Part 4: Together in Protest, Together in Death

None of the new laws coming out of congress in the 60s and 70s could stop the Tellico Dam Project.  But, a different legal approach that sought to protect the religious freedom and sacred sites of the Cherokee could provide a new lifeline.  In this episode, we hear from Eastern Band of Cherokee leaders about uniting with the Tellico farmers and environmental lawyers to honor the river and make one last attempt to stop the dam.

Gene Branson at the Sequoyah Birthplace Museum.

Pictured at left are Jefferson Chapman (left) and Anthropology Professor Gerald Schroedl (right) at the Patrick Site of the Tellico Reservoir in 1972.

Photo from University of Tennessee’s McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture, where Chapman was director for 29 years.

Colonel Bob Blankenship. Image courtesy Scott McKie

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Transcript