The U.S. Department of Justice reports that 1 out of every 3 American Indian women will be raped in their lifetime and 75 percent will be physically assaulted. Rashica Manjoo, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, visited Cherokee in January specifically to gather information on the problem in Indian Country.

A federal jury sitting in Bryson City found James Ernest Lespier, 33, an EBCI tribal member, guilty of fatally shooting Erien Amanda Smith on the in the Rought Branch Community on the Cherokee Indian Reservation on May 18, 2010, announced Anne M. Tompkins, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Cherokee Tribal Court Traffic Report – June 3

North Carolina has one of the highest rates of La Crosse encephalitis (LACV) in the country over the past few decades and Cherokee has been one of the hot beds for the disease. Last week, a representative from the Encephalitis Society, based in the United Kingdom, was in town to talk with victims of the diseases and their family and study the area for further analysis.

Budget Council Results – May 31