By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Asst. Editor
CHEROKEE, N.C. – Whether it is captivating an audience with a Cherokee story or sharing history about the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Kathi Smith Littlejohn does it all with passion and an absolutely charming demeanor. She is a noted Cherokee storyteller and elder, but Kathi also has a long history of service to her people.
On Oct. 29, she was honored as Dinilawigi (Tribal Council) approved Res. No. 303 (2020) during its Annual Council session that re-named the Cherokee Transportation Center, located in Elawodi (Yellowhill), to the Kathi S. Littlejohn Transportation Center. That legislation states that the Center was opened in 2012 with grant funding obtained by Littlejohn who also “founded EBCI Transit, initially a service of Tsali Manor to provide transportation to seniors, beginning services with only two other staff members”.
Kathi Smith Littlejohn, an elder of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, tells a Cherokee story during the Cherokee Winter Social at the Peaches Squirrell Sports & Recreation Complex in Cherokee, N.C. on Jan. 27, 2024. (SCOTT MCKIE B.P./One Feather photo)
In true fashion for Kathi, she thanked others for the honor and didn’t feel she deserved it at all. “This is really big. I cannot tell you how it would have been if I didn’t have God’s help and if I didn’t have wonderful, awesome, hard-working staff. I would not be here today. That’s for sure.”
She said when she was told about the resolution she told the submitters, “No, don’t do that – there’s so many more deserving people, and I’ll name them to you.”
Littlejohn added, “I am humbled, and I am overwhelmed. I thank you for all of your support over these years.”
At that time, then-Ugvwiyuhi (Principal Chief) Richard G. Sneed commented, “She personifies the character of what it means to be a Cherokee. We need more people like her. That value system needs to be manifested in all of us.”
In addition to her tireless work over the years starting and building the EBCI Transit Dept., she is probably best well known regionally and nationally as a noted Cherokee storyteller. Kathi has four CDs including: “Cherokee Legends Volume I, II, and III” and “Cherokee Stories of the Supernatural”.
She is a truly gifted storyteller – one of those who can just capture your imagination.
Kathi is one of several Cherokee storytellers included in “Living Stories of the Cherokee”, a book published in 1998 by the University of North Carolina Press. The book, collected and edited by Dr. Barbara Duncan, includes stories from Kathi, Davey Arch, Robert Bushyhead, Edna Chekelelee, Marie Junaluska, and Freeman Owle. It won the 1998 Thomas Wolfe Literary Award from the Western North Carolina Association as well as the 1999 Storytelling World Award.
In addition to telling stories all over the region, Kathi also recorded a series of 10 videos for YouTube entitled “Cherokee History & Stories – What Happened Here”. It can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/@cherokeevideos9203
It is always a pleasure seeing Kathi and her husband, Leroy, at events. I always learn something new, and both are two of the nicest, most pleasant people I’ve ever been around.
