Facebook Twitter Email
MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2002

"I am dismayed with the Oct. 4 news story "Yosemite Official Rejects New Post in Smokies Park; Land Swap, Road Plans Protested," which discusses the Eastern Band of Cherokee's proposed land exchange with the National Park Service. Without giving anyone from the Eastern Band of Cherokee the opportunity to comment, the article portrays in a negative light our efforts to reclaim Cherokee ancestral lands for a school for our children.

The Eastern Cherokee Reservation in western North Carolina is facing an educational crisis. Our elementary school was built almost 40 years ago by the Interior Department and was designed for 480 students. Currently, more than 700 students are housed in a dilapidated building and in temporary trailer units at a busy intersection in downtown Cherokee. . ."

Get the Story:
Letter: Good for the Cherokees, Good for the Park Service (The Washington Post 10/21)

Relevant Links:
Cherokee Land Exchange - http://www.npslandexchange.com
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians - http://www.cherokee-nc.com
Great Smoky Mountains National Park - http://www.nps.gov/grsm/index.htm

Related Stories:
NPS manager to quit over Cherokee swap (10/04)
Group cites tribal transfer as danger to park (3/26)
Cherokee tribe urges land swap (2/13)