By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Asst. Editor
CHEROKEE, N.C. – Wilbur Paul is a staple at events in Cherokee and has worked for decades serving the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) community. An elder of the Blackfeet Nation (Mont.), Paul has lived on the Qualla Boundary (Cherokee, N.C.) for years and was made an honorary member of the EBCI in 2005.
He was married to Maude Elizabeth Paul, an EBCI tribal member, for 54 years until her passing in 2018.
Wilbur’s service to the Cherokee community has been extensive.
Wilbur Paul, an elder of the Blackfeet Nation (Mont.) and an honorary member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, is shown at the Veteran’s Day event at the 113th Cherokee Indian Fair in Cherokee, N.C. on Friday, Oct. 10. (SCOTT MCKIE B.P./One Feather photo)
In December 2016, Wilbur received the Frell Owl Award from the Cherokee Boys Club. According to his nomination for that award, “He has coordinated and participated in countless fundraising programs that have benefited individuals and groups as well as organizations. Award-winning crafts have been donated to use as raffle prizes or auction items in efforts to raise money.”
Over the years, he has also served the community in numerous volunteer positions including being on boards for the Cherokee Historical Association, Museum of the Cherokee People, Qualla Arts & Crafts Mutual, Cherokee Cancer Support Group, and the Cherokee Boys Club Board of Directors. He is also a veteran of the U.S. Army.
Wilbur is an avid cribbage player, and he’s placed in numerous tournaments across the country over the years, and he won the National Open Cribbage Tournament, held July 18-21, 2025 in Raleigh, N.C. He also placed second in the Cribbage Tournament of Champions in Reno, Nev. on March 7-8, 2025.
Wilbur Paul, an elder of the Blackfeet Nation of Montana and a long-time resident of Elawodi (Yellowhill), took second place in the Cribbage Tournament of Champions in Reno, Nev. on March 7-8. The event, hosted by the American Cribbage Congress, gathers the top players from Cribbage chapters across the nation. Paul is a member of the Rez Peggers Club #346. (Photo contributed)
In an article he wrote for the One Feather on cribbage in December 2023, Wilbur stated, “Most enthusiasts consider it the best two-person card game there is. It has the combinations of poker, the strategic thinking of bridge, the luck of Crazy Eights, the math you wished you had learned in high school, and some of the best interaction between players of any game.”
As stated earlier, Wilbur is an honorary member of the EBCI and was made such with the passage of Res. No. 1 on Oct. 17, 2005. The legislation states, “Wilbur Paul worked at the Cherokee Agency (Bureau of Indian Affairs) from 1962 until 1964 and then served as superintendent from 1985 until his retirement in 1997.”
It continued, “Wilbur Paul is a valued member and treasured friend of the Cherokee Community.”
He was given the Cherokee name that day of Di g(a) t iyi which translates into English as “Keeper of; Takes care of”.
The name sums it up for Wilbur and his service to the Cherokee community.
