Similarities of Struggle: A Collaboration between the Cherokee in North Carolina and Māori in New Zealand

A grant secured by Appalachian State University will facilitate visits by Cherokee high school students and community leaders to New Zealand in spring 2023 and by Māori high school students and community leaders to North Carolina in fall 2023. Students and educators from the two communities will exchange best practices for preserving each nation’s language and culture.

The grant project, “Similarities of Struggle: A Collaboration between the Cherokee in North Carolina and Māori in New Zealand,” was awarded $100,000 from the U.S. Department of State’s U.S. Embassy and Consulates in New Zealand.

The grant proposal was written by Dr. Jesse Lutabingwa, professor of public administration and associate vice chancellor in App State’s Office of International Education and Development, and Dr. J. Allen Bryant, associate professor of elementary education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction and director of the Gadugi Partnership at App State. The partnership between App State and Cherokee Central Schools, founded in 2013, strives to prepare, support and sustain the future leaders of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) through coursework, service and cultural immersion.