The Eastern Band of Cherokee isn’t the only group whose members get unconditional cash: The Alaska Permanent Fund has been giving $1,000 to $2,000 a year to its citizens for decades, and other. A casino resort is a hotel with a casino on the premises, or a hotel situated adjacent to a casino. It provides guests with the stay-and-play convenience of lodging and gambling facilities located together, often including additional resort-style amenities as well. Version #2: Harrah’s Cherokee in North Carolina simply pays a fine each month (instead of being shut down) when they don’t meet the state requirements. It’s much more profitable for them to pay the fine and keep the machines at a lower payback. Jan 06, 2020 Casino at Harrah’s Cherokee: Rigged promotions and cheating on slot machines - See 3,849 traveler reviews, 311 candid photos, and great deals for Cherokee, NC, at TripAdvisor. The Qualla Boundary is the home of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians. The Eastern Band of Cherokee do not live on a reservation, which is land given to a native American tribe by the federal government. Instead, in the 1800’s, the tribal members purchased 57,000 acres of property. This land, called The Qualla Boundary, is owned by the Eastern Band of the Cherokee and kept in trust.

Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI)
ᏣᎳᎩᏱ ᏕᏣᏓᏂᎸᎩ
Total population
Flag of the Eastern Band Cherokee
16,000+
Regions with significant populations
United States (North Carolina)
Languages
English, Cherokee
Religion
Christianity (mostly Protestant), traditional tribal religion
Related ethnic groups
Cherokee Nation, United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), (Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᏱ ᏕᏣᏓᏂᎸᎩ, Tsalagiyi Detsadanilvgi) is a federally recognizedNative American tribe in the United States, who are descended from the small group of 800 Cherokee who remained in the Eastern United States after the Indian Removal Act moved the other 15,000 Cherokee to the west in the 19th century. They were required to assimilate and renounce tribal Cherokee citizenship.^[1]

The history of the Eastern Band closely follows that of the Qualla Boundary, a land trust made up of an area of their original territory. When they reorganized as a tribe, they had to buy back the land from the US government. The EBCI also own, hold, or maintain additional lands in the vicinity, and as far away as 100 miles (160 km) from the Qualla Boundary. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians are primarily the descendants of those persons listed on the Baker Rolls of Cherokee Indians. They gained federal recognition as a tribe in the 20th century. The Qualla Boundary is not a reservations per se because the land is owned by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is one of three federally recognized Cherokee tribes, the others being the Cherokee Nation and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, both based in Oklahoma. Its headquarters is in the namesake town of Cherokee, North Carolina in the Qualla Boundary, south of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

3Eastern Cherokee Indian Land Trust (Qualla Boundary)

History, language and religion[edit]

Joel Queen, award-winning Eastern Band sculptor and ceramic artist

The Eastern Band members are primarily descended from about 800 Cherokee living along the remote Oconaluftee River who did not participate in the Trail of Tears to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). Principal ChiefYonaguska, with the help of his adopted European-American son, William Holland Thomas, managed to avoid removal. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians have maintained many traditional tribal practices. Many prominent Cherokee historians are affiliated with, or are members of the Eastern Band.

Tsali (pronounced [ˈtsali]) opposed the removal. He remained in the traditional Cherokee lands with a small group who resisted the U.S. Army and tried to thwart the removal. Tsali was eventually captured. He was executed by the United States in exchange for the lives of the small band he protected. They were allowed to remain in the Cherokee homeland, with the condition that they give up Cherokee tribal citizenship and assimilate as US citizens.

Their descendants reorganized in the 20th century and gained federal recognition as a tribe known as the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (named in reference to the majority of the tribe who moved west to Indian Territory in 1839.) They bought back land in what is known as Qualla Boundary, part of their traditional territory that had been ceded to the US government by other Cherokee leaders prior to removal.^{[citation needed]}

Their Museum of the Cherokee Indian exhibits an extensive collection of artifacts and items of historical and cultural interest, from the early Mississippian Period, of which there are remains in the area, to the Cherokee Culture brought by their migrants in the 16th and 17th centuries^{[citation needed]}. They are an Iroquoian-speaking people related to those nations in the Iroquois Confederacy and other Iroquoian-speaking groups traditionally occupying territory around the Great Lakes. The Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual, located near the museum, sells traditional crafts made by its members. Founded in 1946, the Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual is country’s oldest and foremost Native American crafts cooperative.^[2]

Contemporary language and religion[edit]

A stickball dance on the Qualla Boundary. 1897.

More than two dozen Christian churches of various denominations are located within the Qualla Boundary. Many of the traditional religious practices of the Eastern Band have, over time, blended with new age views and customs according to Cherokee traditionalists. They have diverged as the result of cultural isolation of the various factions of Cherokee society. Many traditional dances and ceremonies are still practiced by the Eastern Band.

The Eastern Band has begun a language immersion program requiring all graduating high school seniors to speak the tribal language beginning 2007. Of the total population in the Qualla Boundary, there are approximately 900 speakers, 72% of whom are over the age of 50.^[3]

Eastern Cherokee Indian Land Trust (Qualla Boundary)[edit]

The Eastern Cherokee Indian Reservation, officially known as the Qualla Boundary, is located at 35°28′43″N83°16′20″W / 35.47861°N 83.27222°W in western North Carolina, just south of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The main part of the reservation lies in eastern Swain County and northern Jackson County, but smaller non-contiguous sections are located to the southwest in Cherokee County (Cheoah community) and Graham County (Snowbird community). A small part of the main reservation extends eastward into Haywood County. The total land area of these parts is 213.934 km² (82.600 sq mi), with a 2000 census resident population of 8,092 persons.^[4]

The Qualla Boundary is not strictly a reservation, but rather a 'land trust' supervised by the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs. The land was a fragment of the extensive original homeland of the Cherokee Nation. The people had to purchase their land to regain it after it was taken over by the US government through treaty cessions.

Today the tribe earns most of its revenue from a combination of Federal/State funds, tourism, and the Harrah's Cherokee Casino, established in the early 1990s.

Gaming relations with North Carolina[edit]

Blowgun demonstration in Oconaluftee Indian Village, Cherokee, North Carolina

In 1988, the United States Congress passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), which allowed federally recognized tribes to establish casinos on tribal property. Under the act, tribes are limited

Cherokee Nc Casino Money To Each Member