Furman University formally acknowledged that the campus occupies land that once belonged to the Cherokee and other Indigenous people when a contingent from the university presented a framed land acknowledgment to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians on Wednesday, Feb. 2.

A landmark opioid settlement has been agreed to in principle by a major pharmaceutical company, three distributors, and all tribes in Indian Country.  The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) will share in this settlement along with any of the other 573 federally recognized tribes who wish to participate; although, a monetary amount for each is not yet known. 

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials announced on Wednesday, Feb. 2 the selection of two key positions in the Park Management Team. Randy Scoggins will step in as the new chief ranger to oversee the Visitor and Resource Protection Division and Stephanie Kyriazis will serve as the new chief of resource education.  

North Carolina’s American Indian communities will receive a total of $10 million in state funds this year to support programs and services to help with pandemic recovery.  This year’s state budget allocated money to each of the state recognized tribes and tribal organizations.

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.