Cherokee Friendship Dance at Cherokee Days, Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian

The Museum of the Cherokee Indian's Atsila Anotasgi Cultural Specialists lead a Friendship Dance at Cherokee Days 2023, held at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian. A group of motivated and passionate young artists, storytellers, singers, dancers, researchers, Cherokee language learners, and knowledge seekers, Atsila Anotasgi (the Cherokee word for “Fire Builders”) focus on cultural preservation by reconnecting with their Eastern Cherokee heritage. Formerly known as the Cherokee Friends, the group is comprised entirely of enrolled members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians who educate non-Indigenous and Indigenous communities about Eastern Cherokee belief systems, concepts, song and dance, and traditions through lectures, dance performances, art demonstrations, and storytelling sessions.