Members of the Junior NAIWA (North American Indian Women’s Association) Cherokee group, comprised of members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, had their quarterly cultural meeting on the afternoon of Monday, Feb. 19 at Three Sisters Design store located in Saunooke’s Village in Cherokee, N.C. The group learned Cherokee fingerweaving from Amy Postoak. Shown, left to right, are Kylana Sampson, Teen Miss Cherokee Kyndra Postoak, Jasmine Smith, Janee Smith, and Zailiana Blythe. (SCOTT MCKIE B.P./One Feather photos)
By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Asst. Editor
CHEROKEE, N.C. – The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) is often at the forefront of Indian Country, and a group of enterprising young Cherokee ladies have another first for the Tribe. They have formed the Junior NAIWA (North American Indian Women’s Association) Cherokee Chapter which is the first such organization in the country.
“Our overall goal is to create a safe haven for Indigenous young women to come, and we really prioritize mental health,” said Jasmine Smith, Junior NAIWA Cherokee chairwoman. “We’ve done a few community service projects already. We’ve picked up trash at the Island. We’ve created Christmas cards for Tsali Care. And we’ve also just attended our first NCAI (National Congress of American Indians) conference in New Orleans where we represented the EBCI.”
Amy Postoak, an EBCI artist, top right, shows the young ladies the different patterns of fingerweaving and helps them select their colors.
Smith, age 14, attends Knoxville (Tenn.) Montessori School and said the group has helped her with public speaking and creating relationships with other Cherokee girls. “I go to Knoxville Montessori School, so I don’t know a bunch of Cherokee girls. So, this has definitely been a place where I get to build friendships. And, I think getting out in the community has definitely been a big thing. We participated in the parade this year for the Fair so, just trying to get outreach.”
The group is for EBCI young ladies ages 10 to 15.
Teen Miss Cherokee Kyndra Postoak, age 15, attends Shining Rock Classical Academy in Waynesville and said when she ages out of the group she plans to stay active and become a mentor to the other girls.
“We do encourage the girls to join while they’re still pretty in their youth but also more mature so they can grow up in the group. Then, we want them to mentor girls who are just now coming in, just getting into it. Then, after that, we want to send them on to the NAIWA group.”
She added, “I’ve been able to talk to more people throughout our community. Without this group, I feel like we wouldn’t have as many girls who know about a lot of our traditions. Sure, a lot of them know about it, but they don’t actually participate. This group has given us opportunities, and I’d like to pass that on to girls my sister’s age in a few years.”
Kylana Sampson, a 13-year-old student at Cherokee Middle School, said of the group, “I like it because it’s really helping me be more confident when I speak and not worrying about what other people think. And just bonding, making new friendships from different schools because we all normally don’t go to the same school so knowing what they do at different schools. And, we all want to be here, we’re all Cherokee. It’s cool.”
Along with a quarterly cultural event, the group does service projects such as picking up litter on the Oconaluftee Island Park and making cards for tribal elders. They also attended the NCAI (National Congress of American Indians) National Conference in New Orleans, La. last fall.
Kylana Sampson lays her yarn out by color on the table prior to starting her project.
Janee Smith, an 11-year-old attending Knoxville Montessori School, said the group has around 11 total members. “We get to do a lot of cultural stuff and talk to speakers that we haven’t met and try a lot of new things. We’re trying to recruit more. We put up flyers on billboards and ask friends.”
Kimberly Smith, an EBCI tribal member and mother of Jasmine and Janee, serves as the mentor for the group. “NAIWA took them under their wing, and I offered to serve as the NAIWA mentor so that we can help them understand what the core of NAIWA is and help them start to grow as young ladies with that core concept. So, when they turn 18 they can become NAIWA members. For NAIWA, we wanted to support this because we can see this as a way of growing our membership and getting more members younger to join NAIWA and really be more robust for us. So, I get to serve in the dual capacity.”
She said attending the NCAI Conference was inspiring for the group members. “They went to the NCAI conference in November and mental health was a thing that resonated with them. So, they’re trying to find ways now to provide support to the community, especially for young people, around mental health.”
Kimerly Smith added, “All the skill sets that my generation learned in high school and college, they’re doing at 10-15. They want to establish the chapter here and then go to the national NAIWA conference and present their group and what they’ve been doing to the national NAIWA so that NAIWA chapters across the country will set up their Junior NAIWAs and, in the future, they can do a national Junior NAIWA conference and bring all the young ladies together. That’s their goal for the long term.”
Janee Smith measures her yarn. She selected orange and white – University of Tennessee colors.
She said the group provides a healthy space. “I’ve been happy to see that this has been a group where these girls can put aside differences. It’s kind of like a bubble – outside world stuff kind of dissolves away and in here there’s no issues or drama that they have to worry about. Here they can be themselves and feel comfortable with who they are and just interacting in that way…Having a shared understanding of cultural identity to boot, really makes it be a space where they can breathe without social pressures. For me, that’s a foundation that if Junior NAIWA can get more girls to experience, we’ll have a healthier community.”
Zailiana Blythe, a 13-year-old student at Cherokee Middle School, summed up the Junior NAIWA Cherokee group best, “We get out in the community and help one another.”
To learn more about the group and how to become a member, visit them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/juniorNAIWACWY
