Mission of St. Joseph Church, Bryson City
Mission of St. Joseph Church, Bryson City82 Lambert Branch Road, Cherokee
Currently not in operation.
Bishop Vincent S. Waters of Raleigh dedicated the mission in August 1966, placing it under the patronage of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The building was the first Catholic church to be constructed on the Cherokee Indian Reservation, on land donated by Leila Queen, a Catholic convert. Because the donated land rested in Cherokee territory, the Cherokee tribal council and principal chief had to approve before construction could proceed. Bishop Waters decided that the church’s design should reflect Cherokee culture. Built in the pattern of the ancient and sacred Cherokee council house, the church has seven sides and mosaic floor tiles representing the seven tribal clans: the Paint, the Deer, the Panther, the Wolf, the Bird, the Potato and the Blue Holly.
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