Forrest Cole Stamper, 28, of Cherokee, was sentenced on Monday, Jan. 31 to 48 months in prison and 15 years of supervised release for abusive sexual contact of a minor in Indian Country, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

According to the U.S. Dept. of Justice, over 84 percent of American Indian/Alaska Native women have experienced violence in their lifetime and they face a murder rate 10 times the national average.  Three Cherokee women have started a podcast to bring the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW) to light. 

Imagine working through a docket that consists of 308 cases and talking to 11 different defense attorneys. That’s just Wednesday.

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) issued a ruling on Friday, Jan. 21 declining to overturn the McGirt decision from 2020 – a move that tribal leaders are hailing as a victory for sovereignty. 

Great Smoky Mountains National Park experienced the busiest year on record with 14,137,812 visits. Visitation exceeded the 2019 record by 1.5 million visits and 2020 visitation by more than 2 million visits.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park received emergency assistance from the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) and the Tennessee Army National Guard (TANG) to rescue a stranded hiker on Tuesday, Jan. 18.