Walker, in red, talks at a workshop on traditional Cherokee food in South Carolina. (Photo by Mike Belleme, The New York Times) |
Kituwah is considered sacred by all three Cherokee tribes, including those based in Oklahoma. (Photo by Mike Belleme, The New York Times) |
Natalie Bogwalker, who runs an earth skills and carpentry school outside of Asheville, N.C, told Fortin, "There’s
so many young people, and people of all ages, who really want to
connect with a more earth-centered life." Fortin adds, "Walker [gives] workshops on traditional Cherokee food in South Carolina.
Earth skills gatherings like these have been happening in the Southeast
for a number of years but have only recently made a bigger effort to
include Cherokee people and knowledge."
"The true heart of the community is called Kituwah, it was once a town and cultural center," Fortin writes, "Today, many
Cherokee people farm at Kituwah, including Walker. The crops on her five-acre plot include corn,
peppers, beans and sweet basil. . . . surrounding terrain has lured hikers and hippies for decades, fostering
a counterculture that still thrives in Asheville, about 50 miles east.
. . . Asheville has also become a center of the Land Back movement, which prioritizes Native American knowledge and property claims."
The Cherokee have had to create ways to survive beyond farming. Tourism dollars made from roadside shops help pay the bills, "along with revenues from a casino that generates hundreds of millions of dollars annually," Fortin reports. Mary Crowe, 60, an activist who is campaigning to bestow a Cherokee name, Kuwohi, on the tallest peak of the Smoky Mountains, told Fortin: “Money talks. We learn that. But we also know that, no matter what, this land right here is priceless.”
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