ᎠᏰᎵ

Ꭷ ᏃᏭᏥᎩ
I used to be a sovereignty sort of fellow, I even wanted to be a tribal attorney and "fight" as a modern ᏗᏟᎯ. That was until I spent some time in our communities as an adult.  I still think that we need those sort of legal warriors, I have since realized that’s not my path.  I know our ᎠᏂᎦᏚᏩᎩ people have always been an ᎠᏰᎵ, a Nation, but not by ᎠᏂᎦᎵᏏ definitions.  Those ᏲᏁᎦ people had to remake us in their own image.  I know how they used colonialism and hegemony to oppress our ancestors but now they don’t even need too.  We can do that ourselves - that’s self determination for you....  I had better explain myself, I am not anti-Indian or completely self loathing or even unstable - not really.  I am just afraid that we are focused on the wrong things.  It maybe that we are on the right path, but it is likely that if we take the time to re-evaluate our system we will find that we are beyond our scope and out of step with our needs and priorities.  I am only suggesting that we re-evaluate our foundation while we still have the means.

Historically, traditionally and in all truth authentically, we have defined ourselves as ᎠᏂᎦᏚᏩᎩ, and we were a Nation when we discovered the ᎠᏂᎦᎵᏏ. Our true ᎠᏰᎵ was not founded by any constitutional authority or even bound by a centralized authority.  We were technically comprised of loosely confederated city states, semi autonomous tribal towns called by some ᏗᎦᏚᎯ.  This phrase seems to share the same etymology as ᎠᏂᎦᏚᏩᎩ, the ᎦᏚ in the middle could be referring to bread or elevated position.  Its even likely that the heart of the concept for ᎦᏚ (bread) is tied to its raising and elevating activity during baking. What tied us together was not political coercion but was likely more binding.  As a Nation our foundation was the seven clan kinship system ᎦᎵᏉᎩ ᏧᏂᏴᏫ.  This meant that the same seven families were represented in every true ᏗᎦᏚᎯ and that family was the tie that bound us as ᎠᏂᎦᏚᏩᎩ.  ᎦᎵᏉᎩ ᏧᏂᏴᏫ enabled a diverse but shared symbolic and ceremonial framework to grow and tie our ᏗᎦᏚᎯ together and representative of the divergent ceremonies and traditions that united us was the ᎠᏥᎸ, the Fire.  ᎦᎵᏉᎩ ᏧᏂᏴᏫ gathered around our central ᎠᏥᎸ in each and every ᎠᏂᎦᏚᏩᎩ ᏗᎦᏚᎯ.

ᎠᏥᎸ was central to that way of life, it represented both the ᎦᎵᏉᎩ ᏧᏂᏴᏫ, ᏗᎦᏚᎯ and the greater concept of Nation or ᎠᏰᎵ, which means the center.  Our foundation of law was ᏗᎧᏃᏩᏛᏍᏗ, that was our foundation.  This system of teachings was known as ᏚᏳᎪᏛ the truth or the right way, and the white path that we walked daily in philosophy and behavior was said to challenge us to ᎤᏁᎳᏅᎯ ᏕᎦᎳᏏᎦᏕᏂ do what we were designed to do.  Each person had not only personal responsibility but communal standards.  We held ourselves accountable to our intentions and we were held accountable for the outcomes of our actions.

Just as we were bound by a common foundation or ᏗᎧᏃᏩᏛᏍᏗ of kinship, spirituality, values, and geography, we also shared a common history.  This ᏗᎧᏃᎮᏓ was maintained by the elders ᏗᏓᎴᏂᏍᎨ ᎠᏂᎦᏴᎵ ᎤᏂᏃᎮᏓ.  As communities diverged changed and grew, the stories became somewhat divergent in detail but maintained the same ᏚᏳᎪᏛ ᏗᎧᏃᏩᏛᏍᏗ.  Some ᏗᎧᏃᎮᏓ were so precise and important that they we only told to specific people at specific times, and this controlled accuracy and viability.  ᎦᎵᏉᎩ ᏧᏂᏴᏫ ᎠᏂᎦᏚᏩᎩ ᏗᎧᏃᏩᏛᏍᏗ is values based and that system is demonstrated by a belief in ᏚᏳᎪᏛ but that demonstration is enacted through behavior.  Those things we do ᎢᏯᏛᏁᏗ are markers of identity as much or more than appearance and material culture.  Our ᎢᏯᏛᏁᏗ is in itself a form of communication that identifies specific ideas, thoughts and beliefs to those in our own society, and paints us as different to those outside our communities and life ways ᎢᏯᏛᏁᎵᏓᏍᏗ.

Our way of life as ᎠᏂᎦᏚᏩᎩ is a demonstration of that ᏗᎧᏃᏩᏛᏍᏗ that holds us together as a Nation.  Centralized political coercion is weak in the face of a ᏗᎧᏃᏩᏛᏍᏗ built from those many cultural factors of ᎢᏯᏛᏁᎵᏓᏍᏗ.  The land ᎦᏓ is an obvious but key element in that list of factors, but it is an element we can share with our neighbors, and that may be a non-negotiable fact at this point.  The other factors, the kinship of our ᎦᎵᏉᎩ ᏧᏂᏴᏫ, the common tie of our ceremonial ᎠᏥᎸ at the center of each ᏗᎦᏚᎯ, the belief in our spirituality as it is embodied in ᏚᏳᎪᏛ, our shared ᏗᎧᏃᎮᏓ and the diversity of divergent stories, as well as the resultant behaviors and activities that outline both what and how we do things, our ᎢᏯᏛᏁᏗ are all carried on the shoulders of one vehicle ᏣᎳᎩ ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ, the Cherokee/ᎠᏂᎦᏚᏩᎩ language.

ᏣᎳᎩ ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ is the true binder and identifying factor of ᎠᏂᎦᏚᏩᎩ ᎢᏯᏛᏁᎵᏓᏍᏗ.  Without ᎢᎩᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ, we have to constantly reiterate our identity by altering and rephrasing a foreign language explain ourselves to the world around us as well as our friends, family, children and grandchildren.  This is not in the least precise, accurate or easy, and more often than not the words, no matter how many we use, cannot enumerate the symbolic truth as it is understood in ᎢᎩᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ.

Take it or leave it, but I suggest that these variables of ᎢᏯᏛᏁᎵᏓᏍᏗ should not only be used as our ᏗᎧᏃᏩᏛᏍᏗ, but furthermore should be used to evaluate what we call our Nation our Culture and our Life ways.  I am requesting a re-assessment. ᎣᏏᏳ
ᎠᏯ ᏩᏕ ᎦᎵᏍᎨᏫ ᏥᎪᏪᎸᎦ