Cherokee Heritage Trails

The Cherokee Women's Auxiliary Choir is a group of approximately twenty women who sing hymns and gospel songs in both Cherokee and English. The choir can include solos, duets, trios, or small ensembles in its programs.

The choir was formed in 1998 by the Baptist Ladies Auxiliary in order to sing for community members who were home bound or in hospitals and nursing homes and could not attend church services. Open to anyone in the community that wanted to sing, the choir attracted members from a number of local churches. Currently represented in the group are Straightfork Baptist Church, Big Cove Baptist Church, Yellowhill Baptist Church, Waterfalls Baptist Church, Cherokee Methodist Church, Bethabara Baptist Church and the Living Waters Lutheran Church. All members of the choir are active in their own respective churches and participate in church activities that range from teaching Sunday School and singing in the choir to serving as auxiliary officers.

In addition to singing for services at local churches and meetings in Cherokee, North Carolina, the choir has sung at the Cancer Relay for Life Project, the North American Indian Women's Association (NAIWA), the Lutheran Ladies Conference, the Folk Festival at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, a nursing home in Murphy, the Fifth Annual Ladies Retreat hosted by the Yellowhill Church, the Unicoi Turnpike Millennium Trail celebration at the Sequoyah Birthplace Museum in Vonore, Tennessee, and the Cherokee Voices Festival at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian.

The size of the choir for any given program will vary according to how many singers can arrange their work schedules and other commitments in response to an invitation to sing. Some elderly choir members cannot travel far and their participation depends on the program location. Most members, however, can travel beyond the local area. The choir's organization includes contact persons who handle the schedule, a treasurer, and several members who activate a phone tree to relay information to each church.

Fees are negotiable and should include reimbursement for all travel, including mileage, meals, and any overnight accommodations. The choir often sings with its own piano accompanist, but it can also sing without accompaniment. Presenters should advise the choir's contact person in advance about the availability of a piano.