The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has approved a plan to use money from a settlement with opioid distributors and manufacturers to provide a boost to an up-and-coming transitional living home on the Qualla Boundary that will help those in rec overy get back on their feet.

Over a decade after Marie Walkingstick Pheasant’s body was found in a burned-out vehicle in Cherokee, the community has finally received a modicum of closure as her husband, Ernest Dwayne Pheasant, has pleaded guilty to committing the murder. 

Beginning, Sept. 7, anyone over the age of 21 will be able to purcha se and use marijuana on the Qualla Boundary.  

While the official announcement was made at 10:22 a.m. in the form of a post on the Great Smoky Cannabis Company’s X page, the news actually broke about an hour earlier during an Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Council meeting. At the end of that meeting, Council Rep. Richard French, of the Big Cove community made it official. 

North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein spoke to members of Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Council Monday, during which he touted some of his accomplishments over the last eight years while also laying out a vision for the future of the state. 

The Talking Trees Children’s Trout Derby will be held from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 3 at the Oconaluftee River Islands Park in Cherokee. 

Members of the public interested in Western North Carolina court cases now have better access than ever to criminal and civil files. 

In 2026, the United States Census Bureau is conducting three field tests in “American Indian Areas” to prepare for unique challenges presented in those areas ahead of the 2030 census. Last week, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Council voted to approve the field test. 

A program on Cherokee culture will be presented at 10 a.m. Wednesday, July 17, at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin.

EBCI Tribal Council has reversed its decision to ban “hemp shops” not “wholly owned by the tribe … or one of its wholly owned subsidiaries.”

Following the Atlanta Braves’ recognition late last month of several groups in Georgia recognized by that state as Native American, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians officials issued multiple statements decrying the inclusion of multiple Cherokee tribes that are not federally recognized.