Robbinsville – Graham County’s first inhabitants were honored Saturday, with the dedication of a downtown Robbinsville mural recognizing matriarchs of the Snowbird community.
The mural includes several Snowbird Cherokee women, honoring them for their contributions to the community. The women were painted by several different Cherokee artists and are depicted in traditional dress, partaking in traditional activities including beadwork, soap-making and storytelling. The mural also includes references to other Cherokee traditions and mythology.
Family members of the women painted in the mural were recognized at the dedication, as were the artists involved in the project.
The project was supported by the Graham Revitalization Economic Action Team (GREAT) and the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation.
“It is time to go beyond simple acknowledgement to embracing the beauty and diversity brought to the table by all of the members of our community,” said GREAT President Michelle Shiplet. “It is our desire to help celebrate the diversity brought to our community by the presence of the Snowbird Cherokee within our midst.”
Women represented in the mural include Iva Rattler, Lois Calonehuskie, Onita Wachacha, Bessie Jumper, Edna Chekelelee, Zena Rattler, Emma Garrett, Martha Wachacha, Callie Wachacha, Ella Bird, Shirley Jackson Oswalt and Maggie Wachacha. Three of those depicted – Bird, Oswalt and Maggie Wachacha – have been named Beloved Women by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
Snowbird/Cherokee County Tribal Council Member Bucky Brown shared his memories of the matriarchs – including his grandmother, Xena Rattler.
“Everyone here in Graham County said, ‘Your grandmother was one of the best cooks around,’” Brown said. “She did a lot of things in the community. She worked at the school for a long time, and she was one of the first woman council members. You have to appreciate women that’ll stand up in that level.”
Council Chairman and Snowbird/Cherokee County Council Member Adam Wachacha also shared his memories of the women, some of whom were relatives.
“It’s wonderful, because I got to grow up and until I was a sophomore in high school, be with my great-grandmother (Maggie Wachacha),” Wachacha said. “To me, she was my hero – the person I cherished – and I got to listen to a lot of her stories that she would tell.”
The dedication also memorialized Cherokee artist and cultural expert T.J. Holland, who died unexpectedly in September at the age of 44. Holland helped to spearhead the project and plan the design, as well as painting the portrait of Chekelelee in the center of the mural.
“One thing that I can say about him is that he loved his Cherokee people,” said Pat Holland, T.J. Holland’s mother. “He was very proud to be a member of this tribe and he would do anything in the world to help carry on traditions, stories, anything that he could to help people understand about our tribe.”
The mural project was first put on the table in 2018, with the majority of the piece being painted in late spring. Doreyl Ammons Cain served as the one of the project’s lead artists, with Holland having also served in the role before his death.
Individual panels were also painted by Haylee Garland, Nikki Nations, Jeanne Hornbuckle and Lou Jackson.
“In using this mural to honor the contributions the women of Snowbird community, the title ‘Beloved Woman’ is in it – not only to those who are honored in that way through the vote of the Tribal Council, but through how they endeared themselves through the community and what they’ve done to make Snowbird the community that it is,” said Vice Chief Alan Ensley.