Public comment open on Ela Dam license surrender

Last week, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission accepted an application that Northbrook Carolina Hydro II LLC submitted in November seeking to relinquish its license to generate power from Ela Dam on the Oconaluftee River.

Woman sentenced to four years in sex abuse case

Rachel Paige Crowe, 33, has been sentenced to four years in federal prison, five years of probation, $5,200 in fines and at least 15 years on the sex offender registry after pleading guilty to engaging in sexual contact with a 15-year-old boy on the Qualla Boundary in 2022. 

Cherokee Police Commission discusses cannabis change

A week after Cherokee voters overwhelmingly voiced their support for legalizing cannabis on the Qualla Boundary, the Cherokee Police Commission spent 20 minutes of its monthly meeting discussing the potential impacts of such a change. 

Mixed drink referendum passes easily in Cherokee

What was once an extremely contentious issue in Cherokee now appears to be fairly noncontroversial, as a referendum vote seeking approval for issuing mixed drink permits on the Qualla Boundary sailed through with 68.3% approval Sept. 7. 

Ready for the worst: Cherokee police receive toolkit to aid AMBER Alert response

When a child goes missing, the first 48 hours  are the most critical portion of the response. If it ever happens on the Qualla Boundary, the Cherokee Indian Police Department wants to be ready to hit the ground running the moment the call comes through — and an award from the The AMBER Advocate’s Amber Alert in Indian Country Initiative  aims to ensure officers are ready should the worst occur.

EBCI hopes to expand Qualla Boundary by 3 acres

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians will seek to expand its trust lands by 3.088 acres following a unanimous vote from Tribal Council Dec. 9. 

Cherokee imposes curfew

Principal Chief Richard Sneed has issued a March 25 curfew order on the Qualla Boundary in hopes of preventing spread of COVID-19 on Cherokee lands.

Cherokee announces preemptive border closure

As of press time there were no confirmed cases of COVID-19 on the Qualla Boundary, but the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians isn’t waiting until the disease arrives to take drastic steps preventing its spread. 

Cherokee to conduct census

A census of people living on the Qualla Boundary will soon begin following a unanimous vote from Tribal Council to approve $273,000 for the project.

Opt-In meetings gather public input on future needs

How would you spend $800 million?

Residents and opinion leaders from the seven westernmost counties and the Qualla Boundary have just completed a series of input sessions design to gather broad-based feedback to help answer just that question.

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