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Traditional harvest
Cherokee High School students joined U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service outreach specialist Gary Peeples in the Tuckaseigee River Oct. 15 to reenact a traditional Cherokee fish harvest, using a replica of a Cherokee fish basket (above). Fish were guided downstream through a fish weir, or trap – a rock jetty designed to concentrate fish for easy harvest. The weir, located near Jim Allman's home in Webster, had not been used to trap fish for more than 60 years, due to the fact that laws for trapping fish were changed in the 1940s, Allman said. The Eastern Band of the Cherokee and Duke Power last year signed an agreement to protect sites of significance to the Cherokee people; representatives from both groups were on hand for last week's event. A book about traditional Cherokee fishing ways and resources is currently under development by the Fish and Wildlife Service, and photos from the students' harvest will be included.
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