OCHELATA – After several investments and renovations to their community building in Ochelata, the Washington County Cherokee Association (WCCA) is thriving.
Meeting near the Cooweescoowee Health Center, WCCA currently has 140 members with an average of 70 people showing up to the monthly meetings, according to WCCA President John Weston. The meetings happen on the first Thursday of every month.
John Weston, president of Washington County Cherokee Association.
“We start at 6 p.m. and have fellowship until around 6:30 p.m. At that point we start our potluck dinner,” Weston explained. “I don’t think there’s a Cherokee event where we don’t have food. At 7:30 or so we have a presenter, usually presenting something culturally significant.”
Presentations can range from how to forage traditional plants to history lessons.
“I always try to find something culturally significant that we can present to the association,” he said. “The whole key to this organization is perpetuating our culture, observing our history, traditions and language.”
After being on the board for three years, Weston became president in January 2025. The organization’s membership grew from there.
“I’d like to take credit for all that, but I know a lot of it is because the tribe has been investing in our community,” he said. “In fact, we recently had a major renovation here, about a half a million-dollar renovation, that allowed us to finish our building.”
The renovation is in partnership with the Hawiya Meat Distribution program, an initiative that provides free meat to Cherokee citizens through local CN Community and Cultural Outreach (CCO) organizations.
“That’s been a big factor in attracting new members into the community,” Weston said. “There’s really a need for that right now, especially with the threat that we had recently of SNAP benefits being withheld from a lot of folks.”
Located next to Cooweescoowee Health Center in Ochelata, the Washington County Cherokee Association community building hosts 70 attendees per monthly at its monthly meeting.
“I was really happy to see that our tribe steps up anytime there’s a gap from the federal government,” he said. “For example, the summer EBT program – our state didn’t feel a need to feed children, but the tribe and our chief, he stepped up and did, and I was very proud of that.”
Weston insists that community is important in continuing to perpetuate the Cherokee language and culture.
“That word, community, ‘skadugi.’ We always hear ‘gadugi,’ which is ‘working together in fellowship with one another’ but ‘skadugi’ is ‘community.’” Weston explained. “I think gadugi is the key to building skadugi.”
In Deputy Secretary of State Canaan Duncan’s role within the Hoskin-Warner administration, he focuses on community engagement, working with CN departments on grassroots organizing efforts and local problem solving. Duncan said partnerships with the WCCA and other local community organizations are vital to the tribe and a benefit to communities within the tribe’s reservation.
“Cherokee Nation CCO participating organizations are not only a hub for their respective communities, but also a vital line of communication for the Cherokee Nation,” Duncan said. “They keep our leaders and workforce informed of the needs and activities across the Cherokee Nation. We know we can call on them at any time and they are equipped and ready to help in any situation. These organizations like Washington County Cherokee Association know their communities best and we are benefitting as a tribe from their grassroots efforts.”