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 year and a half, 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) – an appointed body which handles Native American issues in the state of Georgia.
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:
Proceeds benefit the New Kituwah Academy and the Cherokee Speakers Council.
In March 2021, the Atlanta Braves presented the proceeds from the ‘Ball Player’ 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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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, ‘We Are Still Here’.
The exhibit’s content serves as an acknowledgement and education to Braves fans on the original home of the Cherokee – 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 ‘We Are Still Here’ 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 ‘We are still here’ 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.
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.
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.
For Veteran’s 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.
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 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 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. Ben’s 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 Government’s 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 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.
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 Exchange’s (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.
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 O’Brian 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.
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 “We’re Still Here” 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 “Play Ball”, both in Cherokee and English.
