By BROOKLYN BROWN
One Feather Reporter
CHEROKEE, N.C. – The Elohi Dinigatiyi (Earth Keepers) and the North American Indian Women’s Association (NAIWA) Daughters submitted a resolution that was passed unanimously on the afternoon of Thursday, May 7 by Dinilawigi (Tribal Council) to “support the removal of Ela dam and the restoration of Longperson”. Read the full resolution here.
The resolution is part of an ongoing conservation effort by Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) Natural Resources and several other conservation groups to remove Ela Dam and restore the natural flow of the Oconaluftee River. Read more about the effort and its partners here.
Aniwodihi (Painttown) Rep. Mike Stamper asked about the current funding needs to remove the dam.
EBCI Forest Resources Specialist and member of the EBCI Tommy Cabe said the project is still lacking about 50 million dollars.
Ugvwiyuhi (Principal Chief) Michell Hicks commented, “I appreciate all the efforts and the work that’s being done here, and historically, too. This issue has been for quite a bit, and in regard to a funding request, if there is going to be that request, we would need to know that pretty quick, and it looks like it may be a significant amount, but my question is, what is the role of Duke Power here? How much have they stepped up to the table? They created this scenario and have benefitted from this scenario, but what is their recent input and assistance with this project? I think that’s very important to know.”
Cabe responded, “One of the things we can do is to bring [Duke Power] to the table. But I do think some of these requests to bring certain entities to the table will come from a higher request like out of [Ugvwiyuhi] office to have this meeting to get an understanding of what their role would be and what their contribution may be in this process. With passing this resolution, it puts us into the next phase of what the next layer would look like, and we will work with our collaborators and come up with a plan and present that.”
Elohi Dinigatiyi and EBCI member Mary Thompson added, “We need the help and the assistance of our elected leaders to get to some of these other programs, like Duke Power, that we haven’t been able to bring to the table. We’ve done everything we can from our end, from this side. There has been a lot of fundraising through the partnerships, but with the support of this leadership, we can reach out further and we can bring in additional partners and additional funding. Why we didn’t put specific numbers in here, we didn’t come here asking you to fund 50 million dollars. We come in here asking you for your support and your help.”
EBCI member and founder of NAIWA Daughters Jasmine Smith said, “The water is calling for our support and it’s our job to be vessels for that call. Every choice we make today is the future we will inherit as EBCI youth. We will be sitting in these seats in the future, and I really just want to emphasize that this is a way where we can shape the narrative our tribe has. We can build those partnerships and relationships, and we can reconnect with culture and reconnect with our aquatic relatives, the Eastern Hellbender and the Sicklefin Redhorse Fish who have been separated for over 100 years.”
Dinilawigi passed the resolution 11-0 with Tutiyi/Tsalagi Gadugi (Snowbird/Cherokee Co.) Rep. Michael Smoker being absent.
