For centuries, the Cherokee Indians have cultivated these lands, and now they're sharing that knowledge

Walker, in red, talks at a workshop on traditional Cherokee food
in South Carolina. (Photo by Mike Belleme, The New York Times)

Cherokee Indians have worked the land that borders the Great Smoky Mountains for centuries. From generation to generation they passed down knowledge and tradition, which they now are sharing with a broader community of learners," reports Jacey Fortin of The New York Times. "Known as the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, many call this mountainous corner of North Carolina home. . . . Mx. Sampson and Ms. Walker live in the town of Cherokee, N.C., within the Qualla Boundary, a 57,000-acre piece of land owned by their tribe. And they often host visitors: In recent years, non-Native people have shown a growing interest in Cherokee knowledge, culture and food."

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.”

Shale-oil bust hits rural economies as royalty checks wither

Horizontal hydraulic fracturing, which makes oil and gas in deep, dense shale easier to reach, turned the U.S. into the world's top energy producer before the crash. But the oil bust "has erased tens of thousands of jobs in the drilling and service sectors, dried up local tax revenues and charitable largess that flowed along with crude oil to Texas, North Dakota and Oklahoma," Jennifer Hiller reports for Reuters. It has also meant less income for about 12 million rural Americans who receive royalty checks for allowing frackers to drill on their land.

For example, Paul Ruckman, a retiree in DeWitt County, Texas, used to receive enough royalty money to build a six-bedroom vacation home with plenty left over, but told Hiller his checks have dropped 70 percent since January and said he imagines it'll get worse.

"Royalties, which can range from 12.5% to 25% of the value of oil and gas pumped, helped revitalize DeWitt and other communities in oil patches across the United States," Hiller reports. "The average oil-land owner collects about $500 a month, according to the National Association of Royalty Owners, but that will not last."

Burns Paiute Indian tribe to armed protesters who want land given back to locals: 'We were here first'

While armed protesters in Oregon say they want the federal government to hand ownership of land over to ranchers and local governments—who they say the land rightfully belongs to—the Burns Paiute Indian said if anyone should get the property back, it should be them, Kirk Johnson reports for The New York Times. The tribe says protesters are ignorant of the land's history and that "their ancestors were roaming the still wild and empty reaches of what is now called the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge perhaps as long as 15,000 years ago." (Native American Tribes of Oregon map: Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is located in southeastern Oregon)

Tribal chairwoman Charlotte Rodrique told reporters, “Don’t tell me any of these ranchers came across the Bering Strait. We were here first. We’d like the public to acknowledge that.” Other tribe members called the protesters a public menace and an insult to the local people. Tribal council member Jarvis Kennedy told reporters, “We as Harney County residents don’t need some clown coming in here to stand up for us. We survived without them before."

In response to the tribe, protest leader Ammon Bundy told reporters that "he believed the Paiutes were probably still oppressed by the federal government as much as anybody else," Johnson writes. Bundy said, “They have rights as well. I would like to see them be freed from the federal government as well." (Read more)