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Anchor: Antonia Gonzales
A resolution supporting the name change of an area in the Great Smoky Mountains known as Clingmans Dome back to its Cherokee name has passed the tribal council of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina.
The effort is being led by two Cherokee women who went before the tribal council last week.
Levita Hill and Mary Crowe are conducting research and meeting with Cherokee elders, language speakers and are inviting community members to join them in their efforts to return the name to Kuwahi.
Crowe says they’re seeking to gather input from Cherokee language speakers on the interpretation, spelling and pronunciation of the word, which has different dialects.
“Kuwahi, Kuwahi, however you pronounce it. We have different dialects and we understand that. What we hope to do is to come as a collective community group of elders, to us middle ones, to our younger folks. We see this as an avenue for the younger generation to learn to relearn who and what we are as a people creator placed us here.”
Crowe urged the council not to let a language barrier halt their efforts.
“That area and in itself to our people has been there for thousands of years. What we would like is to get council’s blessing so we can continue to work with those individuals who want to join us in getting this process up to the federal level.”
They’re hopeful the name change will be approved by the federal government, pointing to name changes taking place across the country including one recently in Yellowstone National Park.
The mountain is currently named after politician and Confederate Army General Thomas Clingman.
Resolution discussion (Courtesy EBCI):
This past weekend, the Coquille Tribe held its first-ever bass derby, in another effort to remove the invasive fish from their waterways by offering cash incentives.
As KLCC’s Brian Bull reports, the big prize fish is still at large.
Before the derby, the tribe tagged almost four dozen bass with microchips. Each carries different cash prize values.
Two hundred people showed up, and reeled in more than 2,000 small-mouth bass.
Some anglers won $50, $100, and $200. But one fish is still roaming the waters, with a $1,000 payoff.
Fred Fry is a commissioner with the Coquille River Port District and derby organizer.
“The better the price tag, the better the turnout. Smallmouth bass, they’re an invasive species, they’re not indigenous. And they’re unbalancing the ecosystem, and they’re eating all the small salmon fish, so we have a much diminished run before they ever get out to the ocean.”
The next derby is Labor Day weekend.
Details are on the Port District’s website.
Sponsors include the Coquille Tribe and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The Walker River Paiute Tribe and the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently signed a cooperative agreement to promote economic opportunities to farmers and producers. And, to increase access to locally sourced fresh, healthy foods for the community.
The tribal community, located in rural Nevada, will work with a local food program to source and distribute dairy, eggs, and produce to the reservation.
The program was authorized under the American Rescue Plan to improve food and agricultural supply chains.
The tribe is the first to sign the USDA Local Food Purchase Agreement.
Agency officials say additional agreements with tribal governments will follow in the coming weeks.
USDA is expected to award up to $400 million through the program to state and tribal governments.
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