CHAIRPERSON MESSAGE: May 2026
ᎣᏏᏲ ᏂᎦᏛ osiyo nigad! (hello, everyone!)
ᎪᎨᏱ gogeyi (spring) is sprung and we’re headed into summer!
We have had many meaningful events this year already, filled with Cherokee fellowship, our wonderful community, and Cherokee cultural and language events.
We look forward to even more together!
We have some very special events coming up this year and want to see you at them. Here are the next few events you won’t want to miss:
Mark your calendars for our CNCV Annual Campout held July 17-19. You can make your reservations now! We’ll be joined by our friend and Cherokee Nation arts and crafts extraordinaire, Pam Bakke, who will lead us in making mini gourd masks. We’ll have games, activities, language practice, and a tasty bison Indian taco dinner.
Cherokees Going to Water: Paddle Event and BBQ on August 8: Come spend the day on Lake Natoma with your fellow Cherokees! Water has long been special to us as a people. At this event, we will have a group kayak lesson reserved for 25 people. After this lesson, we will be having a group BBQ with main dishes and non-alcoholic drinks provided by the CNCV. You may also choose to rent a kayak and spend more time on the water.
Cherokee Nation History Course on August 29-30: For all Cherokee Nation citizens, this is vital information for us all to know and continue to pass down. Learn about your history with our upcoming not-to-be-missed Cherokee Nation History Course! Register as soon as possible. This will fill to capacity.
We reflect on our recent community events. We have had some truly engaging and fulfilling events this Spring already, including:
Our Cherokee Nation Community & Cultural Outreach Annual Meeting and Chief's Picnic on April 26 at a brand-new location this year in Antioch. California has the second largest population of Cherokee Nation citizens outside of Oklahoma: nearly 28,000! We had a RECORD-BREAKING turnout for the Nation, with at least 1,140 attendees coming from throughout Northern California. 303 citizens registered for their Cherokee Nation photo ID cards and 50 applied as citizens.
The CNCV was honored to participate in the UC Davis Inaugural Big Time and 50th Annual Davis Powwow. It was a beautiful event filled with community spirit.
The CNCV Cemetery cleaning crew volunteers performed our Annual John Rollin Ridge Cemetery Plot Cleanup in Grass Valley, Ca. We worked under the shade of the Cedar trees on a pleasant sunny but breezy day caretaking this special, historic site, as we have for the last 10 years. As background, we caretake this historic Cherokee plot and last year, dedicated a plaque honoring the connection with Cherokee Nation, our community, and our partnership with our sister community, Marble City Activity Organization. Our sisters at Marble City have been part of this caretaking project since the beginning, donated the marble needed for two missing headstones, and came out last year for the plaque dedication.
And we celebrated Declan Gilmore, Cherokee Nation citizen and newest Eagle Scout, at a court of honor and with “musical gorgets” handmade by Mike Webb.
We’re well into the summer growing season and our Cherokee heirloom garden is going strong with Cherokee tan pumpkins and squash (aka, “Georgia Candy Roaster”), Cherokee colored flour corn, Trail of Tears beans, Turkey Gizzard beans, native tobacco, purple coneflower, corn beads (“Job’s tears”), and rattlesnake master. I’ll attempt starting some New Jersey Tea later this year, after an extended cold stratification in the refrigerator (one of our seven sacred plants along native tobacco, rattlesnake master, Eastern red cedar, red root, ginseng, and goldenseal).
As a reminder, the CNCV has a resource webpage for you with many informative links for citizenship, language, culture, history, health, education, veterans, and more. Let us know if you'd like to see something specifically there.
We’re looking forward to visiting together at these events throughout the year and enjoying community, culture, history, and language with you!
ᏙᏓᏓᎪᎲᎢ dodadagohvi (‘til we meet again),
-- Sabrina McKinney
