Cherokee wants to revamp its downtown. The tribe is concerned the downtown looks a little trashy, and they would like to foster a Native-American feel.

Tribal leadership hoped the business owners would yuppie-ize their storefronts of their own volition. When that didn’t happen, the tribe invested $4 million in up-fitting the facades of some of its “own” buildings. It also availed 1% interest loans to other businesses that didn’t have $4 million to blow out their ears. The town also buried utility wires, added new street lights, and added twenty painted bear statues to the streetscape in the central business district. Seeing satisfactory results, the tribe wants to push back the refurbishing frontier:

The focus is now on the business strip just past the Cherokee Indian Fairgrounds on U.S. 441, which will soon see culturally themed streetlights, underground utilities, new and wider sidewalks, crosswalks stamped with cultural symbols, improved landscaping and signage, and the addition of benches, bike racks and recycling bins.