The Cherokee language is important. It is a treasure. It is a part of the characteristics of what it means to be Cherokee. Some have even insinuated that a tribal member’s very identity as a Cherokee rests on their knowledge of the language. It is considered part of the life’s blood of the community. To some. 

By REV. TIMOTHY L. MELTON, PASTOR (Transcribed by Myra D. Colgate) Cherokee Pentecostal Holiness Church   Read:  Matthew 28: 1-10; John 20:12,18-23. “Yes, He is risen!  I’m so glad He has gotten up!  He got up, so I can get up!  All of us who believe can know...

Sometimes, it seems like a scene out of “Groundhog Day”. For decades, the Robeson County-based state recognized tribe called the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina has been seeking federal recognition – a move that has been opposed for decades by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI). 

By REV. TIMOTHY L. MELTON, PASTOR (Transcribed by Myra D. Colgate)   Read:  Matthew 14:22-33; Mark 6:35-52 Continued… Peter had asked for and gotten permission to get out of the boat and “to walk on the water to Jesus.”  After getting Jesus’ permission, Peter had...

Do we realize how scared those twelve men had to have been to have screamed out as they began to think they were seeing a ghost near them walking on the water?  Those who were fishermen knew they’d never seen a man walking on the water like they saw one out in the middle of the water, in the rough sea, or at least thought they were seeing one.  All of them had cried out in fear.

The ability to banish or exclude people from our lands “is an inherent and essential part of Tribal sovereignty. It is indispensable to the Tribe’s autonomy and self-governance.” Sounds serious to our government.

As an enrolled member that travels to Cherokee for the fishing tournament, is there anything else that we, as a Tribe, can do more during the events?