Progress 04/01/06 to 03/31/10
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Cherokee FRTEP carries out objectives through successful program delivery such as workshops, demonstrations, presentations, tours, special events, newspaper articles in the One Feather (6000 distribution) and personal contacts: office visits, personal visits (the most effective), telephone and e-mail contacts. Illustrated presentations with hands-on visual materials and PowerPoint have proven to be the most utilized. The Agent prepares tailored materials for nearly every topic delivered. The Tribal e-mail allows over 900 people to be instantly reached and is proven to be the most effective method to distribute information. NCSU records the number of individual contacts Agents & staff make from face-to-face meetings and media contacts. Records show that in 2009 the FRTEP Agent and Assistant reached over 51,000 people.Cherokee FRTEP's Program Assistant, hired in 2009, has provided increased out-reach and validity to the project because he is Cherokee and highly regarded as a traditional agricultural leader and educator. His work has drawn attention and speaking invitations from Purdue University, Western Carolina University, University of Southern Alabama, the University of Georgia and the New Echota State Historic Site and Furman University during the past year. The Assistant is primarily responsible for the continued development and operations of the Center for Cherokee Plants and the educational programming associated.Volunteers provide valuable extensions of our educational program delivery. Tsa La Gi Master Gardeners assist with special events, such as the Chiefs Garden Kits, and community projects such as the Day of Caring, Cherokee Indian Fair and many others resulting in over 3000 volunteer hours contributed toward outreach. In 2010 and advanced Master Gardener Training will be conducted offering the Junior Master Gardener curriculum to those who volunteer to help with the youth community gardens.All programs are presented with respect given to Cherokee culture, language and heritage. The Agent and Assistant use Cherokee language in daily greetings and friendly phrases. Vocabulary terms translated into Cherokee are provided at workshops and through other printed materials for farming and gardening. The tribal linguist provides this service to the Project. The Center for Cherokee Plants is a culmination of the needs identified by community members over the past 10 years. Traditional crop seeds are grown and shared, artists' resource plants are being grown, and a plant nursery for rescued plants and wild food plants is being built. It is the "hub" of many of Cherokee FRTEP's program delivery. Cherokee's FRTEP is a model program demonstrating innovative educational methods to Native Americans. Presentations about Cherokee's program have been delivered at the Smithsonian's Museum of the American Indian, the Southern Anthropological society, Purdue Univeristy, Unversity of Southern Alabama, Georgia's New Echota State Historic Park, University of Georgia, and regularly at the FRTEP annual meeting, the Intertribal Agriculture Symposium and the Intertribal Nursery Council annual meetings. PARTICIPANTS: Cherokee FRTEP is carried out by a full-time Agriculture Agent and a part-time Program Assistant. The major partners in the Cherokee FRTEP are the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension. The roles and responsibilities of each entity are detailed in a Memorandum of Understanding. Networking and inter-agency partnerships are critical for the success of educational activities in the Western North Carolina Mountains where our resources are limited and "working together" has proven most successful. Because of this many informal partnerships exist between the Cherokee FRTEP Agent, Cherokee Reservation Agents & staff, Tribal programs and agencies. The Agent provides technical expertise and assistance in many planned activities and ad-hoc committee projects across the Reservation. These partnerships range from one-time events to long-standing cooperative relationships: Qualla Arts and Crafts Cooperative, Revitalization of Traditional Artisans Resources (RTCAR), Cherokee Preservation Foundation, Women, Infants and Children (WIC), Tribal Childcare, White Path Center, Tsali Manor Senior Citizens Program, Cherokee Boys Club, Cherokee Indian Hospital, Cherokee Teen & Youth Centers, Snowbird Youth Center, Cherokee Choices Diabetes Prevention Program, Healthy Cherokee, EBCI Department of Environmental Planning, EBCI Planning Department, EBCI Fish and Game Management, EBCI Tourism and Promotions, EBCI Cultural Resources, EBCI Tribal Historic Preservation Office, EBCI Housing Program, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Forestry, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), National Park Service, Farm Service Agency, Jackson, Swain, Graham, Haywood, Clay, Macon County Cooperative Extension Service, Qualla Library, Community Club Council, Western North Carolina University, WNC Communities, University of Tennessee Tree Improvement Program, and North Carolina A& T University. TARGET AUDIENCES: There are approximately 14,000 enrolled members in the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians. Our target audience, for planning purposes, is 10,600 (8,000 Native Americans, 2,500 Caucasians, 90 Hispanics and 10 African Americans). Approximately 8,000 enrolled members live on the reservation, 6,000 live off the reservation but return for services. There are approximately 2,500 non-Indians living on the reservation. Many of the non-Indians are spouses of enrolled members, or descendents, and receive the benefits of our programs. Among the Native American audience living on the Reservation there are 2,600 youth (age 0-17), 4,200 adults (age 18-49), and 1,200 adults age (50-109 years). More than 800 families maintain a single-parent home. The Elder population continues to grow. The population increases in the summer with people moving into the area to work. The summer workforce sees and influx of young European adults as workers in the hotels and restaurants. The FRTEP Agent has identified 30 specific target audiences, depending on the subject matter. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: No major changes.
Impacts
WNC AgOptions is a North Carolina Cooperative Extension program offering grants directly to growers and provides the only realistic financial relief to small scale agribusiness Western North Carolina. The FRTEP Agent facilitates the grant application process and serves as technical support for these producers and the previous seven grantees. The most recent recipients from the Cherokee Indian Reservation illustrate two unique, micro-agribusiness enterprises. In 2009 Cherokee Extension staff hosted four youth groups providing opportunities for fun, learning and personal growth. The youths explored the natural resources of the land & rich culture of the Cherokee People. They compared personal similarities & differences with each other. All of the youth gained knowledge about Cherokee history & culture. They learned of differences in the social concerns between peers from different tribes. Cherokee youths identified three concerns as: Health, Teen Pregnancy and Drugs. Potowatami youth, from urban Michigan, said Gang Violence, Drugs & Economic Disaster were their chief concerns. Youths gained insights, leadership and communication skills by participating in this week of planned activities in Cherokee. Cherokee FRTEP works to help increase Local Foods. Consumers want fresh, locally grown, healthy foods to feed their families. Extension's educational demonstrations, workshops and programs increased the local food production on the Cherokee Indian Reservation in 2009. Cherokee families and community gardens that grew the Chiefs Cherokee Family Garden Kit produced 2,000 bushels of green beans, 20,000 summer squash, 12,000 winter squash, 40,000 ears of corn, and 50,000 pounds of potatoes. The Center for Cherokee Plants grew 2000 pounds of squash which were distributed to community members. More importantly, the seeds collected from these squash have made a rare variety available to Cherokee growers through the seed bank. The Cherokee Farmers Market supplied a minimum of 200 lbs. of fresh fruits and vegetables during its seasonal sales. These programs are helping meet the demand for fresh foods and increasing the self-sufficiency and capacity of the Cherokee community.The Center for Cherokee Plants is making rare, historical and culturally significant plants available to Cherokee People. Regional AmeriCorps volunteers lent their hands to this effort by helping organize an heirloom apple grafting workshop in the spring of 2009. Participants learned how to graft their own trees using heirloom varieties. Two hundred trees were grafted with half going home with the participants and half staying at the Center. 29 varieties of local heirloom apples were given to the Center as a result of this workshop. Specimen varieties such as Junaluska, Winter John, and Sheep Nose will be planted in demonstration orchards at the Center and at the new Cherokee Central School. These trees will serve as grafting stock for future workshops for Cherokee People.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
|
Progress 04/01/07 to 03/31/08
Outputs
The Cherokee Reservation FRTEP program continues to gain respect from Tribal leadership and has developed excellent working relationships with many Tribal programs, outside agencies and Extension staff. These relationships have led to increasing community involvement and program offerings. Under the Eastern Band's Chief, Michell Hicks, program funding has been supplemented to carry out a series of special gardening projects through his administrative funds. In 2007, his support increased to $15,000. Over the past 7 years, the Agent has built programs that respect Cherokee traditions and culture. She is recognized throughout the Cherokee Communities as an information resource and a reliable contributor for a wide variety of community projects. The Cherokee Reservation Cooperative Extension Center's programs embrace an over-arching theme of Community Development. Creating opportunities for Cherokee People to improve their lives and their well-being is the mission of
Cherokee Extension. The Cherokee Farmers Market, Community Club activities, annual youth Garden Contests and recycling efforts are examples of youth and agriculture programming that reflect the concept of "community building".The Traditional Seeds Project involves gathering and sharing information on Cherokee traditional gardening, crops and growing techniques. This project seeks to increase the availability of heirloom varieties by working with Cherokee growers as cooperators and by planting public demonstration gardens. A community vegetable garden, scheduled for planting in 2009, is under development, led by the FRTEP Agent at the new Cherokee Central School. The Traditional Seeds Project has evolved to the Center for Cherokee Plants. The Center is a completely unique agricultural facility focusing on the cultivation of plants that are significant to the Eastern Cherokee. One of FRTEP's public-involvement restoration projects, the Backyard Ramp Patch Project, provides ramp bulbs (a
native wild onion) to Cherokee families for planting close to home. The goals are to keep the Cherokee tradition of gathering spring ramps alive and decrease ramp collecting in the Smoky Mountain National Park. Regional interest in alternative energy sources for the home, business and farm led the Agricultural Extension Agents in the Far Western North Carolina counties, and on the Cherokee Reservation, to join together to offer a series of workshops on solar, micro-hydro, wind energy, and biofuels. Basic information was presented along with practical, how-to ideas. Cherokee FRTEP has also evolved a host of youth programs. The most recent efforts have been to create travel experiences for Cherokee youth. Through a relationship with EARTH University in Costa Rica Cherokee FRTEP has helped established a program that prepares 10-15 Cherokee youths for a Costa Rican Eco Study Tour. In turn, Cherokee EIRP hosts a student intern from EARTH each fall. The students focus on a community
development project promoting ecotourism in Cherokee. In 2007, 14 Cherokee youths went to Washington DC to meet with 4-H'ers from the Muscogee Creek Nation and the Florida Seminole Nation at the National 4-H Headquarters.
Impacts
Cherokee's Traditional Seeds Project has become a model in heirloom seed saving among Native American tribes. The project has received positive nods from tribes across the country who recognize the need to save their agricultural heritage. In October 2007, representative from 5 southeastern tribes met for the first time in Oklahoma to exchange seeds and ideas on ways to retain their traditional, heirloom food crops. The availability of Cherokee's unique vegetable varieties is increasing due to recent seed saving efforts and public education. In the spring of 2007, Cherokee Res Coop Extension graduated their first class of 13 Master Gardeners. These volunteers participated in 40 hours of training. Unique subject matter included heirloom apples and learning gardening terms in the Cherokee language. Boosted by the knowledge and confidence gained, volunteers are leading projects such as building community gardens at a church, a senior center and improving the landscapes
and garden areas at three schools. They are also initiating a Native Plant Study Group. The involvement of the Tsa La Gi Master Gardeners is multiplying the efforts of Extension staff and providing much needed expertise to the community. Gardening is a Cherokee tradition being lost as jobs, school and other activities compete for time. Recognizing this trend, the Chief asked the Coop Extension to find a way to increase interest. The Agent devised a project to give out garden kits complete with fertilizer, seeds and gardening information. The project has grown in popularity from three events providing 350 buckets the first year, to four events distributing 500 kits and 1500 blueberry bushes. In the eastern US, Native American youth, and the 4-H leaders who serve their communities, have little opportunities to communicate. In August of 2007, 4-H'ers and leaders from three southeastern tribes met in Washington DC to share experiences and learn from each other's programs. This was the
first meeting of its kind at the National 4-H Center. Inter-tribal and Intercultural bridges of friendship communication were built. Participants felt the trip was so successful that they would like to make this a yearly event involving more tribes and more Native American youth. Commercial developments and new home construction is booming in the Western North Carolina forest. On the Cherokee Indian Reservation a new Tribal department was created to address housing. While the intent is to improve the quality of life for the Cherokee, current development compromises the environmental quality of the area. Clear cutting, tree damage, soil compaction, erosion and stream sedimentation are evidence that best management practices are not being implemented. A Trees and Construction Workshop was held in the spring of 2007 for Tribal staff and contractors to learn about the benefits of retaining trees on construction sites. The results of this training are that the Tribe is taking steps to
designate, and protect, treed areas in new developments. The knowledge from this training has led Tribal staff to a more environmentally beneficial strategy in managing new construction on the Cherokee Indian Reservation.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
|