to a minimum. Still, it is impossible to do traffic as normal when large volumes of roadside dirt must be excavated, and heavy equipment moved in to unlay and then lay water pipes that are lifelines to our community. One curious outcropping that came with the project was an archeological group documenting the indigenous world beneath the surface along our roads. History tells us of the centuries (possibly many thousands of years) that tribes selected their homelands based on the proximity of streams and rivers. So, in modern-day Cherokee, excavation of roadsides that are a hop, skip, and jump from the Oconaluftee River is likely to expose much of the long-buried remains of our ancestors. The upheaval of our past is a necessary negative effect of our progress. While the project is well underway, much more is ahead as the plan is to continue up Big Cove Road with the pipe replacement. And once they complete Acquoni and Big Cove, a new phase of the project will begin with tackling US 441 (Tsali Blvd.).
Water features at the business “horseshoe” area, the home of the bridge to nowhere (a bridge that has more significance in the water story than just being a gangplank over the Oconaluftee) are back in the news. The features (at least one of them) were fed by a pump from the Oconaluftee River. The water was pumped up the bank to filters and piping to be distributed to a manmade replica of the river below. Over the years, these features have been plagued with mechanical failures, and one or the other had to be shut down, sometimes for long periods in season (the features were shut down in the winter months as a matter of course).
At the most recent Planning Board session, Taline Ugvwiyu (Vice Chief) Alan B Ensley commented, “The water feature has been a good feature for the tribe in the downtown area. Marie Junaluska and I were in Viejos, Calif. where they had a massive water feature and that is where this idea came from back in the day. I am glad to see it being updated. The town needs it. Any time you can spray water up in the air, there is going to be a little kid run under it.”
The timing of the water feature overhaul, according to EBCI (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians) Secretary of Commerce Sean Ross, is dependent on additional input from the businesses in the business horseshoe area where the feature resides. While it wasn’t mentioned, I am sure that the Commerce Division and Planning Board are considering community input as well. Current plans for the overhaul are for it to begin sometime this year.
And then there is the dam issue. Making the water healthy has been in the news of late. Ela Dam removal has been elevated to a tribal issue with the pending acquisition of the dam by Mainspring Conservation Trust and the plan to move forward with the removal. Mainspring stated in a recent Tribal Council work session that a likely potential outcome that they would like to see is for the tribe to eventually take ownership of the land once the dam is taken down and the aftereffects are being mitigated. Mainspring lists over 30 land conservation projects on its website (www.mainspringconserves.org). Land acquisition and preservation is their game. They are a sister organization to the Noquisi (formerly Nikwasi) Initiative, which holds the deed to the mound in Franklin. That is just a little background on who owns what. During the work session, Mainspring provided an order of events that they hope will be taking place with the ultimate goal of removing the dam.
In a One Feather article written by Mattilynn Sneed, Michael LaVoie, EBCI Natural Resources stated, “This dam continues to alter the natural, physical, biological, and chemical composition of the entire river system, and continues to be an impediment to the health of the river over the long term.”
Landowners who have built homes and businesses in conjunction with the lake associated with the dam expressed concerns ranging from loss of livelihood to property access.
One enrolled member and landowner, Phillip Armachain Sr., said, “I’m not against all the people who have told us about all the important issues concerning the restoration of the river. I appreciate them and what they are doing for us. However, there are many negative impacts. It’s been some time since all of this has come up and I’ve been waiting for someone to address these issues that are so important to me and my family.”
Ugvwiyuhi (Principal Chief) Michell Hicks also expressed the desire to see a commitment in writing that mitigation would include keeping landowners whole to the extent that can be done: “How are we going to reassure landowners that the commitment (to mitigate damages/ensure river access) is going to stay intact and what kind of legal agreement is going to be in place so that landowners can fall back to the perimeters of that arrangement.”
Mainspring leadership stated that while written agreements might be made, state legislation binds this type of transaction so that these changes would under the law protect the landowners. So, nothing fishy there.
Community pool. It seems like a long ago, far, far away time when the community was up in arms to install a community pool. Visions ranged from a simple municipal-style pool up to a facsimile of Dollywood Splash Country. I exaggerate. However, concept drawings of what started as a typical community pool, like the pool in Jackson County for example, gradually grew in size, complexity, and cost as time wore on. When we asked about the prospect of constructing a community pool, it seemed like a hot item at the time, and for a time, it was batted around the legislative horseshoe, but there has been a cooling and governmental silence on the issue as of this writing. Looks like the community pool idea may be all wet.
The Commerce Division unveiled its new canned version of Cherokee Bottled Water at the July Powwow. Actually, some of the first cans put in the hands of the public were given as a prize at the EBCI Tribal Employee Picnic. Attorney General Michael McConnell was the first to experience water from a can by winning a “Say My Name” contest with his mouth stuffed with marshmallows. Mike narrowly defeated Secretary Ross (It looked like Sean simply could not hold his marshmallows). I think both had seven or eight marshmallows in their mouths (and then Sean suddenly didn’t) and the crowd provided the tie-breaking vote. I have mixed emotions about the Cherokee Water in a can. Don’t get me wrong. I think the artwork on the can is stunning and I am sure that the water will be every bit as refreshing as that out of the plastic bottles. But there is something about getting water in a can that gives me flashbacks to getting commodity food items when I was a kid. Do you remember the canned water with the paper white label with black lettering? Government issue. Regardless, I know Cherokee Water will make a big splash in the can.
And we haven’t even talked about the fishing, tubing, and the Oconaluftee Islands park experiences that draw thousands each month to the water. Let’s just say that water is a bubbling issue on the Boundary. One might say dealing with the water issues on the Boundary is like drinking from a fire hose, or that we are drowning in water issues. I am sure you got the idea.
