About Lavita
Lavita “Muffin” Hill – Kolanvyi (Big Cove) Dinilawigi candidate
For 30 years I’ve had a dream to serve the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians as a Tribal Councilwoman. I was still in high school but knew this was my main goal. There were few women trailblazers, but they existed, and I looked up to them.
My name is Lavita “Muffin” Hill. I live in Kolanvyi with my husband, Chris Siewers, my daughter, Aia, and granddaughter, Violet. I have two sons, Aura and Raven, that are out on their own. My parents are Sonny Hill and Barbara Sequoyah Hill. My maternal grandparents are Emerson Sequoyah and Phyllis Smith Sequoyah; my paternal grandparents are Jesse Hill, Sr. and Yonnie Watty Hill. I am a member of the Long Hair clan.
To do this day, I can honestly say I have only ever been given one thing. In 2005 my grandma Yonnie gave me 1-acre of land at the foot of her property in Big Cove. This was so I could raise my children there. From there, I’ve worked hard to achieve everything else. I grew up quite poor and I still remember the bullies that hated me for wearing plastic shoes. I didn’t even understand the difference between plastic and leather at the time. I never got beat up in school, but I suffered many days. Despite the bullying, I loved school. I loved reading and math. Math became my passion. Throughout elementary school, I shopped at the flea market, and I thought it was the best! I helped Grandma Yonnie in her gardens, and I did the chores she asked for. Every Sunday, she took me to church at Straight Fork. I remember the most beautiful women there – Martha Ross, Janie Taylor, Maggie Lossiah, Elsie Watty and of course Granny Rachel. Grandma Yonnie was incredibly strong and loving, nurturing and wise, and she was a giver. She shaped me and now I aim to carry the things she gave me to give back to our people.
As a proud member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, I believe in leadership that listens, represents, and uplifts every voice in the community. I’m running to bring fresh energy, transparent communication, and strong advocacy for our people and future generations.
I am the best candidate for this role because my heart is for our people. I am thoughtful, caring, intelligent, and educated. While those are nice leadership qualities, a good heart and desire to serve our people is what sets me apart from the other candidates. I will commit my time, energy and resources to uplifting and empowering our community. When I say I will fight for our people I mean it. I am outspoken, diligent, and I don’t claim to know everything, but I will listen to, research, and find answers. The next time someone in the audience says, raise your hand if you’ve read the resolution, the grant award, or any other document, I will raise my hand because I will be prepared and ready to serve.
Throughout my campaign I have said the EBCI is a multibillion-dollar operation. I have worked for our tribal government for 23 years and I worked for Harrah’s Cherokee Casino for three years. In my current role with EBCI, I am the Treasury Specialist. I administer our tribe’s investment accounts, serve alongside the Investment Committee, manage the Minors Fund distributions, and coordinate the VITA tax program. My other tribal jobs have been Financial Analyst, Purchasing Manager, Sr. Grants & Contracts Compliance Officer, Grant Writer, and Financial Skills Educator. I will use my education and work experience to best serve our Tribal members with sound financial decision making.
My top priority is returning the Council House to the people. My personal platform is to serve – intelligently, in a caring but wise way. I will always seek answers from my Heavenly Father, and I will take matters back to the community for their input. I want to ensure the community has an active opportunity to voice their opinions and concerns before I go vote in the Council chambers on something that directly affects them. I want to work together to strengthen our traditions, protect our sovereignty, and build a better tomorrow – together. Sgi.
Vote for Lavita “Muffin’ Hill. Please contact me anytime to discuss the things that matter to you. Phone: 828-736-3126; Email: lavitalhill@gmail.com.
Lavita Is Ready to Lead!
· WCU graduate with a Finance & Accounting degree
· 23 years as a finance professional for EBCI and 3 years for Harrah’s
· 2024 USBGN restores Kuwohi - effort of Lavita and Mary Crowe on behalf of EBCI
· 2024 Big Cove Silent Hero Award recipient
· 2022 Dogwood Award recipient
· TERO Commission Chairwoman
· Patient & Family Advisory Council Member
· Cherokee Historical Association Board Secretary
· Uwena Board of Directors Chairwoman
· WNC Communities Board Member
From Blue Ridge Public Radio
Eastern Band of Cherokee takes another step toward renaming Clingmans Dome
BPR News | By Lilly Knoepp
Published January 8, 2024 at 4:24 PM EST
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Tribal Council has taken the next step toward renaming Clingmans Dome, the highest point in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, to its traditional Cherokee name: Kuwohi, which translates to “the Mulberry Place.”
“More awareness and education of the Cherokee people and our history has increased as tourists aren’t visiting Clingmans Dome; they’re visiting the ancestral homelands of the Cherokee,” Principal Chief Michell Hicks said on Facebook.
“The passing of this resolution is a major step forward in achieving this goal,” Hicks added.
Tribal Council unanimously voted on January 4 to authorize the submission of an application to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to restore the name, “Kuwohi,” in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
In 2022, Eastern Band members Mary Crowe and Lavita Hill began their campaign for the renaming. Crowe explained that the mountain is a part of traditional Cherokee stories that need to be preserved.
“We see this as an avenue for our younger generation to relearn who we are as a people, that creator placed us here,” Crowe told council in 2022.
The resolution passed by tribal council states that Kuwohi “is the highest and most visible point in our area, and has special significance to us as Cherokee people, as it was visited by medicine people who prayed and sought guidance from the Creator regarding important matters facing our people, and then returned to our towns to give guidance and advice.”
Crowe explained that keeping these stories alive will help preserve the Cherokee language and traditions. In 2019, there were only about 200 fluent Cherokee speakers, prompting the three Cherokee tribes to declare a state of emergency for the language.
“We heard these stories - I’m trying not to cry – but boarding school took a lot of it away from us. My dad was a fluent speaker. That’s why I can listen and keep up with him but I have that solid conversation with him,” Crowe told council.
Many Cherokee elders who were fluent speakers have passed away since 2019, including JC Wachacha, who spoke to BPR for this 2019 story on language preservation. When the Cherokee Language specialist passed away in November 2023 the New Kituwah Academy closed for the day to attend services in his honor.
The resolution also explained the outpouring of local support for the name. Resolutions supporting the change were passed by Buncombe, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Swain, Graham, Clay and Cherokee counties as well as the towns of Asheville, Andrews, Murphy, Hayesville, Fontana Dam, Lake Santeetlah, Robbinsville, Canton, Clyde, Maggie Valley, Waynesville, Dillsboro, Sylva, Webster, Franklin, Highlands and Bryson City.
Eastern Band of Cherokee takes another step toward renaming Clingmans Dome
From the Cherokee One Feather Candidate Questions
What projects would you like implemented to support the continuation of the Cherokee language?
Since the beginning of my campaign to be your next KoLaNvYi/ToLeDvYi Tribal Council representative, I have incorporated our culture into my messaging. I have highlighted that we were a matriarchal society and should be again. Our mothers gave us our clans and that is how we identified our relatives and certain roles were assigned. In our Tribal government there are three branches of government. Women are leaders and should represent the Tribe in our legislative and executive bodies too. Proudly, women have representation in our judicial body! Our culture and language go hand in hand. Preserving our Cherokee language must be prioritized.
Last week I talked about how I want Cherokee’s storefronts and signage updated to reflect Cherokee’s culture, language, and art. This week we’re discussing what projects should be implemented to support the continuation of the Cherokee language.
I am passionate about the use of our language in places and signage. We literally challenged the US Government to correct the name of a vital landmark to our culture and traditions and won! Mary Crowe and I were instrumental in having our language posted within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and in Google maps. It is past time we do the same here. One of our favorite businesses named the business after a Cherokee Township – hence BuffaloTown. I’ve listened to Sylvester Crowe and Clement Cucumber tell stories that included OUR original place names. Did you know Mingo Falls was formerly Big Bear Falls? There is a Cherokee story behind the name. Most of our place names have purpose, meaning, or direction. I want to see the return of the original names of everything we can identify here at home that includes our language. We often say representation matters, well language matters too, and our language should be seen all over the place in Cherokee.
A top project is support for the Museum of Cherokee Indians and the Cherokee Historical Association. If elected, it will be my priority to ensure visitors to Cherokee learn something about Cherokee that is authentic and true. I do not want to promote the stereotypical Indian any longer. Both these places have done a tremendous job and need financial support to keep going, growing, and doing.
Also, a personal project is for me to learn our language. I want to commit time to this. I want to speak, read, write and understand it.
Finally, possibly, priority ONE, take down the WELCOME TO THE CHEROKEE INDIAN RESERVATION signs!
Do you see the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians having a constitution in the next five years? If so, how do we get there – and if not, why?
I believe we will have a new constitution when and if there is widespread and noticeable public support for one. Despite the notable efforts of many over the years, the necessary level of support hasn’t been there yet. Whether that will happen in 5 years or not, I do not know. If public support gets there, it will happen. If it is just being pushed by a few, it won’t. Things can happen quickly if the right circumstances present themselves.
Let’s talk a little bit about our current Charter and Governing Document. Though our current Charter was adopted in 1986, many if not most of its provisions can be traced back to the Lloyd Welch Constitution. Did you know we are approaching the 150th anniversary of the Lloyd Welch Constitution being adopted at the Cheoah Council Ground? It was adopted on Oct. 13, 1875.
Does our current leadership plan to mark this important anniversary? I would encourage our current leadership to do something to acknowledge this historic moment, and, if elected, I will quickly introduce a resolution during Annual Council to recognize its 150th anniversary (though we won’t be taking the day off).
Our 1986 Charter lays out the framework for our modern government. It’s not perfect (no written document is). We must consider that we have developed volumes of ordinances and resolutions based on powers granted to Tribal Council and the Executive office under the Charter. I believe we need to take some time to thoroughly review our current governing documents before we continuously add to the volumes of passed resolutions that are never implemented or are a contradiction to our current laws and we keep going in circles. We need to be very careful about replacing such a document outright because it could lead to disorder if not done correctly.
I encourage all our members to review and learn from our historical documents. Anyone who reviews the Lloyd Welch Constitution will see the influence it has on our Charter. Isn’t it interesting that many provisions of our current Charter can be traced back to 1875? We have been operating under this document since we began to reconstitute our government after removal, and WE ARE STILL HERE. This October 13th, we should be celebrating our stability and history!
I have spent time reviewing the proposed constitution on Sgadugi.org. It seems to me those who are seeking a constitution want more robust protections for our Tribal members. I fully support this. Tribal government must deal fairly with our people, and every day, if I am blessed to sit around that horseshoe, I will fight for ALL tribal members to be treated fairly. I will always stand up for everyone’s right to be treated respectfully and with dignity.
Please join me this Oct. 13 in celebrating what is an important milestone in the long and proud history of our people!
Lavita Shares Our Story
Contact Lavita
Interested in working together? Fill out some info and we will be in touch shortly. I can’t wait to hear from you!