Atlanta Braves and the Native American Community
Our relationship with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the largest federally recognized tribe in our region, dates back almost two decades and has grown over time. Over the last three years, we have developed a cultural working relationship with them that has resulted in meaningful action.
We also created a formal Native American Working Group with various local and nationwide leaders to partner with and collaborate on matters related to culture, history, education, outreach, and recognition. In addition, we expanded our relationship with the Georgia Council on American Indian Concerns (GCAIC) ā an appointed body which handles Native American issues in the state of Georgia.
Cherokee Traditions at Truist Park
On Saturday, November 27, 2021, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) and the Atlanta Braves hosted the first-ever "Cherokee Traditions at Truist Park" event. Principal Chief Richard G. Sneed delivered welcome remarks and Cherokee Royalty, including Little Miss, Junior Miss, and Teen Miss Cherokee were in attendance.
Activities included a performance from the Raven Rock Dancers, appearances from the Tsalagi Touring Group artisans and living history demonstrators, as well as storytelling with Kathi Littlejohn.
The highlight of the day was the menās and youth stickball games played on the Truist Park field for the first time.
EBCI Night at Truist Park
On July 17, 2021, the Atlanta Braves held the inaugural Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) Night at Truist Park, which honored and recognized the impact Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians have had across the Southeast. The night served as an acknowledgement and education to Braves fans on the original home of the Cherokee ā Qualla Boundary, which spanned 140,000 square miles covering portions of eight states: Georgia, Alabama, South and North Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia, and Kentucky.
2021 activations included:
- Pre-game cultural dance performance by the Raven Rock Dancers
- āVisit Cherokeeā booth to provide general information about visits to Cherokee
- On-field recognition of Tribe Elders and EBCI Pageant Royalty, including Miss Cherokee, Amy West, Teen Miss Cherokee, Haley Smith, Jr., Miss Cherokee, Nevaya Panther, and Little Miss Cherokee, Georjita Girty
- On-field recognition and First Pitch by Principal Chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Richard Sneed
- Pregame presentation of the āWeāre Still Hereā video
- Kick-off of the game with the honorary āPlay Ballā in the native Cherokee language by Chairman of the Speakers Council, Roger Smoker
- In-game highlights of common baseball terms translated into Syllabary
- The continued partnership between the Atlanta Braves and EBCI to produce a specialty shirt featuring āBallplayerā in Syllabary to bring awareness to the native language and benefit the Cherokee language school, Kituwah Academy
Ball Player T-shirt
The Atlanta Braves have partnered up with the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians to produce a Syllabary t-shirt to help bring awareness to the native language.
Meaning:
- į įį¦į„įį©
- Anetsovsgi
- Pronounced A-ah, NE-nay, TSO (pronounced āzoā (with the t and s blur together); V-uh, SGI(pronounced ski, with the S having a āshā sound)
- Means: Ball Player
Proceeds benefit the New Kituwah Academy and the Cherokee Speakers Council.
In March 2021, the Atlanta Braves presented the proceeds from the āBall Playerā t-shirts sales to the Cherokee Indians Speakers Council and to the New Kituwah Academy. The Atlanta Braves Foundation matched the donation to help fund a new CALL (Cherokee Adult Language Learners) staff member.
Basket Weave Designs featured on t-shirt
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
About EBCI
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is a sovereign nation remaining on a small portion of their original homeland, centered around Cherokee, NC. Once the largest tribe in the southeast, the Eastern Band is one of three federally recognized Cherokee tribes out of 574 Native American tribes across the nation. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians are descendants of the Cherokees who resisted and remained in the Southeast after the Trail of Tears, the forced removal, in 1838.
The Writing System: Syllabary
Syllabary is a writing system invented by Sequoyah. The writing system is called they syllabary because its composed of eighty-five symbols, each one representing a syllable.
Today, the Cherokee Speakers Council are working to revive both the language and the syllabary, and syllabary is being taught at the schools and colleges offer courses in Cherokee.
Education: New Kituwah Academy
Kituwah Academy serves as the cultural and Cherokee language campus for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. The preservation of heritage language and traditions, strengthens the seven distinct Cherokee communities. With a mission is to increase Cherokee language fluency, the Kituwah Academy provides curriculum and instruction to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) and to regional community partners. The New Kituwah Academy Immersion Program teaches and guides youth to embrace the near extinct Cherokee language and the traditional ways of ancestors. The Kituwah Academy also works to ensure quality early childhood and K-6 Cherokee language curriculum, instruction, and materials are present at the Academy.
To learn more:https://ebcikpep.com
Heritage: Cherokee Speakers Council
The Cherokee Speakers Council serves as a cultural advisory committee with a goal of preserving the language, while being the primary representation of the Eastern Band of the Cherokees on all matter regarding language, translations, traditions and culture.
"We Are Still Here" Display at Truist Park
To honor and recognize the impact Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians have had across the Southeast, the Braves have installed an exhibit at Monument Garden entitled, āWe Are Still Hereā.
The exhibitās content serves as an acknowledgement and education to Braves fans on the original home of the Cherokee ā Qualla Boundary, which spanned 140,000 square miles covering portions of eight states: Georgia, Alabama, South and North Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia, and Kentucky.
Also within the exhibit, visitors are introduced to Cherokee language, and the Cherokee writing system, Syllabary. The āWe Are Still Hereā exhibit also provides an overview on the history of Stickball, a sport played to settle disputes amongst the Cherokee people and other tribes, and currently is played as an exhibition sport.
In addition to the āWe are still hereā exhibit, fans will be able to view a framed Braves jersey that was presented to the EBCI Principal Chief Richard Sneed on Opening Day 2020 by Hall of Famer Hank Aaron.
To view the exhibit, please visit Monument Garden in Truist Park.
Education
To expand Native American education, the Braves have partnered with Jim Langford, president and founder of the Coosawattee Foundation, for both internal and external educational programs. We have worked to introduce Georgia Native American history curriculum to school systems in the state of Georgia, primarily to 8th graders.
Days of Recognition
Proclamation of Georgia
On Monday, November 30, Governor Brian Kemp proclaimed November 30 as Native American Heritage Day in the State of Georgia. Members of our working group were present at the capitol building.
Veterans Day
For Veterans Day 2020, the Braves recognized military veterans through a video tribute. As a part of the recognition, the Braves honored and recognized the impact Native Americans have made to the Armed Forces. For 2020, the Braves recognized Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Principal Chief, Richard Sneed.
For Veterans Day 2021, the Braves recognized Charles George, a proud member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians an Army Private First Class and Medal of Honor recipient who made the ultimate sacrifice for his country in 1952.
Native American Working Group
The Atlanta Braves have created a Native American Working Group for guidance and leadership to help elevate awareness of Native American Culture while building relationships throughout the community.
Scott J. Davis
Scott J. Davis was appointed Executive Director of the North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission in April 2009. As Executive Director, he serves at a cabinet level between North Dakota's state and tribal governments to address issues regarding education systems, court systems, economic development, social services, gaming, oil-energy, law enforcement, transportation, healthcare systems, veterans and youth. Davis holds an Associate of Arts Degree from Haskell Indian Nations University, and a Bachelor's degree in Business and Masters of Management Degree from the University of Mary, and is graduate of the Bush Foundation Native Nations Rebuilders Program and Executive Education at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He is a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and a descendant of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa.
Ben Keel
Ben Keel served as the Executive Director for the White House Council for Native American Affairs where he worked closely with the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs to coordinate outreach and policy to Native American Tribes and Communities. Ben served at the lead contact for Tribal Leaders and Native Associations to interact with the Administration. This culminated in the first White House meeting with the President and Tribal Leaders in the summer of 2017. Benās efforts led to the White House hosting meeting on Healthcare, Tax and Financial Reform, Energy and the Opioid Epidemic in addition to restructuring the Federal Governmentās Interagency workgroup on Native American Issues. Ben has also served in an consultant role at the National Congress of American Indians. Ben attended East Central University in Oklahoma, double majoring in Native American History and Political Science. Ben and his wife April have been married for 19 years and have 4 children. Ben is a member of the Chickasaw Nation.
Marian (Vonnie) McCormick
Marian (Vonnie) McCormick has served as Principal Chief of the Lower Muskogee Creek Tribe for 28 years. Marian believes Native people are strong and honorable people. It is because of this belief that Marian has dedicated her life to serving the Native Community. As a teenager, Mrs. McCormick, began working with tribal elders on genealogical and historical research. During her 48 years of service, Marian has assisted the tribe in grant writing which has led her tribe to receive grants from the Administration of Native Americans as well as the U.S. Department of Education. She strives to educate others on issues facing the native community. Mrs. McCormick serves as the native representative of several advisory boards including U.S.D.A Elders Council and State Independent Living Council. Marian is a member of the National Congress of American Indians as well as the Consortia of Administrators for Native American Rehabilitation.
Nealie McCormick
McCormick is Chief of Police for the City of Pelham and has more than 40 years of law enforcement experience. He is a Muskogee Creek Indian and a member of the Lower Muskogee Creek Tribe. He has advised federal, state and local agencies on Indian Affairs. McCormick is a graduate of Albany Regional Police Academy, Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchangeās (GILEE) Andrew Young School of Policy Studies Georgia State University, Certificate of Public Management from Carl Vinson Institute University of Georgia. He and his wife, Marian, have two children and four grandchildren. They reside in Pelham.
Mike Stopp
Michael Stopp, Tahlequah, is currently serving as a Chief of Staff in the United States Congress. Mike has worked in communications, constituent relations and external affairs. He is a veteran of the U.S. Army. Stopp also serves as an Oklahoma Athletic Commissioner. He is a member of Leadership Oklahoma Class 32, Leadership Native Oklahoma Class 2 and Tahlequah leadership Class 16. Volunteering in the community is a passion for Mike. He has volunteered for multiple organizations including the Hugh OāBrian Youth Leadership Foundation, American Indian Merit Award, Help-In-Crisis, and other service and education programs. While a cadet at West Point, he was the co-founder for the Native American Heritage Forum. The Forum was established to recruit American Indian cadets, establish a community for Native cadets while attending the U.S. Military Academy, and to expose cadets and faculty to Native American culture while at the academy. The program was copied and adopted at both the U.S. Naval Academy and U.S. Air Force Academy. Along with volunteering, Stopp is a high school sports official and has volunteered to officiate the indigenous bowl the last two-years, which is an all-star football game for American Indian, High School football players from across the country.
Principal Chief Richard Sneed visit to Truist Park
On Opening Day 2020 at Truist Park, we welcomed Principal Chief Richard Sneed of the EBCI as our guest. He sat down for an interview with Kelly Crull of FOX Sports South after the premiere of the āWeāre Still Hereā video to talk about the relationship between the EBCI and the Braves. Before the game, Chief Sneed met with Hank Aaron and Andrew Young and they exchanged jerseys, each featuring their names in Cherokee Syllabary. Chief Sneed then helped begin the game with the traditional āPlay Ballā, both in Cherokee and English.