Declaring May 26-28, 2012, Cherokee Heritage Weekend in celebration of the Nineteenth Annual Cherokee Indian Festival.

WHEREAS, Predating the arrival of the European explorers by almost five hundred years, the Cherokee Indians occupied much of the Southern Appalachian Mountain area to the eastern seaboard of what is now the United States, and provided the new settlers with techniques of working and living on the land; and

WHEREAS, The Cherokee Nation, today, consists of there major groups: the Eastern Band, the Western Band, and the Southeastern Cherokee Confederacy, representing the largest Native American group in the United States; and

WHEREAS, The Southeastern Cherokee Confederacy of Pennsylvania, which was designated as an official Cherokee group in July 1988, with Buffy Red Feather Brown's appointment as Chief and Levy Newell III as Vice Chief, now counts 18,375 Native Americans within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; and

WHEREAS, The Southeastern Cherokee Confederacy of Pennsylvania has flourished since its formation. The tribal council has been successful in preserving the Cherokee Language, whose written alphabet was invented in 1821 by Sequoyah, making the first Native American Newspaper,

The Phoenix

, possible in 1828; and

WHEREAS, The Southeastern Cherokee Confederacy also offers the culture of the Cherokee Nation to students in public and private schools and universities throughout the Commonwealth with exhibitions of dance, arts, crafts, music, and Cherokee regalia and ideals; and

WHEREAS, The Southeastern Cherokee Confederacy of Pennsylvania preserves the tradition of great respect for learning and education through its Scholarship Fund and the sponsorship of the Cherokee Festival, enabling the award of four-year scholarships to worthy and needy students; and

WHEREAS, The Southeastern Cherokee Confederacy will host representatives from at least ten states at the Cherokee Festival over the Memorial Day weekend in its fundraising activities; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we hereby declare May 26-28, 2012, Cherokee Heritage Weekend and salute the Nineteenth Annual Cherokee Indian Festival.

FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to Chief Buffy Red Feather Brown for her zealous representation of the Cherokee people and her embodiment of the Indian way and spirit, as an expression of the sincere sentiments of this legislative body.

End

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