With help from the Cherokee Preservation Foundation, the Mountain Landscapes outreach team hosted a Community Forum in the Qualla Boundary on April 24. The Foundation has been encouraging youth participating in Tribal planning projects. At the Forum, participants saw, in addition to the MLI documentary, a recent video featuring the photographic work of young people who captured both the beauty and the threats to the surrounding environment.

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is poised to take leadership in planning efforts, several attendees said. This Initiative could be part of that trend.

Here are views of some of the Forum participants:

The Qualla Boundary, holding some 57,000 acres, is the proper name for the Cherokee Indian Reservation. Approximately 9,000 members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians live within its borders.

With growing revenues and expanding gaming and hospitality facilities, the Eastern Band represents a major economic force in Western North Carolina. Tribal leaders are expected to have major roles in shaping long-term planning in the region and are major players is the Mountain Landscapes Initiative through the Cherokee Preservation Foundation.

Watch this page for reports and updates on Qualla Boundary programs associated with the “Tool Box” effort.

Karina Bottchenbaugh