NEWS ᎧᏃᎮᏓ
Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority celebrates opening of new Cherokee County Clinic
The Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority (CIHA), alongside Tribal leadership, community members, and project partners, celebrated the opening of the new Cherokee County Clinic on Wednesday, Dec. 10.
EBCI tribal legislative updates (Dec. 10)
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).
Federal legislative updates of interest to EBCI citizens (Dec. 9)
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
“Saving the Voices”: Recording Cherokee speakers for the future
Darrell McCoy, Michael Fields, and Michael Cooksey from the Cherokee Nation Language Department have been exploring the Qualla Boundary during the first week of November, recording interviews with Cherokee speakers from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI).
Cherokee Central Schools and community partners present “Community Book Gardens” at National Conference
Cherokee Central Schools (CCS) and community partners presented “Community Book Gardens: Growing Language and Literacy in Cherokee Nation” at the 2025 National Center for Families Learning Conference in Charlotte, N.C., on Monday, Nov. 3.
Alea Martens will make modeling debut at Kananesgi
The Kananesgi Fashion Show will be held at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort on Saturday, Nov. 8, and Alea Martens, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), will make her modeling debut. She will model clothes by Mrs. Freida Saylor, an EBCI tribal member and designer.
OPINIONS ᏃᎵᏍᎬᎢ
SPEAKING OF FAITH: Christmas Story
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s (Mary’s cousin) pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to the Galilean village of Nazareth to a virgin engaged to be married to a man descended from David. His name was Joseph, and the virgin’s name, Mary. Upon entering, Gabriel greeted her:
COMMENTARY: 2025
Looking back on this year’s newspaper, I am so proud of the amazing team that delivers Qualla Boundary news to you. While the headline might capture the focus of the week each week for our community, that is only the tip of what those editions brought to us in community news over the year.
COMMENTARY: Top men are on it
We, as a tribe, have been debating and searching for ways to communicate facts and truth to our people without sharing them with other people.
SPORTS ᏍᎦᏚᎩ
Tribal member to be inducted into North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame
Rebecca Wolfe Damas, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, is a member of the Class of 2025 inductees into the North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame (NAIAHF). She will be officially inducted during a ceremony on June 7 in Green Bay, Wisc. at the Onedia Conference Center.
Qualla Boundary Special Olympics team members place at Fall Tournament
Members of the Qualla Boundary Special Olympics team placed at the 2024 Special Olympics North Carolina (SONC) Fall Tournament held recently in Charlotte, N.C.
Cherokee Recreation Youth Wrestling Program will begin in March
Starting in March, Cherokee Recreation will launch a new youth wrestling program. Casey Reagan, from Smokey Mountain Judo, will be heading up the program with help from his family, including his sister, Erin Reagan Kirkland, from Cherokee Central Schools.
OBITUARIES ᏧᏂᏲᎰᏒ
OBITUARY: General Benjamin Grant
General Benjamin Grant, born Sept. 5, 1945, in White County, Tenn., to the late Rebecca Catolster Grant (Cherokee) and Ernest “Lone Wolf” Grant (Lakota Sioux), passed away on Dec. 3, 2025.
Chad “Mongo” Donavon Burton
Chad “Mongo” Donavon Burton, 50, of Cherokee, N.C., passed away on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 19,2025.
OBITUARY: Alexander Joseph Estep
Alexander Joseph Estep, 30, of Troy, Ill., went to be with the Lord on the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025. He died unexpectedly at his home in Whittier, N.C.
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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