Cherokee business owners are forming a chamber of commerce that will give the business community a voice in shaping the town’s future and strengthen the economic climate.

Bamboo is the common name applied to a wide and varied group of woody grasses from all around the world. There are more than 1,000 species of bamboo. Bamboo grows in temperate and tropical climates in the Americas and throughout Asia with the greatest diversity occurring in tropical areas.

“Woven goods—baskets and mats—document what women did, when, and how. They illuminate the work of women who transformed the environments that produced materials for basketry. They point to women’s roles in ceremonial, subsistence, and exchange systems. As objects created and utilized by women, baskets and mats conserved and conveyed their concepts, ideas, experience, and expertise. They asserted women’s cultural identity and reflected their values.”

— Weaving New Worlds: Southeastern Cherokee Women and Their Basketry, by Sarah H. Hill (University of North Carolina Press, 1997)

By Michael Beadle

Sometimes John Grant sees a bear inside a rough block of soapstone. Sometimes he sees a buffalo or an eagle.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

David Cozzo, director of the Revitalization of Traditional Cherokee Artisan Resources project, stands on a small stage in the Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University in front of a crowd of about 15 middle-aged audience members.