April is both World Autism Month and National Autism Acceptance Month in the United States.  The Jackson, Swain, Qualla Boundary Autism Support Group hosted the 2nd Annual Cherokee Autism Celebration in the Peaches Squirrell Sports & Recreation Complex in Cherokee, N.C. on the evening of Thursday, April 24. 

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) was one of four federally recognized tribes that founded what would become the United South and Eastern Tribes (USET) – founded originally as the Inter-Tribal Council of United Southeastern Tribes. 

A bill has been introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives in the 119th Congress that would grant federal acknowledgment to the Haliwa-Saponi Tribe of North Carolina, a state-recognized group. 

In an effort to save money on repairs, the Planning Board of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) has approved a plan to repurpose the pool at the Cherokee Fitness Complex.  EBCI Secretary of Education Sky Sampson presented the plan to the Board during its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, April 22, and it was approved unanimously.

The Ray Kinsland Leadership Institute (RKLI), a department of the Cherokee Boys Club, has been awarded a $336,872 grant from the Cherokee Preservation Foundation to further its mission of creating a community of selfless leaders deeply rooted in Cherokee culture for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI).

District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch announced that two men in two separate cases in Macon County pleaded guilty recently to trafficking illegal drugs.

U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr. sentenced Brandon Tyler Buchanan on Monday, April 14 to 30 years in prison for second degree murder

A Cherokee basketball legend with a gigantic smile and an amazing heart passed away recently. Mianna “Peaches” Squirrell passed away on Monday, April 7 at the age of 44.  Squirrell’s obit sums up her life. “Peaches didn’t just touch lives – she transformed them.”