11 minute read
Tribe to conduct census
BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER
For the first time in 22 years, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians will conduct a census of its tribal members.
On Dec. 8, the EBCI Tribal Council unanimously passed a resolution submitted by the office of Principal Chief Richard Sneed authorizing an electronic tribal census as well as an incentive of $100 per participating person. According to Anita Lossiah, policy analyst for the EBCI, the census will be carried out this year.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is important for your tribe,” said Big Cove Rep. Teresa McCoy. “It’s important to your children and your grandchildren and their children. And the reason I say that is because this is 2022 and it’s time for us to know exactly how many members of this tribe are alive and well.”
The tribe’s Charter and Governing Document, the EBCI’s supreme legal document analogous to a constitution, mandates that a tribal census be carried out once every 10 years, with the results used to calibrate the weighted voting system used in Tribal Council. The body has 12 members, but each member’s vote has a different value according to the population of his or her township. Votes from Birdtown and Wolfetown representatives, for example, are worth 12 votes, while Snowbird/Cherokee County and Painttown are weighted at six. Representatives from Yellowhill and Big Cove control seven votes apiece.
However, no tribal census has been conducted since 2001. Though the topic has periodically come up in Tribal Council, no census has occurred — not even after a unanimous vote in 2017 to approve $273,000 for the project. The amount was intended to cover a contract with the U.S. Census Bureau to manage the census and pay for the local workers who would carry it out.
In a work session held Dec. 6, Lossiah said the census did not take place in 2017 because the tribe missed the deadline for completing requirements to start the process. At that point, the Census Bureau had to commit its resources toward the 2020 federal census and could not assist the tribe. Then the COVID-19 pandemic exploded, further delaying the process.
“Now (we’re) basically getting on track to the list of things to do and identifying
some of the work that needs to be done,” Lossiah said. “Going through the pandemic, electronic processes for things were really ramped up.”
The tribe expects that conducting the census electronically will be less expensive and yield more information than traditional means. The census will include all tribal members, not just those who live on the Qualla Boundary. The process is expected to take five months, with one month for education and promotion followed by a three-month period during which the questionnaire will be live online. In the fifth month, the team will finalize the data for viewing.
During the Dec. 6 work session, Sneed and Tribal Council had a robust discussion about the implications census results could have for the weighted voting system. While the tribe currently lacks hard data on the number and distribution of its citizens, it’s
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This project is supported by the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust and the Dogwood Health Foundation. believed that more tribal members live off the Qualla Boundary than on it. OffBoundary members can still vote in elections — the law allows them to register in the township where they last resided, or if they never lived on tribal land, in a township based on their parents’ or ancestors’ residence — but they can’t run for office.
Sneed and McCoy, who are often at loggerheads in Council chambers, found themselves in agreement over McCoy’s assertion that Tribal Council should one day add atlarge seats for members who don’t live on tribal land.
“At some point a citizen who lives offBoundary is going to say, ‘Hey, wait a second. I’m being disenfranchised here,’”
Sneed said.
Such a solution would require a change to the Charter — or approval of a constitution — and won’t be brought about by the census itself. However, the census results could inform the discussion around what changes, if any, should be made to Cherokee’s legislative systems to better address the tribe’s current reality.
The tribal Charter, last amended in 1986, “absolutely did not take into consideration the economic powerhouse that the Eastern Band is today,” Sneed said, adding that it didn’t anticipate a time when so many members would live away from tribal lands.
The census results will be used for more than adjusting the voting weights on Tribal Council. Specific demographic information is important for many purposes, including pursuit of federal grant dollars and administration of tribal services.
While Lossiah declined to provide a final version of the questionnaire that will accompany the census, an earlier version attached to the census resolution that Tribal Council tabled in November had 26 questions. These included everything from typical demographic questions about the ages, incomes, education levels and professions of people in the household to questions specific to the Cherokee people, such as whether anyone in the household speaks the Cherokee language, whether the respondent knows their clan and the enrollment status of household members. The survey also includes questions targeted at understanding social dynamics in the community, such as whether the respondent is caring for children other than their biological children and whether the household has access to a vehicle, housing, health insurance, broadband and fresh food.
“I just want y’uns to quickly come in here with any amendment that you need for any type of financial anything that’s going to help get this project done,” McCoy said prior to the vote Dec. 8. “I think it’s long overdue.”
— Teresa McCoy
Highlands Cashiers Health Foundation (HCHF) has awarded a grant to Boys and Girls Club of the Plateau to fund a recreational therapist position at their Cashiers facility. The recreational therapist will serve to improve the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of youngsters from Cashiers, Highlands and the surrounding plateau communities through mentorship and activities that encourage healthy habits; reduce depression, stress, anxiety; and build confidence and socialization skills.
The club will be conducting bi-yearly assessments on club members to establish baselines and to help monitor progress. Many children are not comfortable sharing, and it becomes more difficult to recognize where there is a need. By conducting the assessments, it helps with identifying children that need additional support. One of the primary goals of the club is prevention, and this allows the staff to follow their evolution and give them the support that they need before an issue can escalate.
“Behind every behavior action is a need,” says Brandon Norwood, Director of Health and Wellness with Boys and Girls Club of the Plateau. “Finding that need is incredibly important. Too often kids are just written off for too many ‘thumbs down’ as just a bad kid. Maybe that kid is just going through some stuff, so let’s try to figure out what we can do to help.”
In addition to working directly with members of the club, the recreational therapist will be developing a range of new programs. An educational program for parents is currently being developed. The program would focus on supporting parents and encouraging whole family health and wellness. Additionally, a new internship program for recreational therapy students at Western Carolina University is being developed. This new program will allow the club to support more youth while providing one of the few local internships available on the plateau.
Robin Tindall, CEO of HCHF, Brandon Norwood, Director of Health and Wellness for Boys and Girls Club of the Plateau, and Carmen Waite, CEO of Boys and Girls Club of the Plateau.
Sarge’s honors community with new calendar
Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation has a new way to help furry friends in its care with the first annual “2023 Furrst Responder Hero Calendar.”
The wall calendar showcases 13 of Haywood County’s first responders posing with their favorite adoptable Sarge’s cat or dog.
“We looked for new ideas for fundraising to support Sarge’s work saving homeless dogs and cats but wanted to go beyond photos of our animals,” said Pamela Wilcox Smith, Sarge’s interim executive director. “We wanted to feature something that makes us proud of our community, and decided to honor Haywood County’s first responders, Haywood businesses and Sarge’s adoptable dogs and cats.”
Smith pointed out that Haywood County heroes put their lives on the line for the community every day. Couple that with local businesses that continuously support Sarge’s Animal Rescue and the awesome Sarge’s animals needing a forever home, and the result, she said, is a “win-win for everyone.”
First responders received a spot on the calendar through nomination by the community, then Facebook voting.
The Sarge’s 2023 Furrst Responder Hero Calendar features Waynesville Police Department Sgt. Dee Parton and Sarge’s dog, Kaiser, on the cover.
Calendars are $20 and are available at Sarge’s Adoption Center in Waynesville, and at donor businesses featured in the calendar. Visit these participating Haywood County businesses: Cornerstone Mercantile, Coffee Cup Café, Bogart’s, Smoky Mountain Dog Bakery, Vale 243, Behavior Tales, Sweet Onion, Mast General Store, Print Haus, Affairs of the Heart, Station on Main and Beverly Hanks Realtors-McElroy & Ellege.
The 2023 Furrst Responder Hero Calendars may also be ordered online and mailed anywhere; order at sarges.org.
Program on Cherokee language to be held
Arts and Heritage Center.
Dr. Francis is the founding director of the Cherokee Language Program at Western Carolina University. He moved from WCU to become the Education Curriculum Developer at the New Kituwah Cherokee Language Immersion Academy of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI). He works with speakers to document Cherokee language and with teachers and community member to develop lessons for Cherokee language instruction at all levels.
Dr. Francis will briefly outline the state of the art in current Cherokee language instruction, including online work. He will explain the work that he and his colleagues are engaged in to preserve and expand knowledge of the Cherokee language. They focus on the EBCI community, developing language instruction materials and lessons for all levels of students, including pre-school instructors, K-12 students, and adult community students. He will present some of the Cherokee language instruction trends that are developing.
The Cherokee language is considered endangered and the EBCI is engaged in several activities to preserve and advance the language as well as other valuable cultural aspects.
The program will take place at the Cowee School Arts and Heritage Center at 51 Cowee School Drive, off NC 28 N, in Franklin at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 16.
The lecture series is designed to give people an opportunity to learn more about our local area, from many different angles, and to enjoy a pleasant, informative evening together.
Find your purrfect mate at FUR’s adoption day
Feline Urgent Rescue of Western North Carolina (FUR) invites members of the community to “find your purrfect mate” during its first adoption day of 2023.
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, the public can stop by the cage-free, no-kill sanctuary without an appointment to meet and play with available kittens, adult cats and senior cats from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 12. The sanctuary is located at 38 Safe Haven Drive in Waynesville.
“Adopting a cat from a sanctuary like ours is usually safer and less expensive for families in the long-run,” said Lisa Sanborn, FUR Board president. “All FUR cats have been vaccinated, spayed or neutered and microchipped for no extra cost, so families don’t have to worry about those initial expenses.”
For this special event, FUR will even be reducing their standard adoption fees to encourage adoptions.
“We’re eager to place our available kitties in loving homes,” said Syd Klocke, co-coordinator for the event. “The more cats we can adopt out, the more cats we can rescue. The need is so great in our area, but we can only help the cat population when we have the space and funds to do so.”
At any given time, FUR cares for up to 100 cats, including those living at the sanctuary, cats placed in foster homes and community colonies around the area, and there is often a wait list of cats who are needing help. In addition, FUR is almost exclusively volunteer and donation based.
For more information about FUR’s February adoption day or for directions, visit furofwnc.org or call 844.888.CATS (2287).
Book Discussion Group at Library
The Jackson County Public Library is hosting the monthly Book Discussion Group on Tuesday, Jan. 17, and Tuesday, Feb. 21, both at 6 p.m. in the conference room.
The book to be discussed the next two months is “Black Leopard, Red Wolf” by Marlon James. In this novel, myth, fantasy, and history come together to explore what happens when a mercenary is hired to find a missing child. Drawing from African history, mythology, and his own rich imagination, Marlon James has written an adventure that’s an ambitious, involving read. Jan. 17: Chapters 1 and 2. Feb. 21: Chapters 3 through 6.
“Black Leopard, Red Wolf” is available through the NC Cardinal System in standard print, large print and audiobook formats. This novel is also available through OverDrive as an ebook and an audiobook. Registration is required. Email jcpladults@fontanalib.org or call 828.586.2016 to register.
