Women of the Spirit is a vibrant community of women. Shannon Laughingdeer Long is the Chairwoman. 

Our Mission: We recognize that tribal women are the backbone of the tribe, weaving our ideas, community, and culture by empowering one another in every way. We help our Elders and teach our young. We support our men and honor our ancestors.

We do this by:

• Giving of our time and talents to help our at our pow wow and all other Tribal gatherings

• Practice and teach ceremonial etiquette;

• Work on regalia for our craft store, for our elders, and our youth

• Gain knowledge through books and Elders about our history and our traditions;

• Maintain the tribal flower bed and plants; To help ensure our Native plants Thrive

• We Have a Womens Drumming and singing.

• We inspire our young Cherokees by passing these down to them through teaching them our traditions, history and craftwork in order to preserve our culture for the next generation;

• We take care of and run our craft store, and traveling craft store

• For more information: email: Laughingdeerlong@gmail.com

 Candace Kalisetsi Richardson is the chairwoman of the Young Cherokees. She has over 5 years experience working with children in both therapeutic and classroom settings and has a bachelors in Early Childhood Education.

Empowering Our Future Generations through Children's Education, Culture, and Community

Our mission is to create a welcoming and inclusive environment where our Young Cherokees can thrive in their rich heritage. We focus on children's classes and resources that include cultural knowledge, traditional sports and dance, and language preservation.

• We are dedicated to preserving the Cherokee language, culture, and traditions, which are integral to our identity.

• Our programs include cultural education and language classes, fostering a deep respect for our heritage.

• Our goal is to empower Cherokee children to become proud, confident, and culturally connected individuals.

• We are committed to fostering the growth and development of our children, nurturing their skills, and helping them become proud ambassadors of The Lower Eastern Cherokee Nation.

You can email Candace.Kalisetsi@gmail.com for more information

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Scott Red Otter Gephart is the Chairman of the Pow Wow Committee starting with the 12th Annual Pow Wow.  . 

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This committee organizes the upcoming pow wow:

• Specifies date (last Saturday in September);

• Advertising and signs;

• Contacts and schedules Drum, MC, Arena Director, Food & Craft Vendors, and other entertainers, and portable toilets & trash pickup;

• Sets up reservations at Hotel;

• Organizes other committees for certain duties;

• Gets volunteers to help;

• Sends out invitations; and

• Makes pow wow schedule.

• For more information email: scottgephart166@comcast.net or call/text 423.494.4255

Our First Chief envisioned our tribe having the only Cherokee Museum run by Cherokees in South Carolina; he also envisioned a traveling museum named “Basketful of Knowledge.” Victoria Yellow Rose Norris will work to combine this vision into reality, The PAIA Basketful of Knowledge Museum. Along with the help of other tribal members, this museum will tell the Cherokee story in this state and beyond. Our present museum located in the White Sage Longhouse contains much Cherokee history and artifacts, many old and recent crafts, regalia, tools and weapons, and photos of our ancestors. We will build upon this foundation to include an exhibit of our Elders telling their stories; more information about our past and current craftspeople; our 100-year history as the PAIALECNSC; and including a tribute to our First Chief who worked incessantly to make us recognized by the State of South Carolina as a tribe. 

For more information: email gvnorris@outlook.com

The  Lower Eastern Cherokee Nation of S.C. has a very unique craft store. Our Women of the Spirit members operate and Craft for our store. We have Tribal Members who are Native Artists and they make original pieces for sale at our Pow Wow and other community and Tribal events. We now have an online store and T-shirt shop available on our website.

 The majority of our crafts come from our members with the occasional Native inspired items. We are extremely proud of our store as we continue to grow. I am Shannon Laughing Deer Long who is the craft store manager along with Scott Gephart.