NEWS ᎧᏃᎮᏓ
Cherokee Police Commission holds first meeting of 2025
The Cherokee Police Commission held their first meeting of 2025, including the newly sworn commissioners, in the Ginger Lynn Welch building on the afternoon of Thursday, Jan. 16.
Cherokee Preservation Foundation announces Fall Grants for 2024 totaling more than $2.1 million
In fall 2024, the Cherokee Preservation Foundation awarded 10 grants to partners within Western North Carolina. Grants totaled more than $2.1 million and were awarded to projects advancing the Foundation’s mission of improving the quality of life for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) and neighboring communities.
MMIW: IWMF One-Year Grant in Review
From January 2024 to January 2025, with help from a year-long grant awarded by the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Fund for Indigenous Journalists: Reporting on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Two-Spirit and Transgender People (MMIWG2T), the Cherokee One Feather has worked to cover as many of the 35+ documented Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) cases as possible with articles and graphics. With the grant year complete, we have compiled an overview of the coverage and developments.
ONE FEATHER PHOTOS
COMMUNITY ᏍᎦᏚᎩ
CCS Musical Theatre, Choir preparing for upcoming performances
Beautiful singing voices resonated through The Gathering Place on the campus of Cherokee Central Schools (CCS) on the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 6 as the One Feather caught up with some talented students and a familiar teacher.
Hill exhibits work in “Future Imaginaries” show
A Cherokee artist is pushing her artwork into the future. Luzene Hill, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, has a piece included in the “Future Imaginaries: Indigenous Art, Fashion, Technology” show running now at the Samuel & Minna Grodin Gallery at The Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles, Calif.
WCU Fine Art Museum exhibition wins Bronze Award
Denise Drury Homewood, executive director of the Bardo Arts Center at Western Carolina University, believed “Spark of the Eagle Dancer: The Collecting Legacy of Lambert Wilson” exhibition was an award winner from the start.
OPINIONS ᏃᎵᏍᎬᎢ
SPEAKING OF FAITH: The mystery and meaning of Bethlehem’s Star
Sometime around Thanksgiving many of us decorate a Christmas tree. We raise our real or fake tree in our living rooms, decorated with ornaments and lights, with our wrapped gifts gently placed underneath as we await Christmas morning.
EDITORIAL: N.C. Commission on Indian Affairs unfairly attacks EBCI
There is a lot of opposition to the way the Lumbee are going about seeking their recognition. It is incredibly unfair for the N.C. Commission on Indian Affairs to single out Ugvwiyuhi Hicks and the EBCI and give the tribe the moniker of defamers and troublemakers.
COMMENTARY: The best present is your presence
Make a point of visiting a rest home or nursing home during the holidays. I know that sounds like an admonition, but it isn’t entirely. It should be a reminder and an incentive for compassion during this season of giving.
SPORTS ᏍᎦᏚᎩ
TRACK & FIELD: Cherokee participates in meet at Hayesville
The Cherokee High School (CHS) track team participated in a multi-school meet at Hayesville High School on the afternoon of Wednesday, April 17.
Atlanta Braves to host Third Annual Native American All-Star Baseball Showcase
The Atlanta Braves will host the third annual Native American All-Star Baseball Showcase at Truist Park, June 7-9. The top high school baseball players of Native American descent from around North America will participate in a pro-style workout on Saturday, June 8 and a showcase game on Sunday, June 9.
MIDDLE SCHOOL TRACK: CMS travels to meet at Swain
The Cherokee Middle School (CMS) track team traveled to a multi-school meet held at Swain Co. High School on the afternoon of Monday, April 15.
OBITUARIES ᏧᏂᏲᎰᏒ
OBITUARY: Solomon David Owl “Sonny Boy”
Solomon David Owl “Sonny Boy”, 82, of Cherokee, N.C., passed away peacefully on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, surrounded by his loving family. He was born in Cherokee, N.C. on Sept. 3, 1942 to the late Quincy Adam Owl and Winne Mae Junaluskie Owl.
OBITUARY: Mary Jane Bigwitch Ferguson
Mary Jane Bigwitch Ferguson, 74, passed away Dec. 20, 2024 at Cherokee Indian Hospital surrounded by family and friends after an extended battle with Multiple Myeloma.
OBITUARY: Henrietta L. Sampson
Henrietta L. Sampson, also known by many as “Aunt Zette”, Beloved Cherokee Matriarch, passed away in her home in the presence of her loving daughters on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025 at the age of 70.
HAPPENINGS
Upcoming Pow Wows for Aug. 30 – Sept. 1
Note: This list of pow wows was compiled by One Feather staff. The One Feather does not endorse any of these dances. It is simply a listing of ones occurring throughout the continent. Please call before traveling.
Cherokee Comicon prepares for opening weekend
Starting Friday, Aug. 23, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) will be hosting its first Cherokee Legends Comicon at the Cherokee Indian Fairgrounds.
Sequoyah Birthplace Museum to hold Cherokee Fall Festival
The Sequoyah Birthplace Museum, Tennessee’s only tribally-owned museum, will host its 28th annual Cherokee Fall Festival on Sept. 7-8 from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. each day.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
These walls can talk: Jared Wheatley provides a canvas
They stand amongst the tallest in western North Carolina and help form the many businesses of a seemingly ever-growing city. Asheville has also had quite a few social walls that have become more visible each year.
Cherokee Musical Theatre students go tropical with “Once on This Island Jr.”
The Cherokee Central Schools Musical Theatre Program took their audience to the Caribbean with its performance of “Once on This Island Jr.”, a musical based on the 1985 novel “My Love, My Love” by Rosa Guy. The musical opened at the Chief Joyce Dugan Cultural Arts Center on the evening of Thursday, May 12.
Tribal member shows art in Brooklyn
Isabella Saunooke, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and a sophomore seeking a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in painting with a minor in philosophy from the Pratt Institute, participated recently in the university’s art show entitled “XO”. (Photo courtesy of Saunooke family)
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