By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Asst. Editor
CHEROKEE, N.C. – An outstanding young Cherokee woman has been named the inaugural winner of the Cherokee One Feather Student of the Year Award. The award was presented to Ava Walkingstick, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and a rising junior at Cherokee High School (CHS), during the Reports to Council session on the morning of Wednesday, June 4, 2025.
Brooklyn Brown, left, Cherokee One Feather Editorial Board chairperson, presents the inaugural Cherokee One Feather Student of the Year Award to Ava Walkingstick, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and a rising junior at Cherokee High School (CHS), during the Reports to Council session on the morning of Wednesday, June 4. (SCOTT MCKIE B.P./One Feather photos)
Walkingstick, a member of the Long Hair Clan, was presented the award by Brooklyn Brown, Cherokee One Feather Editorial Board chairperson.
During the award presentation on Wednesday morning, Brown commented, “The Cherokee One Feather Editorial Board voted this year to present an inaugural award known as the Cherokee One Feather Student of the Year Award to a well-rounded Cherokee High School student of any grade level who shows exceptionality in academics, athletics, fine and performing arts, Cherokee language and cultural preservation, and/or community engagement, and is prominently featured in Cherokee One Feather coverage throughout the school year.
The Cherokee One Feather is honored to present the first ever Cherokee One Feather Student of the Year Award to an exceptional student, Ms. Ava Walkingstick. As a sophomore at Cherokee High School, Walkingstick worked closely with PHHS to implement the inaugural ‘From Darkness Into Hope’ Mental Health Awareness and Suicide Prevention Event, in memory of her best friend and cousin Cynthia “Mouse” Saunooke. Walkingstick is also treasurer of the Student Council, a member of the National Honor Society, part of the youth cultural exchange, in Youth Council at the Ray Kinsland Leadership Institute, a defensive specialist on the junior varsity Lady Braves volleyball team, a field athlete for CHS track and field, manager of the Lady Braves soccer team, a frontline associate at the Museum of the Cherokee People, and she just performed the lead role of Sandy in the Cherokee Central Schools Musical Theater’s rendition of ‘Grease’.”
Brown added, “Ava is a hardworking, goal-oriented student with a passion for mental health advocacy, and we are proud to present her with this award.”
After receiving her award, Walkingstick thanked her family and friends and noted, “I really thank all of y’all in the community. They see me out here doing this, and they tell me that I’m doing a great job. I’m going to continue doing this.”
Ava Walkingstick speaks to Dinilawigi (Tribal Council) following receiving the award on June 4.
In an interview with the One Feather in November 2024 regarding her involvement with the CHS Musical Theatre Program and Cherokee Choir, she said, “It’s really great. I love working with Mr. Yannette…we have so many voices in this room that we didn’t know we had. We were in dance. We didn’t know we were going to be singing on the first day of school. When we came in, it was really fun and he got us to where we are now. It’s just been incredible.”
As mentioned above, Walkingstick has been an incredible advocate for mental health awareness. At the “From Darkness Into Hope” event held in Cherokee, N.C. on Sept. 4, 2024, she spoke eloquently stating, “I realized it’s ok to be hurt. It’s ok to feel the pain that you feel. It’s ok to cry. It’s ok to be mad. Because all those things that you feel are what is a part of you. It’s not just something that’s there, it’s something you’ve got to feel, it’s something you’ve got to express.”
Walkingstick speaks at the “From Darkness Into Hope” event in Cherokee, N.C. on Sept. 4, 2024.
She added, “Really, what I’m trying to say is, as a youth, as a teenager, as someone who knows how it feels, it’s ok to feel hurt. It’s ok to ask questions. It’s ok to be there for a friend. It’s ok to ask for help. And that’s what a lot of these vendors are doing today. Not only are they vendors, they’re our community people. Gadugi – We are One – as a community.”
Walkingstick served as the 2022-23 Teen Miss Cherokee and enjoys several crafts including making cornhusk dolls for which she received a first place ribbon at the 2024 Cherokee Indian Fair Exhibit Hall.
