U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.), vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) introduced the bipartisan Native Youth and Tribal Officer Protection Act (NYTOPA) on Thursday, Dec. 14 to build on the Tribal jurisdiction provisions in the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (VAWA 2013) by extending protections to children and law enforcement personnel involved in domestic violence incidents on Tribal lands. The bill also will enhance federal coordination of victim resources for Tribal communities. 

Cherokee Indian Hospital will be a hosting a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday, Dec. 18 at 2pm at the new Snowbird Residential Treatment Center – Kanvwotiyi. Kanvwotiyi, in the Cherokee language, means “place where one is healed”.

An EBCI tribal member from the Birdtown Community was at her wits end earlier this year as she was being stalked by an individual, but she found no recourse.

Anthony Jason Shell, 34, was sentenced on Thursday, Nov. 30 in Federal Court in Asheville on his prior plea to one count of Sexual Abuse of a Minor.

The Project Management Office conducted a public meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 29 in the Snowbird Community to discuss the future rebuild of the Junaluska Museum, which was damaged and closed in 2015 by a storm.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials announced that the Clingmans Dome Observation Tower has been reopened to the public.