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By Rose Hooper
By a 2-1 margin, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R.
1409, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Land Exchange Act,
Tuesday, Sept. 23.
The bill, introduced by Western North Carolina Rep. Charles Taylor,
trades 143 acres adjacent to the Qualla Boundary, known as the
Ravensford tract, for the 218-acre Waterrock Knob property adjacent
to the Blue Ridge Parkway in Jackson County. The bill now moved
to the Senate for consideration.
If approved, the bill would take precedent over the National Park
Service's review of the exchange.
Cherokee Tribal Council members proposed the exchange, saying
they need flat land to build new schools.
Existing school buildings, constructed by the Department of the
Interior several decades ago, are aging, overcrowded and inadequate
to meet both current and future education needs, tribal officials
contend.
"A school campus located in the heart of the Qualla Boundary
will be a focal point for student to explore our culture, history
and natural heritage," said Principal Chief Leon Jones, a
proponent of consolidating the elementary school and middle school/high
school on Acquoni Road in Ravensford.
If acquired by the Eastern Band, the Ravensford tract would connect
two areas of the reservation now bisected by park land. The Qualla
Boundary is currently divided by the parkway and the Ravensford
site, physically separating Big Cove community from the rest of
the reservation.
Taylor hailed the passage of the bill, calling it "a win-win
situation for all parties."
Some conservation groups, such as the Sierra Club, argue that
removing the Ravensford property from the National Park Service
would decrease the value of the park. They've also called on the
tribe to protect archeological resources at Ravensford which are
contained within the Oconaluftee Archaeological District.
Studies have found the site rich in cultural resources, containing
intact deposits associated with more than 8,000 years of human
occupation.
Some opponents claim the exchange is driven by economics, not
education, citing the tribe's desire to replace the downtown schools
with economic development.
The National Parks Conservation Association, also opposed to the
exchange, calls it "an unequal trade." An appraisal
company hired by the NPCA valued the Ravensford tract at $3.5
million, while the Waterrock Knob tract was valued around $500,000.
NPS has not released appraisal numbers for either tract.
Deborah Potter, spokesperson for Taylor on this project, said
the congressman disputes those numbers and stresses this not about
money, but education for Cherokee children.
Taylor, who said the new schools are needed, pointed out that
"almost 800 elementary school children attend classes in
a deteriorated facility originally built for 480 students. Further,
the elementary school is located at the intersection of two federal
highways and, thus, creates an unsafe situation.
"Cherokee High School is also at full capacity and parts
of it have been condemned," Taylor continued. "Other
parts have been declared unfit for educational purposes."
The American public also benefits from the exchange, Taylor said,
because it "gives the National Park Service pristine land
that will result in a net increase of National Park lands."
On a historical note, Taylor said the United States promised to
return this land to the Eastern Cherokee in the 1940s to replace
reservation lands taken from the tribe to build the Blue Ridge
Parkway. But after the agreement was negotiated, Congress deleted
the Ravensford parcel from the legislation.
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