CHEROKEE, NC, March
23, 2006—Cherokee Preservation
Foundation (CPFdn) announced today
that it has made 14 grants totaling
nearly $850,000 to assist programs
focused on the preservation of Cherokee
culture. Of these, two grants valued
at approximately $458,000 have been
awarded to support Cherokee language
revitalization efforts.
Cherokee Language
Revitalization
The
purpose of the Kituwah Preservation
and Education Program (KPEP) is to
provide the Qualla Boundary with
opportunities to learn Cherokee language,
history
and culture. Utilizing previous CPFdn
funding, KPEP implemented a summer
immersion camp, televised Cherokee
language classes, and a Cherokee
Language Symposium.
In order to fully address Cherokee
language revitalization challenges,
KPEP is working to develop a comprehensive
revitalization plan. It has just
finished a survey to assess the current
state
of the Cherokee language, and that
survey found that 72% of fluent speakers
of the language are over the age
of 50.
Now KPEP has received
a new grant to enable staffing and
planning for
the
Cherokee Language Academy, as well
as creation of an immersion and community
curriculum, learning materials and
resources. Western Carolina University
will assist with language revitalization
efforts by creating degree programs
for Cherokee speakers and developing
certification programs for Cherokee
language teachers. The combined grants
to KPEP and WCU total approximately
$458,000.
Other Cultural Preservation
Grants
Other
cultural preservation grants announced
by CPFdn will make the following
programs and projects possible:
The
second annual Cherokee Day of Caring
in which volunteers aid community members
in need, will take place in all ten
EBCI communities on June 9. CPFdn,
the EBCI and Harrah’s Cherokee
Casino and Hotel will again sponsor
the event.
The American Legion will
develop a plan for a new Cherokee
Veterans Memorial.
Western Carolina
University will work with the Cherokee
Youth Center
to develop
an arts-based curriculum that includes
art, literacy and Cherokee culture.
The
Cherokee Youth in Radio (CYIR) program
will purchase equipment and
services needed to air programming
on local media outlets. CYIR will
also bring professionals within the
Native
American broadcast industry to Cherokee
to meet with participating students
and spark their interest in radio
broadcast and journalism.
The Partnership for
the Future of Bryson City will address
three distinct community
needs by introducing elementary school
students to traditional Cherokee
and Scots-Irish dance and music, developing
a heritage trail that includes a
guidebook
and signage, and forming an affordable
housing coalition.
The Cherokee Healing
and Wellness Coalition will sponsor
a conference on understanding
how historical trauma has affected
Native American cultures.
The Junaluska
Memorial Site and Museum will enhance
the information it provides,
improve its artifact displays and
improve handicap accessibility.
The Cherokee
Potters Guild will offer workshops,
demonstrate pottery making
and seek to become an official member
of the Southern Highlands Handicraft
Guild.
The Murphy Civitan Club
will create a park on the site of Ft.
Butler,
where
the forced removal of the Cherokee
Nation began.
Western Carolina University’s
College of Arts and Sciences will create
a service learning opportunity for
WCU students to work with Cherokee
elementary and middle school students
in the areas of art, music and drama.
Kituwah
Preservation and Education Program
will investigate the feasibility
of a Boarding School Replica project.
Such a building could serve two purposes – an
educational and historical facility
that properly represents the influential
boarding school era and its effects
on the Eastern Band, and development
of a cultural education entity in Cherokee.
CPFdn
Has Made 41 New Grants
Overall during the Spring
2006 grant cycle just completed,
CPFdn announced
41 new cultural preservation, economic
development and environmental protection
grants totaling nearly $7 million.
As a result, since CPFdn began
making grants in 2002, it has made
more
than 300 grants in the region totaling
nearly
$25 million.
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.
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