Nancy Pheasant, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, welcomes the students to the Kuwohi Connection Day with the story of Medicine Lake. The event was held at Kuwohi (Mulberry Place) in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the morning of Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (SCOTT MCKIE B.P./One Feather photos)
By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Asst. Editor
CHEROKEE, N.C. – With the clouds rolling over the mountains on a crisp fall day at Kuwohi, I had the opportunity to see students captivated with the story of Medicine Lake. They were listening to Nancy Pheasant, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), telling stories and imparting wisdom as one of the educators at the annual Kuwohi Connection Days.
Prior to sharing her story at the event held on Sept. 9, 2025, she told the students, “The story that I want to share with you today is another reason why we think this mountain is a sacred space for the Cherokee. This is also known as a place for Bear Council, meaning that the Bear People, or the Bear Clan, once held councils here.
It’s not only a sacred space for the Cherokee, but it’s also a sacred space for the animals as well as the plants that surround us.”
Pheasant is a true educator and represents the EBCI very well wherever she goes. She has a way of painting a picture in your mind as she speaks.
At an event held Sept. 16, 2025 honoring the one-year anniversary of the name restoration of Kuwohi, Pheasant told the crowd, “I just want you all to stop, turn around, and look. Look where you’re standing. Even though the mountain is covered in clouds this morning, and we can see the mist as it rolls down the mountainside and over the tops of the pine trees and down the rocks, this is a sacred place. I just want you guys to take in that connection, not only to the land that we stand on, but to each other. For everyone that is gathered here this morning, we’re here for a reason.”
Pheasant is an artist with her storytelling, and she is also a multi-media artist in general being a very accomplished shell carver, beadworker, basket maker, potter, and fashion designer.
She started her pottery journey with a class taught by Tara McCoy, an EBCI tribal member and noted potter, in 2023 as part of the Community Learning Workshop by the Museum of the Cherokee People.
At the opening of the workshop’s exhibit featuring the student’s work, called the Gadugi Pottery Exhibit, Pheasant told me that evening as I was covering the event, “I had to switch thinking because it’s an entirely different medium. But, for me, it was easy to rely on knowing designs already and being able to recognize and create my own designs into the pottery. But, it’s a whole different world… To me, that was the best part. To be able to take a lump of clay that looked like dirt and create something with it.”
Pheasant is a multi-talented woman, but most importantly, she is a kind soul. Every time I see her at an event, she is full of passion and energy. She carries that same energy into her work and efforts to do her part at educating the public about Cherokee culture.
Nancy Pheasant is a wonderful cultural educator, and she is a wonderful human being.
