"the People's Paths!" Cherokee News Path - Cherokee Nation’s July History Presentation

Roger Cain shows how river cane is properly harvested. Cain will present a talk on July 23 about river cane conservation. River cane is an endangered botanical species that has important cultural ties to the Cherokee people.

Roger Cain, a designated Cherokee National Treasure, will be the next speaker in the Cherokee Nation History series. Cain will give a presentation about river cane conservation next Thursday, July 23 at 10:30 a.m. at the Cherokee Nation tribal complex.

Cain, a graduate student in the Fullbright College of Anthropology studying ethnobiology, is currently conducting graduate field research in the area of river cane conversation within the Cherokee Nation. His presentation will focus upon the significance of river cane to Cherokee history and culture. River cane has proven to be a vital ecosystem to the Cherokee as a medium for housing, weaponry, basketry, art, medicine and many other uses. While river cane was abundant before colonial expansion, it is currently considered a critically endangered botanical species and ecosystem of sizable decline, now covering less than 2 percent of the area that it originally covered in the southeastern U.S.

Recent research has proven that the positive environmental impact of river cane upon local landscapes is substantial, reducing both ground and underground runoff into our streams and rivers. River cane has historically provided river bank stabilization while acting as a filter in the collecting of sediment and bioaccumulations resultant of flooding and pollutants directly affecting local streams and rivers. Current research has dispelled many myths associated with river cane and environmental issues. Instead, river cane has proven beneficial to our natural habitats and is historically important to the cultural traditions of the Cherokee.

Cain recently received an award from the Mid-South Folk Life Foundation to conduct his graduate research while he attends the University of Arkansas. He was designated as a Cherokee National Treasure in 2007 for his expertise in traditional Cherokee masks. He and his wife Shawna, who also holds a Cherokee National Treasure designation for her basketry, live in Adair County.

The presentation is free to attend and will be held in the Cherokee Nation’s Council Chambers. For more information, call 918-453-5389 or send an e-mail to: cathy-monholland@cherokee.org.