CHAIRPERSON MESSAGE: September 2026
ᎣᏏᏲ ᏂᎦᏛ osiyo nigad! (hello, everyone!)
Happy ᎤᎳᎪᎲᏍᏗ ulagohvsdi (autumn)!
It’s hard to believe we’re 3/4 through the year (though closing out Cherokee Nation’s fiscal year for those curious). We’ve had numerous events and still more to come! What an incredible year we’re having with you all, filled with Cherokee fellowship, history, culture, crafts, language, and our wonderful community.
We have some exciting events coming up this year and want to see you at them. Here are the next few events you won’t want to miss:
Saturday, October 17: Please join us for our membership gathering, potluck, and election. We’ll have a special presentation about Cherokee Booger Masks and a gorget-making activity for all ages!
The election at this meeting includes voting on three open board seats and bylaw edits.
View election information and candidate statements here for the upcoming CNCV election. We are grateful to those willing to volunteer their valuable time and energy giving back to our community!
View bylaws information here and draft here. The edits are primarily to update, simplify, clarify, and improve transitions with board member roles.
Walk with us on Saturday, November 7: We invite you to walk with us at the Annual Native American Heritage Month Parade. Come join us to celebrate our Cherokee heritage in community with each other and our greater Native American family. All are welcome and encouraged to participate! We have a strong community and would love to show it.
Saturday, February 27: Please join us for a membership gathering, potluck, traditional food cook-off, and heirloom seed exchange.
March 2027 Cherokee language intensive. Commit to learning and preserving our language as a cornerstone of culture. Sign-up information coming soon!
Attention Crafters! Want to craft in community? We are planning a craft group that would meet periodically where we can come together in a casual setting, and work on traditional Cherokee crafts, such as beadwork and weaving, as well as contemporary projects, such fiber and textile arts.
Complete this CNCV Craft Group Interest Survey to help us determine the best time, dates, and locations as well as which supplies may be needed. ᏩᏙ Wado.
We reflect on our recent community events. We had some truly engaging and fulfilling events this Spring already, including:
In late August, we were honored to help host a Cherokee History Class with Cherokee Nation (covering origin to OK statehood). Historians Catherine Foreman Gray and David Fowler shared their incredible knowledge throughout the weekend while artist Katie Ross Penland taught us basket weaving. The unique location in Old Sacramento next to the California State Railroad Museum just added to the experience. There’s something special about learning our history and weaving baskets while looking out at unpaved roads and horses, standing on wooden walkways.
Northern California Cherokees took to the water in early August! The CNCV hosted a 2-hour kayak class with some members bringing their own to join in, a healthy and tasty bison burger BBQ with seasonal sides, and relaxing basket weaving by the water. It was a beautiful day to be Cherokee family together, making memories by the water.
We had a truly memorable Annual Campout this July, filled with wonderful people, activities, and joy! We loved visiting with Cherokee artist Pam Bakke, making beautiful mini gourd masks and corn bead necklaces, practicing syllabary with Bingo, playing rounds of traditional Cherokee games (marbles, graces, and chunkey), honoring a recently completed doctorate with a presentation of culturally significant gifts, and so much joy and laughter together!
We celebrate the Brackett family in community. Mike and Liz Webb share reflections after a recent birthday celebration with the Brackett family.
Cherokee Nation has a brand-new looking website. We will be working to ensure the many links on our Resources page are working.
My Cherokee heirloom garden is starting to wind down for the season. So far, I’ve harvested many pounds of Cherokee squash, Trail of Tears and Turkey Gizzard beans, Cherokee Colored Flour Corn, and native tobacco. I’m waiting on Cherokee Tan Pumpkins and Corn Beads (“Job’s Tears”) to produce still. My rattlesnake master is growing well. I’ll be starting some New Jersey Tea soon 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