WikiPortallus: Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.html

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians are a federally recognized Native American tribe in the United States of America. The history of the Eastern Band is synonymous with that of the Qualla Boundary, although the EBCI own, hold, or maintain additional lands in the vicinity, and as far away as 100 miles from the Qualla Boundary. The Eastern Cherokee are the descendants primarily of those persons listed on the Baker Rolls of Cherokee Indians. The Qualla Boundary, the current homeland of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, gets most of its money from a combination of Federal/State funds, tourism, and the Harrah's Cherokee Casino, instituted in the early 1990s.

History, language and religion

The Eastern Band members are primarily descended from Cherokee who did not participate in the march on the Trail of Tears to Oklahoma Territory, primarily owing to the foresight of Chief Yonaguska, and the help of his adopted Caucasian son, William Holland Thomas. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians still practice many of the original ceremonies, and many prominent Cherokee historians are affiliated with, or members of the Eastern Band.

Tsali (pronounced [ˈtsali]) opposed the removal, and remained in the Cherokee Homeland with a small group of Cherokee who formed a rebellious resistance against the United States to thwart the removal of the Cherokee on the Trail of Tears. Tsali was eventually captured, and was executed by the United States in exchange for the lives of the small band he protected — who remained in the Cherokee Homeland and became the modern Eastern Band.

The Museum of the Cherokee Indian hosts and exhibits an extensive collection of artifacts and items of historical and cultural interest, from the early Mississippian Period through modern times, related to the Cherokee Culture. The Cherokee Heritage Center displays historical artifacts related to the march of the Cherokee on the Trail of Tears and the development of Oklahoma Cherokee Culture.

Notable Eastern Band Cherokee Indians

Contemporary language and religion

There are over two dozen Christian churches of various denominations within the Qualla Boundary. Many of the traditional religious practices of the Eastern Band have, over time, blended with new age views and customs according to Cherokee traditionalists, and have diverged as the result of cultural isolation of the various factions of Cherokee Society. However, many traditional dances and ceremonies are still practiced by the Eastern Band.

The Eastern Band has begun a language immersion program requiring all graduating high-school seniors to speak the tribal language beginning 2007. Of the total population in the Qualla Boundary, there are approximately 900 speakers, 72% of whom are over the age of 50¹.

The Eastern Cherokee Indian Reservation (Qualla Boundary)

The Eastern Cherokee Indian Reservation, officially known as the Qualla Boundary, is located in western North Carolina, just south of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The main part of the reservation lies in eastern Swain County and northern Jackson County, but there are many smaller non-contiguous sections to the southwest in Cherokee County and Graham County. A very small part of the main reservation even extends eastward into Haywood County. The total land area of these parts is 213.934 km² (82.600 sq mi), with a 2000 census resident population of 8,092 persons.

Gaming Relations between the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and North Carolina

In 1988, the United States Congress passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), which allowed federally-recognized tribes to establish casinos on tribal property. Under the act, tribes are limited to offer casino games that correspond to the already-existing level of gaming allowed under state law; in this circumstance, North Carolina proves to be exceptional in that the Cherokee were permitted to establish a casino offering Class III gaming well before the state allowed a lottery. Casino establishment usually goes by the pattern of a state first offering a lottery, followed by an agreement between the state and the Indian tribe in question, which allows for the establishment of a casino or other form of gambling operation¹. Gaming relations between the state of North Carolina and the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians have always been somewhat different from relations between other states and tribes located within their state-lines. Although North Carolina did not have a state lottery until August of 2005 (the North Carolina Education Lottery), the Cherokee were allowed to open Harrah’s Cherokee Casino in November of 1997². The first major casino, Harrah’s Cherokee Casino (part of the Harrah's Entertainment corporation), in North Carolina was opened on the reservation of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in the western part of the state on November 13th, 1997 ³. The casino was proof of nearly ten year’s worth of negotiations between tribal, state, and federal officials. Most of the work was done by Tribal Chief Jonathan “Ed” Taylor and North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt; the two, along with several aides and advisers, developed a plan for a casino that would meet state laws and satisfy local and tribal concerns⁴. One large concern on the part of tribal leaders was that in order to attract large crowds, the casino would have to offer more than just bingo and other Class I forms of gambling. The tribe had previously opened a small casino offering forms of video poker and electronic bingo, which had been challenged by the Asheville U.S Attorney on the grounds that the tribe was offering a form of gambling that was not legal elsewhere in North Carolina, and was anxious to see agreements drawn up to prevent another such event⁵. While negotiations were taking place between Chief Taylor and Governor Hunt there were many vocal Cherokee leaders who vehemently opposed the establishment of a casino on tribal lands. The tribe’s spiritual leader, Walker Calhoun, said in 1995 that “gambling would be the Cherokee’s damnation.” After much negotiation and criticism from the community and leaders such as Calhoun, the tribe and Governor Hunt came to a conclusion: the casino would be allowed to offer electronic games that required “skill or dexterity” and with a maximum jackpot of $25,000, table games were to be prohibited, alcohol was not to be permitted, either. One half of the annual casino earnings were to be divided among all members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee tribe as an annual bonus⁶. With the inception of the North Carolina lottery in August of 2005, Harrah’s Cherokee casino has been permitted to extend their repertoire of offered games to include Class II and III gambling. As thousands of people visit Harrah’s each year and the casino’s popularity continues to increase, the economic benefits of the casino continue to prove themselves worth the negotiations and work on the part of Chief Taylor and Governor Hunt. Annually, at least $5 million of casino profits is given to the Cherokee Preservation Fund; an institution which pays for projects that promote non-gambling economic development, protect the environment, and preserve Cherokee heritage and culture⁷. Another portion of casino profits goes to improving tribal health-care, education, housing, etc. Part of the revenue also goes to the state of North Carolina, as provided by the agreement drafted by Taylor and Hunt⁸. The casino earned $155 million in yearly profit in 2004, which gave approximately $6,000 dollars to each tribal member in that same year⁹.

References

¹Comprehensive Cherokee Language Survey, EBCI Dept. of Cultural Resources. Cherokee, NC. 2005

¹Buggs, Shannon. "Betting with Reservations." The News and Observer, Raleigh, North Carolina. 19 October 1997.

²Horan, Jack. "Miss. Firm to Build N.C. Casino." Charlotte Observer, Charlotte, North Carolina. 7 January 1995.

³Williams, Bob. "Cherokee casino opens." The News and Observer, Raleigh, North Carolina. 14 November 1997.

⁴Williams, Bob. "Tribe hits jackpot with new casino." Raleigh, North Carolina. 13 April 1998.

Notes

^ "This Month in North Carolina History." Sedgwick, Jessica. http://www.lib.unc.edu/ncc/ref/nchistory/nov2007/index.html. Cited October 1, 2008.
^ "This Month in North Carolina History." Sedgwick, Jessica. http://www.lib.unc.edu/ncc/ref/nchistory/nov2007/index.html. Cited October 1, 2008.
^ North Carolina Education Lottery, "About Us, Introduction and Timeline." http://www.nc-educationlottery.org/about.aspx. Cited October 1, 2008.
^ "This Month in North Carolina History." Sedgwick, Jessica. http://www.lib.unc.edu/ncc/ref/nchistory/nov2007/index.html. Cited October 1, 2008.
^ "This Month in North Carolina History." Sedgwick, Jessica. http://www.lib.unc.edu/ncc/ref/nchistory/nov2007/index.html. Cited October 1, 2008.
^ "This Month in North Carolina History." Sedgwick, Jessica. http://www.lib.unc.edu/ncc/ref/nchistory/nov2007/index.html. Cited October 1, 2008.
^ "Cherokee casino should be granted the option other tribal casinos enjoy." Asheville Citizen-Times, Asheville, North Carolina. 12 December 2005.
^ Encyclopedia of North Carolina, “Cherokee Indians.” The University of North Carolina Press. http://uncpress.unc.edu/nc_encyclopedia/cherokee.html
^ "This Month in North Carolina History." Sedgwick, Jessica. http://www.lib.unc.edu/ncc/ref/nchistory/nov2007/index.html. Cited October 1, 2008.

Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.html

Contents