Jakeli Swimmer, prominent Cherokee graphic artist, cartoonist, and storyteller, will be the featured speaker at the open membership and program meeting of the Alliance for Beyond Land Acknowledgement (ABLA). The event will begin with snacks, coffee, tea, and fellowship at 9:30 a.m., Saturday, March 28, at the Asheville Friends (Quaker) Meeting House. The meeting is free and open to the public.
ABLA is an association of individuals, nonprofit and other organizations, religious communities, and others who wish to work more closely with the original Nations and indigenous peoples of the area to advocate for repair and recovery from the painful history of European colonization. ABLA has been working closely with the nearby Eastern Band of Cherokees and hopes to strengthen our ties with the earliest residents of Western North Carolina. ABLA has recently been declared a nonprofit organization by the Internal Revenue Service.
Membership and participation in the Alliance’s leadership include enrolled members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee. Those who want to learn more about and build relationships with descendants of the earliest occupants of the area are invited to join ABLA.
The Asheville Friends Meeting House is located at 227 Edgewood Road near the UNC-A campus. For more information on ALBA, visit the group on Facebook. To request a Zoom link to the meeting, contact Pat Johnson at 828-400-4844.
