Campus & Community Media invited to Cherokee stops of Tar Heel Bus Tour on Thursday (May 15)
| Media invited to Cherokee stops of Tar Heel Bus Tour on Thursday (May 15) |
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| Wednesday, May 14, 2008 | |
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Media representatives are invited to join the 2008 Tar Heel Bus Tour for two stops Thursday near Cherokee. The privately funded tour, which continues through Friday (May 16), is taking 36 new UNC-Chapel Hill faculty members across the state to learn about its people, economy, environment, culture and history. Thursday (May 15) 9:15 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Kituwah and Qualla Town, Cherokee The presentation will start at Kituwah, the original village of the Cherokee and site of a ceremonial mound. At Kituwah, new faculty members will learn about the culture and history of the Cherokee people from Russell Townsend, tribal historic preservation officer for the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians. In Qualla Town, T.J. Holland of the cultural resources office of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians will tell faculty members about a project UNC-Chapel Hill archeology faculty member Brett Riggs has been working on to expand the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail into southwestern North Carolina. Riggs has worked with Holland and others to document the Cherokee migration by creating 18 signs explaining the Trail of Tears. The sign for Qualla Town is closest to Cherokee, and participants will visit the site to learn about this portion of the Cherokee heritage. The American Indians who hid in the mountains surrounding Qualla Town and escaped the Trail of Tears later came together to form the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians. Contacts: Brett Riggs, (919) 962-3843; T.J. Holland, (828) 479-4727 Itinerary: For the weeklong itinerary of the Tar Heel Bus Tour, visit http://www.unc.edu/bustour/ . News Services contact: Susan Houston, (919) 962-8415, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |