By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Asst. Editor
CHEROKEE, N.C. – Last year, area partners received a grant from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation to provide two artistic welcome signs to be installed designating the Cherokee Cultural District on the Qualla Boundary (Cherokee, N.C.). Dakota Brown, Museum of the Cherokee People director of education, addressed the Planning Board of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024 to discuss the project.
The Cultural District includes the Museum of the Cherokee People; Qualla Arts & Crafts Mutual, Inc.; Cherokee Historical Association; and Fire Mountain Trails.
The Museum of the Cherokee People, along with partners the Cherokee Historical Association and Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual, Inc., received the grant in 2023 for $75,900 from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation.
Brown commented during Monday’s meeting, “This is a project that the Museum is doing in collaboration with all of our cultural partners, and it’s to visually define the Cultural District.”
“This is a funded project, and it’s supposed to be an artist-led project to design some entrance signs into the cultural district and then also some roadway art at the intersection of Drama Hill Rd. and Highway 441.”
She said a committee is being formed to select the artists which will include two people each from the Museum of the Cherokee People, Cherokee Historical Association, and Qualla Arts & Crafts, and one each from EBCI Communications and EBCI Destination Marketing.
Brown said they will issue a public call for artists soon.
Ugvwiyuhi (Principal Chief) Michell Hicks commented, “I really like the concept.”
“I think it definitely needs to coincide with some of the projects that are moving…I think we need to add a lot more culture within the area – more than what’s there now. But, I like the idea a lot.”
During an interview with the One Feather in 2023 when the grant funding was announced, Brown said, “I think we tend to be very visitor-focused here, but uplifting artists in our community is one of the most important parts of this grant. Making sure that it’s collaborative with artists in our community is incredibly important. Also, being collaborative with our cultural partners. What places like this do for communities, when they’re done right…they can really create a sense of pride in your community when you’re driving through those areas. So, I do hope that in five years we can look at this area and there’s art everywhere made by our EBCI artists and that it creates a sense of pride for our community members, too, not just our visitors.”
Brown added that she is hoping this project will be a springboard for more art on the Qualla Boundary. “I think the signs are important because they allow us to define the space. By doing that we can maybe do some changes in the future to that space and create a more cohesive look…being able to focus in on the Cultural District really allows us to hopefully do it right…we’re really excited to see where it could go.”
