UNC Asheville and Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Sign Agreement

Members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) will have new opportunities to attend UNC Asheville as part of an instructional credit agreement that was signed today on the university’s campus in both English and Kituwah Cherokee syllabary. With members of the campus and tribal communities looking on, UNC Asheville Chancellor Mary K. Grant and EBCI Principal Chief Michell Hicks joined together to sign the agreement, which will also lead to expansion of Cherokee cultural programming on campus and in greater Asheville.

“The Eastern Band is honored to be partnering with the University of North Carolina at Asheville on this important initiative,” said Principal Chief Hicks. “I appreciate the university embracing Cherokee students, history and culture and we look forward to a long productive relationship with the university.”

“This is a milestone,” said Chancellor Grant. “This is an important day as we look to make sure we are an institution that is welcoming and supportive in creating a global multicultural community on campus and it begins right in our own backyard. This is a partnership that we value.”

Agreement Details

UNC Asheville will reserve up to 10 admissions slots for new, incoming, academically-qualified EBCI members each semester. The EBCI will cover the students’ cost of attendance and UNC Asheville will grant in-state residence status to all students receiving full EBCI scholarships.

As part of the agreement, UNC Asheville will assist students in forming an American Indian Science and Engineering Society Chapter. UNC Asheville faculty and administrators also will begin collaboration on curricular programming opportunities such as Cherokee language instruction and courses in Native American Studies.

Additional collaboration will include orientation and ongoing support programs to help Cherokee students acclimate and flourish as UNC Asheville students. The EBCI will develop an internship program on the Qualla Boundary providing health care and/or education experience to UNC Asheville students. EBCI also will provide educational programming on campus and in greater Asheville in the areas of arts, crafts, dance, storytelling, tribal governance and issues related to casino operations.

This agreement builds on a closer relationship that has developed over the past several years between UNC Asheville and the EBCI, with activities both in Asheville and the Qualla Boundary.

Past Classroom and Cultural Activities

UNC Asheville has welcomed Principal Chief Hicks and others to campus as part of its Native American Speaker and Performance Series, which featured concerts, stickball and traditional dance demonstrations, lectures and discussions. Assistant Professor of Education Trey Adcock, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, has mentored Native American students and is the advisor for the Native American Student Association. Adcock also serves as UNC Asheville’s director of American Indian outreach and has made frequent trips to the Qualla Boundary.

Cherokee High School has welcomed Susan Reiser, UNC Asheville associate dean and lecturer, who travels to Cherokee twice weekly to instruct Cherokee students in computer science. Reiser teaches the same students online during the other weekdays. Reiser’s presence and Adcock’s visits have led more Cherokee students to apply to UNC Asheville.

“Our relationship that we have built will continue to grow and get stronger moving forth,” said Hicks. “We’ve built a lot of buildings over the years [in Cherokee] … but the most important part of infrastructure, from my perspective, is the minds that we develop. I look forward to seeing the intellectual infrastructure that’s going to come out of this university.”

“As we sign the agreement to build this program,” said Chancellor Grant, “as we look to work together to preserve and protect the language, we are doing so with great partners and strong leadership in the Eastern Band of the Cherokee.”