Tribal council supports environmental protections, votes against extraction

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Tribal council supports environmental protections, votes against extraction

NAIWA Daughters Founder and Chair Jasmine Smith addressed tribal council May 7. File photo

Tribal council on May 7 took multiple steps to protect Qualla Boundary rivers and forests, both through supporting land management practices and standing against environmental harm. Among those was a resolution “supporting the removal of Ela Dam and the restoration of Longperson” — which called the dam “obsolete” and noted that it “impairs our watershed.”

The dam was built as part of the Bryson Hydroelectric project, spearheaded by the town of Bryson City in 1925 to introduce power to rural parts of Appalachia. In 1988, dam operations were acquired by Duke Energy, and in 2019, it was purchased by Northbrook Energy. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service noted that “Ela Dam is the only thing keeping the Oconaluftee River from being a completely free-flowing river ... physically and symbolically reconnecting the Cherokee with ancestral waters downstream.”

To the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the Oconaluftee is a being known as Long Man — and Long Person — whose head starts in Appalachia and feet end in the Atlantic.

Removal also advances conservation-related initiatives such as protecting the elktoe mussel and eastern hellbender.

In November 2023, Tribal Council formally endorsed the Elohi Dinigatiyi (Earth Keepers) and their mission, and in March 2026 endorsed the group’s principles of stewardship and collaboration. Both actions provided a foundation for the May 7 resolution.

Additionally, in January of this year, the North American Indian Women Association Daughters led the passage of a resolution recognizing the rights of nature and Long Person, which legally established water as a living relative and prohibited its obstruction.

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However, the dam removal conversation gained traction years prior, following an accidental sediment release in fall 2021. Pending demolition, the structure is currently owned by partner organization Mainstream Conservation Trust.

Half the room was filled with the resolution’s supporters — members of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, EBCI natural resources department, Center for Native Health, Elohi Dinigatiyi, NIAWA Daughters and advisory board.

While EBCI Forest Resource Specialist Tommy Cabe noted that the coalition is “lacking about $15 million to carry out the projects in town” — the FWS expects removal to cost $16 million, despite earlier estimates set at 50% of that total — he emphasized that the resolution was not a commitment to produce that additional funding. That said, he told tribal council, “We’re not going to turn down any money to get this thing torn down.”

But Council Member Michael Stamper (Painttown) thought the resolution might be too vague when it came to finances.

“If this is a monetary thing, I think that needs to be spelled out a little bit more in detail with the resolution, just so everyone’s clear as to what the roles and responsibilities are,” he said.

Cabe didn’t find it necessary to have such a breakdown.

Principal Chief Michell Hicks asked if utility companies have offered to assist the removal project.

“What is the role of Duke Power here, and how much have they stepped up to the table? They created this scenario, and have benefited from this scenario,” he said.

Holding these larger entities accountable was exactly the point of the resolution, explained Elohi Dinigatiyi leader Mary Thompson.

“We need the help and the assistance of our elected leaders to get to some of these other programs — Duke Power — that we haven’t been able to bring to the table,” she said.

After the resolution’s unanimous passage, Jasmine Smith, chair and founder of the youth-led NAIWA Daughters, approached council with a few remarks.

“Every choice we make today is the future we will inherit as EBCI youth. We will be sitting in these seats in the future … We can build those partnerships and relationships, and we can reconnect with culture; we also have the opportunity to reconnect to aquatic relatives,” she said.

Smith told The Smoky Mountain News that NIAWA Daughters became involved with this project around the same time the group introduced the rights of nature/Longperson. She also explained why the removal is so important.

“I think as Kituwah people, as Cherokee people, even though we didn’t put in these challenges in our waterways, it’s our responsibility to advocate and be those protectors of our Longperson,” she said.

Another environmental-related topic was that of hyperscale data centers. These high impact facilities were a focal point twice during the tribal council session. The initial instance involved council member Venita Wolfe (Big Cove) directing a question at Jamie Ager, Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives. When Ager approached the tribe that morning to discuss his candidacy, he presented himself as a humble farmer who understood the various issues — Helene recovery, affordability, the rising cost of childcare and healthcare — plaguing everyday people in Western North Carolina. Council members then took turns gauging his position on things that would affect EBCI citizens.

Quick to admit he hadn’t done his research on tribal sovereignty in response to a related question, Ager said it absolutely takes priority over federal attempts at deregulation — without exception. When asked about data centers, Ager focused on the “good neighbor” principle.

“I’m hearing a lot of scenarios where those data centers aren’t very good community members, use a lot of water in the community — which is a big deal — use a lot of energy and a lot of infrastructure. And when demand on that energy goes up, then everybody’s rates go up. And that’s not really fair to the people in that community that are subsidizing, essentially a big tech AI company,” he responded.

Nonetheless, Ager added, there’s the reality of the AI boom happening right now.

“We got to wrestle with how those things are going to work and how does this all go, and to me, this could be one of the biggest challenges of our lifetimes,” he said.

Later, an ordinance mandating an indefinite data center moratorium — submitted by Wolfe and fellow council members Shennelle Feather (Yellowhill), Shannon Swimmer (Painttown) and Lavita Hill (Big Cove) — entered the floor for discussion. Hicks was supportive but wanted to know how the tribe’s digital sovereignty would be impacted by the legislation.

“I understand the concern around water, electricity, things of that nature. We need to protect those things. But [we] also would like to make sure that we have captured all the movement around data and where it’s being currently stored at and make sure there’s not any type of interference,” he said.

Council Member Mike Parker (Wolftown) clarified the parameters of the ordinance. It would only concern hyperscale facilities, he said — like the stuff of Elon Musk’s Colossus xAI in Memphis — and wouldn’t impact regular data storage.

A move to pass, then a second, was made on the floor, but before council could vote, Indigenous Environmental Network organizer Mary “Missy” Crowe rose to the podium. While she’s in favor of banning big tech facilities, she said the right call might be to have a work session — and that she’d invite the speakers from a prior EBCI data center town hall. She also thought an ordinance wasn’t the best avenue for a moratorium.

“I feel that something this big needs to come to all the people,” she said.

In response, Feather, expressing gratitude to Crowe for organizing the town hall, said she already knew how her community felt about data centers.

“I represent Yellowhill and my constituents with putting a ban on data centers on tribal land,” Feather said, urging a vote.

Kevin Jackson from the office of Information technology asked a question mirroring what Hicks had previously mentioned.

“I couldn’t hear the clarification about the data center, and I just wanted to make sure that the language didn’t prevent the tribe from an off-site storage, smaller scale facility,” he said.

Parker and Swimmer reiterated previous statements, but Council Member Adam Wachacha (Snowbird) requested the OIT employee affirm that the ordinance wouldn’t get in the way of planned data sovereignty.

It passed unanimously after Jackson gave his word.

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