Elvia Walkingstick throws candy to the crowd from a float in the Cherokee Indian Fair Parade in Cherokee, N.C. on Oct. 7, 2025. (SCOTT MCKIE B.P./One Feather photo)
By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Asst. Editor
CHEROKEE, N.C. – At the 2025 Cherokee Indian Fair Parade, I took a photo of Elvia Walkingstick on a float, distributing candy, that I feel embodies the spirit of who she is as a Cherokee woman – smiling, working for the community, being strong and present.
Elvia Walkingstick, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians from Elawodi (Yellowhill), is a passionate Cherokee language learner, community member, and artist. She approaches everything she does with a zeal and strength to make sure a Cherokee voice is included.
Walkingstick was part of the EBCI contingent attending the 2025 WIPCE (World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education) in Auckland, New Zealand in November 2025. EBCI attendees spoke about their trip during a special presentation at the Yellowhill Activity Center in Cherokee, N.C. on the evening of Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026.
She noted, “What I’m taking away from New Zealand is the community piece that they built for themselves. One generation ago, they made up their mind, as a community, that this is what they were going to do, that they weren’t going to ask the government, they weren’t going to ask people even within their community for permission. They were just going to identify exactly what they knew that they needed to do and then do that. So, the people we were meeting had been raised with that mindset, so they watched their grandmothers, their mothers, their fathers put in the work – hold that space for themselves and their community to create these nests for themselves. They had to built it. They didn’t just exist.”
From language-learning to community action, Walkingstick approaches everything she does with fire and passion and from a community-first mindset.
I had the pleasure of working with Walkingstick for several years as she served as the One Feather subscription clerk. During that time, she wrote a commentary for the paper entitled “Elders are the gems of a culture, do not abuse them” where she wrote eloquently about the need to protect elders and treat them respectfully.
She wrote, “They are true gems forever embedded in our history and survival. Our elders guide our lives well into the next generation. They’re our advisors, our confidantes, and our link to what was and what will be. This link, crucial for our minds, bodies, and spirits, can only be shared with us through their stories of life, tradition, and sacrifice.”
In April 2025, Walkingstick was part of the cohort from CLMAP (Cherokee Language Master Apprentice Program) who received the 2025 Impact Award for Community-Engaged Teaching, Learning, and Research from the WCU Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning. The group – which also consisted of Hartwell Francis, Meshay Long, Aaliyah Swimmer, Michelle Long, Madison Long, and Olivia Owle – received the award for their collaboration with WCU professor Tatiana Potts on seven hand-printed books on Cherokee culture.
In October 2020, the Campaign for Southern Equality produced a series of videos entitled “Indigenous Wisdom from the Mountains”. Several EBCI tribal members were involved in this including Walkingstick, Mary “Missy” Crowe, Lisa Montelongo, Tyson Sampson, and Amy Walker.
Walkingstick has recently entered the realm of fashion design and has participated in several Kananesgi Fashion Shows in Cherokee with the fashion team known as Aniyona consisting of herself, Madison Long, Meshay Long, and Aaliyah Swimmer.
The Kananesgi website bio on Walkingstick states in part, “Walkingstick draws her inspiration from her own community and finds strength in being a strong Cherokee woman. For this reason, she takes her role as taline agitsi (my maternal aunt) and community artisan very seriously and eagerly shares her work with younger generations.”
That sums up Walkinstick really well – strong, community-minded, and grounded in Cherokee culture.
