On the morning of Monday, May 11, a grand opening and ribbon cutting was held for the new location of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) Tribal Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) Store located on Cherokee Crossing Rd.  The store, which opened in 2022, was located at Tsali Blvd.

According to the Tribal Enrollment Office of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, there are 2,740 tribal elders (59 ½ years or older).  In recognition of Older Americans Month and to celebrate EBCI tribal elders, the 22nd Annual Elder’s Walk event was held at the old Cherokee High School site in Cherokee, N.C. on the morning of Friday, May 8. The event was sponsored by the EBCI Senior Citizens Center. 

This Week in Native News

The One Feather will now provide regular legislative updates on various pieces of legislation of the Dinilawigi (Tribal Council) of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI). The focus will be on ordinances that change Cherokee Code, but sometimes resolutions of importance to the operation of the tribal government will also be included. The legislation is shown in the order in which they were introduced following the new ones for the week.

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”.

Dinilawigi (Tribal Council) has approved a moratorium on data centers within the lands of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI).  They passed Ord. No. 158 (2026) during the regular Dinilawigi session on Thursday, May 7 by a vote of 11-0 with Tutiyi/Tsalagi Gadugi (Snowbird/Cherokee County) Rep. Michael Smoker being absent. 

On the morning of Wednesday, May 6, Luke Swimmer, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) and vice president of marketing and communications for Kituwah, LLC. provided a community impact update at the Reports to Council session for Dinilawigi (Tribal Council).

Sequoyah Fund has been awarded $528,190 from the Cherokee Preservation Foundation to support small business lending, small business support programming, and administrative expenses that strengthen Sequoyah Fund’s ability to serve entrepreneurs in Cherokee and the surrounding region.