NEWS ᎧᏃᎮᏓ
EBCI tribal legislative updates (Feb. 5)
By SCOTT MCKIE B.P. One Feather Asst. Editor CHEROKEE, N.C. – The One Feather will now provide regular legislative updates on various pieces of legislation of the Dinilawigi (Tribal Council) of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI). The focus will be on...
Sleight and Roland child abuse cases schedule update
In August 2024, Bevier Hasbrouck Sleight III, then 78, who was employed as Santa at Santa’s Land Fun Park & Zoo in Cherokee, was arrested by Cherokee Indian Police Department on 13 child abuse charges including two counts of aggravated sexual abuse; two counts of sexual abuse; two counts of abusive sexual contact; three counts of offensive touching; two counts of contributing to the delinquency, undiscipline, neglect, or abuse of minors; and two counts of child abuse in the first degree.
Federal legislative updates of interest to EBCI citizens (Feb. 3)
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.
ONE FEATHER PHOTOS
COMMUNITY ᏍᎦᏚᎩ
Meet the EBCI’s 2026 Remember the Removal Riders
Following are the riders who will represent the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians on the 2026 Remember the Removal (RTR) bicycle ride. The ride will retrace the northern route of the Trail of Tears from New Echota, Ga. to Tahlequah, Okla. Exact dates are not yet available for this year’s ride, but it will occur in June 2026.
Cherokee Preservation Foundation approves a $20,000 award for Planning Grant
The Cherokee Preservation Foundation (CPF) has approved a $20,000 planning grant to the Southwestern Commission Regional Council of Governments (SWC) led by the Mountain West Partnership (MWP), a division of the SWC. The project will advance sustainable economic development through culturally aligned collaboration with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI).
EBCI Natural Resources, the Nature Conservancy, and Eastern Cherokee BIA host Eco-Cultural Wildland Fire training
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) Natural Resources Department supported by the Eastern Cherokee Agency, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Nature Conservancy held a National Wildlife Coordinating Group FFT2 wildland fire training recently with an eco-cultural focus to build tribal workforce development and produce community fire practitioners and wildland firefighters.
OPINIONS ᏃᎵᏍᎬᎢ
Living the Arte Suave: Walks of opportunity
Whether it be in the middle of a summer heat wave or a winter ice storm, you can almost bet hard, cash money that you will find some dedicated runners and joggers, risking life and limb, or at least pneumonia or heat stroke, running down your street or country road.
SPEAKING OF FAITH: Your engine light is on, Part 2 of 2
The warning light urges you to act and become active in trying to find out what is wrong.
COMMENTARY: Common sense – Demand your rights to information
I am dumbfounded by some of the warnings and recommendations that are coming from authorities and social services groups these days. One advisory had to do with preventative measures for leaving a child in the backseat of a vehicle.
SPORTS ᏍᎦᏚᎩ
ON THE SIDELINES: “Let’s go” has varying meanings for players
Cherokee’s Daisee Fourkiller-Raby shouted “Let’s go” after she hit a key three-point shot late in the NCHSAA 1A West Regional Final on Thursday (March 11) night at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Women’s History Month: Women in Recreation
March is Women’s History Month. For the month of March, the One Feather will be sharing articles that highlight strong, intelligent women behind the day-to-day operations of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI).
ON THE SIDELINES: The meaning of a teammate
The Tsalagi Anata Anitsvyasdi (Cherokee Lady Braves) have continued to dominate in the 2024-25 season, initiating a mercy rule running clock for most of their games, echoing last year’s championship run.
OBITUARIES ᏧᏂᏲᎰᏒ
OBITUARY: James Richard Walkingstick
James Richard Walkingstick, also known as Jamie, 45, of Cherokee, passed away on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, at Memorial Mission Hospital in Asheville, N.C., after an extended illness.
OBITUARY: Hershel Felix Hyatt
Hershel Felix Hyatt enjoyed the simple pleasures of life-fishing, racing, and hunting-but nothing brought him more joy than time spent with his family.
OBITUARY: Eugenia Thompson Guess
Eugenia Thompson Guess, born July 21, 1966, went home peacefully after an extended illness surrounded by family on Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025. She loved the Lord, and he was her anchor through her days spent in the hospitals.
HAPPENINGS
Cherokee Christmas Parade 2019 participant information
Cherokee Christmas Parade application form EBCI Waiver - Christmas Parade 2019 Form W-9
Upcoming Pow Wows for Nov. 7-10
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.
Park to host Star Gazing event at Purchase Knob
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is hosting a stargazing event on Friday, Nov. 15 at the Appalachian Highlands Science Learning Center in North Carolina.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
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.
“The Way We Connect with the World:” A Night for Indigenous Filmmaking
The Museum of the Cherokee People hosted their annual Indigenous film screening, “The Way We Connect with the World,” on the evening of Friday, Aug. 2 at the Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort.
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