Cherokee Preservation Foundation is an independent nonprofit foundation established in 2000 as part of the Tribal-State Compact amendment between the

Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), (Cherokee language, Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᏱ ᏕᏣᏓᏂᎸᎩ, ''Tsalagiyi Detsadanilvgi'') is a Federally recognized tribe, federally recognized Indian Tribe based in Western North Carolina in the U ...

(EBCI) and the State of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. The Foundation is funded by the EBCI from gaming revenues generated by the Tribe; it is not associated with any for-profit gaming entity and is a separately functioning organization independent of the Tribal government. It works to improve the quality of life of the EBCI and strengthen the western North Carolina region by balancing Cherokee ways with the pursuit of new opportunities. The Foundation focuses on cultural preservation, economic development, job creation, and environmental preservation and is an engine for

rural community development Rural community development encompasses a range of approaches and activities that aim to improve the welfare and livelihoods of people living in rural areas. As a branch of community development, these approaches pay attention to social issues pa ...

on the

Qualla Boundary The Qualla Boundary or The Qualla is territory held as a land trust by the United States government for the federally recognized Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, who reside in western North Carolina. The area is part of the large historic Chero ...

and the surrounding

Haywood Haywood may refer to: Places Canada * Haywood, Manitoba United Kingdom * Haywood, Herefordshire * Great Haywood, Staffordshire * Little Haywood, Staffordshire United States * Hayward, California, formerly Haywood * Haywood, Kentucky * Haywood, ...

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

, Macon,

Graham Graham and Graeme may refer to: People * Graham (given name), an English-language given name * Graham (surname), an English-language surname * Graeme (surname), an English-language surname * Graham (musician) (born 1979), Burmese singer * Clan ...

, Swain and

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

counties.

Activities

Cultural preservation of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians

Much of Cherokee Preservation Foundation's work in support of cultural preservation is concentrated on the perpetuation of Cherokee craft traditions, the revitalization of the

Cherokee language 200px, Number of speakers Cherokee or Tsalagi ( chr, ᏣᎳᎩ ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ, ) is an endangered-to-moribund Iroquoian language and the native language of the Cherokee people. ''Ethnologue'' states that there were 1,520 Cherokee speaker ...

, and the development of a culture-based leadership initiative. Cherokee arts and crafts The Foundation supports the efforts of organizations such a
Qualla Arts & Crafts Cooperative
th

RTCAR (Revitalization of Traditional Cherokee Artisan Resources)
Cherokee Central Schools
and many others to share, preserve and perpetuate the rich art and crafts history and knowledge of the Cherokees. Revitalization of the Cherokee language A survey of Cherokee speakers released in 2006 showed that there were only 275 Cherokee speakers on the Qualla Boundary at that time. By 2018, the number was reported to be 217.

Language preservation Language preservation is the preservation of endangered or dead languages. With language death, studies in linguistics, anthropology, prehistory and psychology lose diversity. As history is remembered with the help of historic preservation, languag ...

efforts include the

New Kituwah Academy The New Kituwah Academy (Cherokee language, Cherokee: , '; ), also known as the Atse Kituwah Academy, is a private school, private bilingual Cherokee language, Cherokee- and English-language immersion school for Cherokee students in kindergarten ...

(a bilingual language immersion program for children), conventional language classes available to tribal members of all ages, and a partnership with Western Carolina University to create instructional materials in Cherokee and offer a scholarship to train students to deliver content in the Cherokee language in New Kituwah Academy classrooms. Culturally-based leadership The Foundation supports several leadership programs that are based on the Cherokee culture. These include the following: The Cherokee Youth Council, which empowers youth 13-17 by giving them a voice to speak out on issues important to them. The CYC is leading recycling awareness efforts on the Qualla Boundary and has produced
film about teenage pregnancy
from a youth and a native perspective. An annual cross-cultural Costa Rica Eco-Study Tour for high school students from western North Carolina. Th

which enables tribal members who are college undergraduates to develop their leadership capabilities by participating in individual leadership learning programs. The Right Path, a culture-based leadership development program for adult members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

Economic development and job creation

Tourism is a principal driver of economic development on the

, the homeland of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and significant funding from the Foundation has strengthened the Tribe's principal cultural attractions, including the

Museum of the Cherokee Indian A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these i ...

, Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual, the

Oconaluftee Indian Village The Oconaluftee Indian Village is a replica of an 18th-century eastern Cherokee community founded in 1952 and located along the Oconaluftee River in Cherokee, North Carolina, United States. History The Cherokee "living museum" founded by the Ea ...

, and the

Unto These Hills ''Unto These Hills'' is an outdoor historical drama during summers at the 2,800-seat Mountainside Theatre in Cherokee, North Carolina. It is the third oldest outdoor historical drama in the United States, after ''The Lost Colony'' in Mant ...

outdoor drama. Two grantees of the Foundation, th
Cherokee Chamber of Commerce
and th
Sequoyah Fund
have been strong forces that are changing the course of local business development. The Sequoyah Fund, for example, has made low-cost loans available to merchants in the Cherokee business district for new roofs and building facades that complement the Tribe's new Riverbend development and enhance the visual appeal of Cherokee's downtown. Other Sequoyah Fund loans and support services are helping new and experienced entrepreneurs to start and expand businesses.

Environmental preservation

For many hundreds of years, it has been important to the Cherokee people that they be good stewards of the land. Through a community-wide planning effort begun by the Cherokee Preservation Foundation known as Generation Qualla,
many new green initiatives are underway, including work to make tribal buildings more energy efficient, development of a green building standard, a significant increase in local recycling, streamlining of the site review process for all construction on the Qualla Boundary, and engagement of Cherokee communities in environmental improvement projects.

Notes

References

“Ancient Footpaths of a Lost Era
" Smoky Mountain News, October 20, 2010
“WNC Schools Hooked up with Fiber,”
Smoky Mountain News, July 10, 2010
“Cherokee Using Newfound Wealth toward Wise Outcomes,”
Asheville Citizen-Times, June 9, 2010
“Eastern Cherokees Reclaim Tradition of Caring,"
Indianz.com, June 4, 2010

Indian Country Today, September 19, 2008

Indian Country Today, April 8, 2004

External links

Cherokee Preservation Foundation

Official Website of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians

Native Americans in Philanthropy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cherokee Preservation Foundation Native American organizations Cherokee culture Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Foundations based in the United States Rural community development Organizations established in 2000