Cherokee students at the Qualla Boundary started a student organization in 1973 to improve educational prospects among Native Americans attending non-Indian colleges and universities. Because cultural conflict was perceived as playing a crucial role in the failure of Cherokee students in higher education, a major objective of the group was to research their own Cherokee culture. Students talked with traditional elders, corroborating all information. Special classes were set up to encourage additional student involvement. Many of the articles in this book are a direct consequence of that self-initiated search for traditional roots. Part One centers on historical and contemporary views of the Cherokee people, with emphasis on education, tradition and change, and contemporary social issues. Part Two features stories on Cherokee Heritage and Folklore by Carl Lambert (Cherokee historian); provides sections on Cherokee poetry, arts and crafts, and excerpts from the "Cherokee One Feather" (official Tribal newspaper); and concludes with profiles of the Cherokee researchers, many of whom now have their degrees and are teaching in the reservation schools or working in the areas of law, health, and social welfare. (BR)