A Cherokee education center could be on the way to Cullman county.
The Cullman County Board of Education has been approached by members of the Cherokee of Alabama to lease them land to create an American Indian education center in the Joppa area.
“They requested we look at an agreement to allow them to purchase or lease the land,” CCBOE Superintendent Hank Allen said. “They want to have access to the land to do some educational things.”
In a previous interview, Cherokee of Alabama member Teresa Bolduc said they hope to create “an educational hotspot” on the 357 acres near County Road 1807.
“We want to build a museum ... and walking trails ... and have a summer camp and teach survival techniques,” Bolduc said.
Bolduc added the center could also stimulate the local economy and create jobs in the area.
“We’ll need people to build, and that will create jobs,” she said. “Plus when it’s done, it’ll have jobs for people, too.”
Allen said the school board has yet to see a detailed outline for exactly what the Cherokee would like to do with the land, or what the potential terms of a lease agreement or sale would include.
“We have met with them ... and are relying on them to come up with an adequate proposal for plans of usage,” he said. “We asked them to have their attorney draw up a proposal for what their plan is and what they want to do. We asked to hear the benefits of it.”
At a recent school board work session, board member Steve Freeman said the board should wait until they see the finished proposal before considering the issue.
“Until we get a proposal from them, we don’t need to think about it,” he said.
The Cherokee of Alabama had previously asked the Cullman county commission to lease them the land for $1 a year for 99 years, though the land was actually owned by the school board.
Bolduc previously said her organization has been trying to get the Joppa land for nearly nine years and have had trouble finding out who exactly has control of the property. She said her organization approached the board of education several years ago, but were told to contact the Alabama Department of Education. The state department later told them to contact the county commission, Bolduc said.
Representatives with the Cherokee of Alabama were unavailable for further comment by press time.
‰ Trent Moore can be reached by e-mail at trentm@cullmantimes.com, or by telephone at 734-2131, ext. 225.
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