Cherokee Heritage Trails

Amy Walker presents programs on Cherokee medicine and spirituality for groups of all ages and sizes. In her presentations, she uses legends, artwork, and personal experiences to explain Cherokee spirituality.

Born on the Qualla Boundary to a Cherokee mother and Lakota Sioux father, Amy Walker grew up on a farm in middle Tennessee and returned to Cherokee when she was twenty years old. She learned medicine from both her mother and father. Her mother grew many medicinal herbs on their farm, and they traveled throughout the region selling liniments, herbs, tonics and teas. People visited their home for treatment, where songs, prayers and plants were used "to enable a person to live life in a good way."

Traditionalist, healer, and grandmother, Amy Walker's spiritual journey has also been influenced by healers from Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Australia. She performs healing ceremonies and is a spiritual teacher. She also brings these traditions to bear in her practices as a social worker. She says, "Most healing work needs to come from within."

Amy Walker has presented programs at the Unity Treatment Center in Cherokee, the Adult Chemical Dependency Unit at the Cherokee Indian Hospital, and the Cherokee Center for Family Services at The White Path Center. She often speaks at the annual North Carolina meeting of the Head Start program. She was featured in the exhibit "Health and Healing" at the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh.

Amy Walker works with people of all ages and audiences of all sizes. She is willing to travel when she can coordinate arrangements with her job. Her fee is negotiable, but must include compensation for travel expenses. For large audiences, she needs amplifcation.