Cherokee Preservation Foundation Announces 29 New Grants Totaling Nearly $2.4 Million

CHEROKEE, April 1, 2010 – Cherokee Preservation Foundation (CPFdn) announced today it has awarded 29 new grants totaling nearly $2.4 million.  The grants support cultural preservation, economic development, job creation and environmental preservation.  The new grants include:

• A $500,000 grant to the Cherokee Historical Association (CHA), for use at the Mountainside Theatre and Oconaluftee Village.  At the Village, CHA will replace nine remaining craft shelters with eight 18th century-style summer homes that will be used for a variety of purposes.  The Square Grounds at the Village will be expanded to support new programs and accommodate larger audiences.  A new village council house to be constructed within the year will serve as the venue for children’s shows, small concerts, lectures and other events.  At the Mountainside Theatre, grant monies will be used to renovate public areas, create additional backstage locations, and maximize use of the new dormitory facility.

• A $35,000 grant to the Oconaluftee Institute for Culture Arts to make the Cherokee Art Market a standalone event that will attract visitors to Cherokee, perpetuate and preserve Cherokee art and culture, and stimulate the local economy.  The 2010 Cherokee Art Market on July 2-4 will bring together 100 Native American artists from across the United States.

• A $50,000 grant to create the third in a series of books titled “From the Hands of Our Elders,” produced through a collaborative effort between Western Carolina University’s Hunter Library, Qualla Arts & Crafts Mutual, and the Museum of the Cherokee Indian.  The series researches, inventories, organizes, preserves and presents the cultural richness of Cherokee crafts and the people who make them.  The new book will focus on Cherokee woodcarving and woodcarvers from the early 20th century.  The first two books in the series were about Cherokee baskets and pottery.

• A $600,000 grant to the Sequoyah Fund so it can provide loans to meet increased demand for business start-ups and expansions, as well as new green and technology-based businesses.  The Sequoyah Fund is a key element of the Tribe’s strategy to diversify the local economy and help tribal members build successful businesses.  Since Cherokee Preservation Foundation helped launch the Sequoyah Fund in 2004, it has provided more than $3 million to the Sequoyah Fund for loans that have helped create 442 jobs.

• A $50,000 grant to enable EBCI Public Transit to create ten additional stops on the Highway 19 business loop in Cherokee.  The stops, which will be constructed of natural materials that mirror the look of renovated buildings downtown, will allow drivers to pick up passengers safely and offer transportation choices to visitors.  This grant builds on work started in 2008 by EBCI Transit that utilized a $200,000 grant to create additional Cherokee transit stops and develop a new trolley program.

• A $12,000 grant to Cherokee Central Schools to cultivate a healthy stand of river cane on the new school campus.  Once established, the site will serve as a model of others on the Qualla Boundary and in the region.

About Cherokee Preservation Foundation

Cherokee Preservation Foundation (www.cpfdn.org) was established in 2000 as part of the Second Amendment to the Tribal-State Compact between the EBCI and the State of North Carolina. It is an independent nonprofit foundation funded by the EBCI from gaming revenues generated by the Tribe. CPFdn is not associated with any for-profit gaming entity. Since CPFdn’s inception, it has made 621 grants totaling more than $48 million to EBCI and regional projects and programs that address cultural preservation, economic development and job creation, and environmental sustainability. Every dollar of CPFdn support has been matched by $1.69 in secured grants or other funding or in-kind resources, making CPFdn’s total contribution to the region nearly $130 million.