The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) is counting its blessings and coming together as a community amid widespread damage caused by Hurricane Helene.

The tribe is located in the western part of North Carolina, which has been hit hard by the devastating storm that made landfall last Thursday. Since then, Cherokee citizens and their neighbors have been struggling through flooding, power failures, internet and cell service outages and water and gas shortages.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with everybody,” Mike Parker, the chairman of the tribal council, said a regularly-scheduled meeting on Monday morning.

“It’s been a long week — and it’s only Monday,” added Parker.

But while many in the region are still emerging from the storm with significant destruction and lost lives, the tribe’s reservation, commonly known as the Qualla Boundary, has largely been spared the same fate. So on Sunday, Principal Chief Michell Hicks called on the community to unite for the 112th Cherokee Indian Fair taking place this week.

“Many of our friends and neighbors are still recovering, and we know there may be questions about why we are moving forward,” Hicks said in a statement shared on social media. “For our community, the fair has always been a time to gather, to reconnect, and to strengthen our bonds.”

“In these difficult times, when many have been without cellphone service or Wi-Fi, it is more important than ever for us to come together,” Hicks noted.

Still, as the tribe meets for stickball games, storytelling, cultural presentations and honorings for veterans and elders, Hicks said his people would be of service to those affected by Hurricane Helene. Invoking the Cherokee values of sharing and working together, he said the fair will become a gathering point for food, water and other supplies and donations.

“This is what Gadugi is about — lifting each other up and working together in times of need,” Hicks said in the statement.

The spirit of Gadugi spread all the way to the Cherokee Nation, a sister tribe to the Eastern Band. In a statement from Oklahoma, Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said he spoke with his counterpart on Sunday and offered his support as well.

“The circumstances call for ‘gadugi‘ – working together,” Hoskin said in his statement. “Cherokee Nation’s emergency management team will be working with EBCI’s team to see how we may coordinate on the delivery of needed resources for the region.”

With the 112th Cherokee Indian Fair officially kicking off on Tuesday, Chief Hicks in a social media post on Monday said the tribe is still working on the details of how it will be organizing donations and volunteers. For now, schools on the reservation remain closed and mandatory water conservation measures have been put in place “until further notice.”

And at the tribal council meeting on Monday morning, Hicks said he’s also been in contact with the Choctaw Nation, based in Oklahoma, and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, headquartered in Alabama and no stranger to natural disasters, to coordinate donations to surrounding communities affected by Hurricane Helene.

“We’re working on those opportunities,” Hicks told tribal council members. “We’re also working on a volunteer program. As we have our fair this week, there will be a drop-off site for non-perishables and water. We’ll continue to ship that to our neighbors.”

According to the tribe’s communications department, the community of Big Cove has been the only area on the reservation to have been significantly affected by Hurricane Helene. Residents there experienced flooding, downed trees and some power outages, according to posts on social media.

“No other signs of major damage on the Qualla Boundary have been identified,” the communications department said on Friday.

Nearby, many areas of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the tribe’s backyard remain closed due to Hurricane Helene, according to a social media post from Sunday. In a news release on Monday, the National Park Service encouraged people not to visit the region.

“The North Carolina Department of Transportation advises that all travel in Western North Carolina should be for emergencies only,” the news release stated. “Surrounding communities may have limited resources (gas, food, water) available to visitors at this time.”

Travel has indeed been treacherous, with all roads considered closed. For that reason, Eastern Cherokee elders who were planning to compete at the North Carolina Senior Games in the state capital of Raleigh this week canceled their trip due to dangerous road conditions. Raleigh is about five hours from the reservation.

“Hurricane Helene has caused unprecedented devastation across Western North Carolina and we are leading an unprecedented response to surge food, water and needed supplies into these communities,” Gov. Roy Cooper (D) said in a news release on Monday. “This will be a long and difficult recovery and we must use every state, local and federal resource at our disposal to save lives, restore communications, and begin critical repairs to roads and infrastructure.”

The city of Asheville, only about an hour from the reservation, is among the many communities in Western North Carolina suffering from significant damage. At least 35 people have lost their lives in Buncombe County, which includes Asheville, local officials said during a media briefing on Monday.

“We know you want to help, but please do not come here,” Avril Pinder, the county manager, said.

“We do not have water and we do not have power across most of the county,” Pinder said. “The roads are still incredibly dangerous. We cannot accommodate people.”

The Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville bears the name of the Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort, owned by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. With travel to and from the city almost impossible, events over the next several days have been canceled.

On Saturday, President Joe Biden issued a major disaster declaration for all of North Carolina. The designation specifically makes the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians eligible for federal assistance. People can apply in four ways: by visiting disasterassistance.gov, calling 1-800-621-3362, using the FEMA App, or by going through disaster recovery centers.

According to the White House, Biden will travel to North Carolina on Wednesday. Deanne Criswell, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, plans to remain on the ground in Asheville until the situation stabilizes.

“Right now, thousands of federal personnel are deployed in the communities, supporting the search and rescue, green removal, power restoration, and getting cell networks back online,” Biden said from the White House on Monday. “FEMA is on the ground, supporting the communities and registering people for disaster assistance.”

Biden also issued major disaster declarations for Florida and South Carolina, along with emergency declarations for Florida, North Carolina Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia and Alabama.