The National Park Service urges visitors to not feed or approach black bears in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The park has seen an increase in incidents involving visitors feeding bears. Feeding wildlife is illegal and endangers you, other visitors and bears.

The One Feather will now provide weekly legislative updates on various pieces of federal legislation of interest to members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. The bills are shown in the order in which they were introduced following the new bills for the week.

The National Park Service (NPS) and Federal Highway Administration (FWHA) continue to work towards emergency repairs for US441/Newfound Gap Road following the Aug. 1 washout and landslide. The agencies plan to award a contract in August and expect that construction will be complete in early October.

The old Cherokee Tribal Bingo closed in 2020 due to COVID-19, and it was never re-opened. A new Bingo operation is in the works, and Dinilawigi (Tribal Council) of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) passed legislation during its regular session on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025 that gives the green light for it to become reality.

The Cherokee One Feather issued four questions to candidates for Dinilawigi (Tribal Council). Over the next four weeks, candidate responses will be published.

U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson announced on Wednesday, Aug. 6 that a number of individuals are facing federal firearms and immigration charges under Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative to protect our communities from perpetrators of violent crime, repel the invasion of illegal immigration and achieve total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs).

Shawnenna Caroline Roland, 39, of Cherokee, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, is facing federal charges for child abuse, child neglect, and assault in Indian country, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Dinilawigi (Tribal Council) tabled several ordinances during the Orders of the Day portion of its regular session on Thursday, Aug. 7.  Several of these were tabled for more discussion before being brought to the floor for a vote.