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New foundation can link past with possibilities for the future, director says

By Rose Hooper
Audrey Cox Audrey Cox, Myron Coulter's assistant for the past seven years, was presented this white oak basket handcrafted by Shirley Taylor of Cherokee during the Cherokee Preservation Foundation meeting March 1. Cox was honored for her assistance in helping Coulter, the foundation's chairman, establish the foundation and select its new executive director, Susan Jenkins. - Herald photo by Rose Hooper As the new executive director for the Cherokee Preservation Foundation, Susan Jenkins said she feels like she is "riding and building a bicycle at the same time."

Jenkins, an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, said she hopes the ultimate outcome of the new foundation will be "an on-going partnership with Cherokee and its communities."

Established at the end of 2000, the Cherokee Preservation Foundation is part of the second amendment to the Tribal-State Compact between the Eastern Band of Cherokee and North Carolina.

The non-profit foundation uses a percentage of profits from Harrah's Cherokee Casino to fund projects dealing with economic development, environmental protection and Cherokee culture preservation.

The first three years, the foundations will receive $5 million annually, with continued funded during the foundations's 30-year life to be based on net gaming revenues.

"Cherokee is not in this alone. Industries in our surrounding counties are closing down daily," Principal Chief Leon Jones said during a meeting of 125 community leaders Friday at the Holiday Inn in Cherokee. "Tourism is our lifeblood - it's the lifeblood not just for the tribe, but for surrounding counties. We need to work together as a team on this."

The mission of the new foundation is to enhance the overall well-being of the Eastern Band and to strengthen the Western North Carolina region.

"The potential is here to move us into the future," Jones said.

"We look forward to doing some great things with the resources available to the foundation," said Myron Coulter, the organization's chairman.

Grants could be awarded by late this summer, Coulter said. Decisions on who receives grant funding will be made by a 10-member board of directors appointed by the governor. Six of the 10 are enrolled tribal members.

In working with the Cherokee communities, Jenkins said over and over she is hearing that people want to preserve their heritage.

"The foundation can be a catalyst in linking the past with the possibilities of the future," the new director said.

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