Our Voices Remain: Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail
On November 1st in Morganton, NC, PNTS held the Our Voices Remain event with the
Overmountain Victory Trail Association. The three-part event featured Atsila Anotasgi Cultural Specialists from the Museum of the Cherokee People, who led attendees in traditional meeting dances and a “Cherokee 101” discussion of culture and history, as well as supernatural creature stories told by Cherokee Storyteller Kathi Littlejohn. The event also began with tabling from PNTS staff and representatives from our partners, including the Overmountain Victory Trail Association, Lake James NC State Park, America 250 NC, and the Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina.
The Atsila Anotasgi team, Dylan Morgan, Nola Pina, and Xander Brady, represent a shift in how the Museum of the Cherokee People is sharing Cherokee culture with visitors. Their name, meaning "Fire Builders" in Cherokee, reflects their role in keeping and sharing living cultural traditions. Rather than relying on historical reenactment with staff in 18th-century costume, the Museum is centering contemporary Cherokee voices to demonstrate how the Cherokee people continue to exist, preserve, and evolve their culture in the 21st century.
This approach also shaped the structure of the event, as Dylan led attendees in traditional social dances like the Yona (Bear) Dance, transforming participants from passive observers into active learners. Nola led the “Cherokee 101” dialogue about life on Qualla Boundary today, responding to questions about modern Cherokee life, crafts, and sharing how Cherokee Central Schools integrate language and culture into classrooms.
Kathi Littlejohn began with a discussion of historic Cherokee trails that connected communities across Cherokee lands, which spanned most of what is now North Carolina and extended into Alabama and West Virginia. Many of these ancient pathways remain visible on our landscape today as major roadways and trails, reminding us that we walk routes established long before the Trails system. Kathi shared stories of the Uktena, a powerful supernatural creature from Cherokee tradition. Her storytelling albums are available on YouTube for those who wish to hear her stories.
The Our Voices Remain event series also represents PNTS's commitment to recognizing and celebrating Indigenous lands and culture.These events remind us that the trails we steward are part of living Indigenous landscapes, and through partnerships with the Lewis and Clark and El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trails, PNTS has brought Native scholars, historians, craftspeople, and cultural specialists to trail communities across the country over 2025, creating space for voices that have been marginalized in the telling of our National Trails System stories.
Thank you to everyone who joined us in Morganton and to all our partners for helping make this free community event possible!
