French West Vaughan (FWV), with Rooster Media Productions, on behalf of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) and Visit Cherokee, won several awards at the local 2025-26 American Advertising Awards Gala hosted by AAF (American Advertising Federation) of the Triangle on Thursday, March 6. 

Roxi Bark, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), valedictorian of Cherokee High School Class of 2024, and a sophomore at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), co-chaired the annual Carolina Indian Circle Powwow at UNC on Saturday, March 7, in Woollen Gym, with co-chair and UNC sophomore Isabella Garcia, who is a member of the Seminole Tribe of Florida and a descendant of the EBCI raised in Tsisqwohi (Birdtown). Garcia is a graduate of Swain Co. High School.

Grayson Mathis is a 13-year-old member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) attending North Carolina Cyber Academy. He has a passion for politics and history, and he has begun a massive project of collecting signatures from politicians, and some celebrities, amassing nearly a hundred in a little over a year.

The World Series of Poker (WSOP), the world’s most prestigious brand in poker, awarded $9.7 million during its most recent Circuit tour stop at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort in western North Carolina, which ran Feb. 12-23. And the largest payday of all was secured by tournament rookie Maxwell Guo, took took down the Main Event for over $380,000. 

The Junaluska Museum has been working recently on a project to bring its collection online and the story of the people of Tutiyi (Snowbird) alive.  As of this printing, there are 129 records divided into three categories (Snowbird Day School Collections, Tutiyi (Snowbird) Community Collections, and Fading Voices Collection). 

The United States of America is celebrating its 250th anniversary this year, and the Museum of the Cherokee People is dedicated to making sure that a Cherokee voice is included.  The Museum is set to open a new exhibit on Tuesday, March 17 entitled “Unrelenting: Cherokee People and the American Revolution”. 

On the morning of Thursday, Feb. 5, Dinilawigi (Tribal Council) voted unanimously to name Dr. Lisa Lefler an Honorary Member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI).