Press release from the University of North Carolina at Asheville:
UNC Asheville will celebrate Cherokee Cultural Week with special events Nov. 13-15 and a keynote address by Principal Chief Richard G. Sneed of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI). All Cherokee Cultural Week activities are free and open to everyone.
UNC Asheville student and EBCI member Livia Lambert has organized the series to offer insight into the Cherokee language, storytelling, and the arts for campus and the community in honor of Native American Heritage month.
“As a community fellow for the Key Center for Community Engaged Learning at UNC Asheville and current president of the Native American Student Association, my role is to strengthen the relationship between the EBCI and UNC Asheville,” Lambert said. “We also will be doing a bit of ‘myth busting.’ The goal of these events is to provide the campus community with new opportunities to gain a deeper understanding of our people.”
Cherokee Cultural Week Events:
● Wed., Nov. 13 – Informational displays on Cherokee language, law and government, Harrah’s Cherokee Casinos, basket weaving, bead work, pottery, woodcarving and visual arts – 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Highsmith Student Union Blue Ridge Room, UNC Asheville● Thurs., Nov. 14 – Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Principal Chief Richard G. Sneed Keynote Address: “History and Culture through Storytelling,” focusing on the work of the Museum of the Cherokee Indian – 3 p.m., Highsmith Student Union Blue Ridge Room, UNC Asheville
● Fri., Nov. 15 – Concert: River Kane and Banished DG – 8 p.m., Highsmith Student Union Grotto, UNC Asheville
Principal Chief Sneed is the top executive of the EBCI, overseeing the welfare of its 15,000 members and serving as a liaison between the Tribe and other governments.
Sneed has been integral in maintaining UNC Asheville’s long-standing partnership with the EBCI. In addition to offering an American Indian and Indigenous Studies minor, UNC Asheville has instructional credit agreements with both the EBCI and the United South and Eastern Tribes Inc. (USET), providing enrollment slots for Tribal members as well as expanded Native American programming and curriculum. The To Ki Ya Sdi room in Highsmith Student Union, which translates to “the place where they race,” was named in honor of the Cherokee people last spring.
For more information on Cherokee Cultural Week, visit unca.edu/events.
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