May 31, 2010

Cherokees ask tourists for passports

Cherokee man 'passport' checkpoint as part of publicity stunt

By Jonathan WalczakOn Thursday, warriors representing a sovereign nation threw up a checkpoint about an hour west of Asheville and demanded to see the passports of passing motorists.

Some panicked, including a woman on a motorcycle who fretted that she didn't have her proper papers, but all were relieved when the “border patrol officers” cracked a smile.

It was all part of a creative publicity stunt organized to help promote the Cherokee reservation to tourists.

“So many tribal members depend on the tourism industry, as do many people in Western North Carolina, for their livelihood,” said Jennifer McLucas, who helped organize the event with The Goss Agency, an Asheville advertising firm.
Comment:  For more on the subject, see "Josh on the Street" Checks Papers and Paper-Checkers = Birthers = Teabaggers.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I already posted this story on mytribalspace.com thread last week. I thought that was a brilliant idea and in the wake of all this illegal immigration hype and the racial profiling of "brown" folk in Arizona. Its a possibility of what First Nations can do if they choose to, especially in Arizona where Native Americans can easily be mistaken for a Mexican. Just my 2 cents.

~GENO~

dmarks said...

Aside from this, it is interesting in that it lets people know that they are entering a different place.