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Our Story
Welcome to the Eastern Band of the Appalachian Nation. We are the people of the great Shaconage or the 'Land of the Blue Smoke."
Our Eastern Band of the Appalachian Nation Tribal Territory is located in Western North Carolina and South Carolina, in Henderson, Rutherford, Burke, McDowell, Caldwell, Catawba, Spartanburg, Greenville, Oconee, Cherokee County SC, Orangeburg and Polk Counties. The People of the Eastern Band of the Appalachian Nation were individual Indigenous towns known collectively as the historic Mvskoke (Creek) Confederacy, this included the Lower Cherokees of South Carolina and the Euchee. Through intermarriages and treaties, members of the Mvskoke-Creek intertwined with clan members of the Croatan and the Pamunkey Indigenous of the Powhatan Chiefdom, including extended families of the Brass Ankles of SC and Redbone people.
These great people were composed of matrilineal clans that formed a powerful alliance in Western North Carolina, South Carolina and through intermarriage with neighboring clans, Virginia. Historically, the women of the Mvskoke-Creek and Cherokee County, SC owned the family property, reared the children and held seats on the high council.
During the European invasion, many of the tribes of the Appalachian Mvscoke Creek Confederacy joined the Cherokee Nation Alliance for more protection in numbers, while other towns such as Hendersonville, chose to remain independent. Due to numerous wars, sieges, slavery and the Trail of Tears many families of the Mvskoke (Creek) Confederacy were forced to assimilate into the landscape of the Mountains and forcibly adopt Scot-Irish surnames.
White washed history has attempted to erase the legacy and present-day existence of the clans of the Mvscoke (Creek) Confederacy but we are here, reclaiming our story. The Eastern Band of the Apalwahči.
Our Initiatives
Healing the People by Healing the Land.
Local Impact
Creating Change
Our Local Empowerment program is a source of great pride for the Appalachian Nation. We believe in making a real difference in the lives of those we serve.
Education
Rewriting the Narrative
Through our Education & Capacity Building program, we preserve the history and cultural traditions of our Nation to continue the enrichment of our communities and preservation of legacy.
Earth Stewardship
Protecting Mother Earth.
Our Earth Stewardship initiative helps Eastern Band of the Appalachian Nation ensure that our communities are better prepared to reclaim and preserve land bestowed upon us by Mother Earth.
Tribal Council
Sanja
Staley-Whittington
Chief
La'Meshia Le
Perkins-Whittington
Vice-Chief
Robert M.
Perkins-Whittington, Jr.
Vice-Chair
Vacant
Treasurer