Local Resident Selected as One of 50 in the Nation to Participate in Rural Youth Assembly

CHEROKEE, March 26, 2010 – Cherokee Preservation Foundation and the EBCI (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians) Extension Center announced today that Hwineko Walkingstick has been selected to participate in the National Rural Youth Assembly in Santa Fe on April 22-25. Walkingstick works with both organizations as Community Development Coordinator. He is one of 50 young adults from rural communities across the country who will gather to discuss the issues they see as critical to their lives and communities.

The gathering, which will take place at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, is sponsored by the National Rural Assembly. The Assembly is a movement of people and organizations devoted to building a stronger, more vibrant rural America for children, families and communities.

The goals of the Rural Youth Assembly are to 1) bring together a diverse group of young people (ages 18-25) to further explore the unique challenges facing rural youth, including the quality of education, stewardship of natural resources, and the health of rural people, 2) identify the creative assets that young people offer, and 3) create a context for how these issues fit into the overall framework of national rural policy.

Walkingstick primarily works with community clubs on the Qualla Boundary to help them develop and secure funding for programs and projects such as building renovations, community clean-ups, and cultural education. He also coordinates an eco-study/cultural exchange program that enables Cherokee youth and other young people in the seven-county region to travel to Costa Rica and learn about that country’s diverse culture and impressive environmental preservation efforts.

As a volunteer, Walkingstick serves as a facilitator for the Cherokee Youth Council, which provides a voice for Cherokee youth on issues that are important to them. Recently, the group has led a successful effort to significantly increase recycling on the Qualla Boundary.

“I hope my participation in the Rural Youth Assembly will give me a new perspective on the ways rural communities can connect across rural America,” said Hwineko Walkingstick. “This is important because we really have to build an all inclusive rural America that is sustainable and prospering.

“Our rural areas are being transformed from single or bi-racial areas to new, multi-ethnic cultures as people from urban centers and other countries come to rural communities and become our neighbors. We need to learn new approaches to communications, education and hiring, and I look forward to learning about innovative practices being employed by other communities.”

Walkingstick said that discussion about rural health issues will also hold great meaning for him. “Coming from a Native American background, my people are greatly affected by health issues at an alarming rate that outpaces the American average,” he said. “There is a lack of reasonably accessible, affordable healthcare for families throughout rural America, and I would like to see those of us participating in the Rural Youth Assembly to help improve that situation.”

Walkingstick was nominated for the Rural Youth Assembly by Susan Jenkins, executive director of Cherokee Preservation Foundation, and Kathy Dugan, director of the EBCI Extension Center.