CHEROKEE, NC, March 22, 2004—Cherokee Preservation Foundation (CPFdn) announced today that it has awarded 20 new grants totaling $698,234 that community and other nonprofit groups associated with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) and the surrounding region will use in connection with economic development, job creation, cultural preservation and environmental preservation endeavors.
Some of the grants will help fund:
- An assessment of the local tourism industry’s customer service needs that will lead to three local community colleges working together on a pilot program that will help EBCI hospitality workers serve visitors better. After lessons are learned from the pilot program, the customer service curriculum is expected to be made available to other tourism-oriented businesses in the seven westernmost counties of western North Carolina.
- Equipment that will be used to provide state-of-the-art automobile repair training to Cherokee High School students (and ultimately to the entire EBCI community).
- Expansion of the business capacity of the Vocational Opportunities of Cherokee, Inc., by developing a retail sales operation. VOC is an organization dedicated to serving members of the EBCI who are employment-challenged due to mental or physical constraints.
“Cherokee Preservation Foundation seeks to support systemic changes that will have a positive, long-term impact on the EBCI and the surrounding seven-county region, and we have a particular interest in facilitating ways that the economy can be diversified and sustained over time,” said Susan Jenkins, executive director of CPFdn. “The customer service pilot program that Southwestern Community College, Haywood Community College and Tri-County Community College are creating together is a case in point.
“The Rural Community College Initiative (RCCI) is a national project funded by the Ford Foundation that helps community colleges in rural areas increase access to education and develop regional economies,” Jenkins said. “When the Ford Foundation decided to extend RCCI to additional community colleges in 2002, Cherokee Preservation Foundation brought together the three community colleges to make them aware of RCCI and to help them explore how they might work together and apply for inclusion in the program.
“Our convening sessions resulted in the three community colleges’ decision to form a partnership and apply to participate in RCCI. The Western Carolina Partnership (WCP) they formed was accepted by RCCI, and it is RCCI’s first instance of multiple schools in a region collaborating to create a shared vision and work together to improve the quality of life of people they serve. The RCCI designation has provided a process to develop ways of utilizing local resources to address regional needs. The WCP has now joined forces with Advantage West, Cherokee Tribal Travel and Promotion, and area Chambers of Commerce on a shared vision to positively impact the experience of visitors to western North Carolina.”
Of the nearly $700,000 provided to grantees in Spring 2004, 75 percent of the grants were awarded to EBCI institutions and projects, and the other 25 percent went to collaborative projects that will benefit the EBCI and the region.
A DESCRIPTION OF SPRING GRANTS
Economic Development/Employment Opportunity Grants
Western Carolina Partnership of the Rural Community College Initiative, to conduct an assessment of customer service needs in the region that will lead to the planning and development of a pilot project for improved customer service in Cherokee. (For more information, contact Susan Jenkins at the Cherokee Preservation Foundation (497-5550), Connie Haire at Southwestern Community College (586-4091), Laura Leatherwood at Haywood Community College (627-4544) or Bo Gray at Tri-County Community College (837-6810).
Cherokee Boys Club, to purchase state-of-the art auto repair equipment that will modernize the auto repairs program that has helped Cherokee High School students since 1964 and will enable students to receive professional certification/licensure in specialized areas of auto repair.
Vocational Opportunities of Cherokee, Inc. (VOC), to expand VOC’s business capacity by developing a retail sales operation that focuses on lawn care equipment sales and service, as well as household and commercial cleaning supplies and services. The store will provide employment opportunities for EBCI members and will also help diversify the types of businesses located on the Qualla Boundary.
Cherokee Reservation Cooperative Extension Service (CES), to expand financial education services for Cherokee youth (ages 8-12) to include small business entrepreneurial skills and training. The “Paving Our Own Way” program builds on the successful Qualla Financial Freedom program in which CES is a partner.
Cherokee Enhancement Association, to beautify the Cherokee community and help attract more visitors.
Cultural Preservation Grants
EBCI, to produce a two-hour motion picture depicting the Trail of Tears. The film about the forced removal of the Cherokee to Oklahoma is a collaborative project involving the EBCI, the National Park Service and the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.
Cherokee Mountain Art Center, to enable the Center to seek nonprofit IRS status.
Cherokee Potters Guild, to continue building the Guild’s capacity by further developing potters’ abilities to revive Cherokee old-style stamped pottery.
Museum of the Cherokee Indian, to help a consortium of organizations understand the archiving and digitizing issues involved in developing an information sharing system on Cherokee history and culture. The consortium includes the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, EBCI Cultural Resources, EBCI Information Technology, Cherokee Central Schools, Cherokee Historical Association, the Junaluska Museum, and Western Carolina University’s Hunter Library and Cherokee Studies Program.
Museum of the Cherokee Indian, to enhance the Museum’s education programs, particularly the offerings it provides in connection with Western Carolina University’s Cherokee Studies Program.
Stecoah Valley Arts, Crafts and Education Center, to teach children Cherokee language and culture through bird watching and identification activities.
North American Indian Women’s Association, to research and produce a script for two television documentaries, “Our Living Legacy: Cherokee Traditions” and “The Cherokee Beloved Woman.”
Cherokee Historical Association, to improve the production quality of the “Unto These Hills” drama with a new vocal amplification system.
North Carolina Outward Bound, to create a Cherokee Unity Project that will help identify tensions which exist between Cherokee students who attend Cherokee High School and other high schools in the region, and then address those issues and unify students through pride in and respect for their Cherokee culture and heritage.
Snowbird Health Clinic, to promote Cherokee diabetes awareness and physical fitness in the Snowbird Community while integrating traditional Cherokee culture, language and healthy lifestyles.
Tow String Community Club (through the Partnership for the Future in Bryson City), to restore and beautify the Tow String Cemetery by correcting severe erosion problems, and to implement an intergenerational project to learn the history of the community.
Birdtown Community Club (through Cherokee Boys Club), to conduct a community-wide survey that will assist with the community club’s strategic planning and efforts to secure more broad-based community participation.
Cherokee Elders Gathering Committee (through Cherokee Tribal Travel and Promotion), to plan for a Cherokee Elders Gathering to be held in Fall 2005 as part of the annual Cherokee Indian Fair. The Committee is a new group whose main focus is to honor the elders and to engage them in active community participation.
Cherokee Center for Family Services (through Cherokee Boys Club), to sponsor Cherokee Challenge’s first Indian Youth Leadership Camp. Cherokee Challenge is an after-school substance abuse prevention program that assists EBCI youth.
Environmental Preservation Grants
University of Tennessee, to establish a Great Smoky Mountain Archeological Field School. As the only field school in the southeast U.S. that will have an explicit Native American orientation to the practice of public archaeology, the school could become a model for how input should be sought from all stakeholders when economic development can have an impact on cultural resources and preservation.
About Cherokee Preservation Foundation
Cherokee Preservation Foundation was established on November 14, 2000, as part of the Second Amendment to the Tribal-State Compact between the EBCI and the State of North Carolina. It is an independent nonprofit foundation funded by the EBCI from gaming revenues generated by the Tribe. CPFdn is not part of or associated with any for-profit gaming entity. For more information, visit www.cherokeepreservationfdn.org on the Web.
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