The symposium is a collaborative meeting that seeks to integrate indigenous and local knowledge with health and environmental issues. Both Appalachian and Native worldviews are addressed in an attempt to better understand the issues and dynamics of humanity’s place and relationship with the natural world, as well as understand the challenges that arise in an ever-changing world. Rooted in the Mountains also reflects the importance of language, as it is within language that traditional or indigenous epistemologies are preserved.

“Rooted in the Mountains reminds us of the power of place,” said Hartwell Francis, director of WCU’s Cherokee language program. “We tell each other about our experiences in these beautiful mountains and we reaffirm our commitments to study together to better understand ourselves in our environment.”

Presenters will include Cherokee tribal members as well as professionals, activists, academics and researchers who work with plants. Former WCU Sequoyah Distinguished Professor Tom Hatley will give the keynote address on Friday, discussing the human relationship with forests in a talk called “How the Sequoia Got Its Name: Stories We Tell about Forests (and Ourselves).”

Other speakers include Cherokee elder Tom Belt and Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians cultural resource officer T.J. Holland, who will speak on Thursday about the Cherokee concept of “Duyuktvi,” which deals with bringing harmony and balance to life.

Hours for the symposium are 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 24 with a music concert by the Haywood Travelers at 6:30 p.m., and 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sept. 25. All activities will be held at WCU’s Health and Human Sciences Building on Little Savannah Road. $125 or $25 for students. 

www.rootedinthemtns.wcu.edu or 828.227.7397.