The Cherokee Preservation Foundation has awarded $101,711 to the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching to provide support for seminars designed to enrich North Carolina teachers’ understanding and appreciation of Cherokee history and culture.

The funding will enable nearly 100 teachers from throughout the state to learn about Cherokee heritage during five-day residential seminars to be held at NCCAT. The center’s faculty will develop the seminars, which will incorporate educational resources of the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, Western Carolina University’s Cherokee Studies Program, the Oconaluftee Indian Village and Qualla Arts and Crafts Cooperative.

NCCAT and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians have a long-standing partnership. Seminars focusing on Cherokee arts, history and culture have been among the Center’s most popular programs for teachers since it was established in 1985. Cherokee elder Robert Bushyhead is credited with giving Cherokee names to NCCAT’s three principal buildings—“Katusi” (mountain), “Atanto (human spirit) and “Ahysti” (place of exploration).