Born from the high, cold springs of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and destined for the Gulf of Mexico, the clear waters of the Oconaluftee River have a long journey ahead. The river flows through the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ homeland in Cherokee, North Carolina, and joins increasingly voluminous waterways as it travels toward the sea. The Cherokee know this southbound path as the Long Person, yvwi ganvhida— a living being with its head in the mountains and its feet in the sea.

“Water has always been something that has kept our community together and going,” said EBCI citizen Jasmine Smith, 15, chair and co-founder of the youth-led North American Indian Women’s Association Daughters . “Water is life, and without it we’re not going to be able to continue anything.”

Smith

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