ᎠᏂᏩᎾᏈ

Ꭷ ᏃᏭᏛ  In a world of nouns ᏣᎳᎩ has become another noun.  Warning! Teacher speak: The word ᏣᎳᎩ is actually usually used as an adjective, as in the language and culture ex. ᏣᎳᎩ ᎦᏫᏂᎯᏍᏗ, ᏣᎳᎩ ᎢᏯᏛᏁᏗ. It can be used as a noun when talking about the language and culture as well ex. ᏣᎳᎩ ᏕᎦᏕᎶᏆᎠ I am learning Cherokee.  It is not a person.  A Cherokee person is ᎠᏣᎳᎩ, you are Cherokee is ᎯᏣᎳᎩ, I am Cherokee is ᏥᏣᎳᎩ, while Cherokees are ᎠᏂᏣᎳᎩ.  In ᏣᎳᎩ ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ the line between nouns and verbs is weak to nonexistent.  Despite that, I am starting to feel different.

As a young person ᏥᏧᏣ ᏥᎨᏒ.... I learned very early ᏥᏣᎳᎩ ᏥᏴᏫᏯ but I did not really know what that meant.  I did ᏲᏁᎦ things and sneakingly suspected that ᎠᏂᏣᎳᎩ ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯ might have secretly been a subtype of ᎠᏂᏲᏁᎦ.  (That’s so embarrassing now, please don’t tell anyone.)  Since then I have learned differently.  In fact looking back with a greater understanding, I should have known better then.  I had thought ᏣᎳᎩ was a noun rooted in brown skin ᎤᏬᏗᎨ ᎦᏁᎦ ᎠᎴ ᏌᎪᏂᎨ ᎤᏁᎦᏃ ᏗᏆᏂᏲᏍᏗ

ᏃᏊ ᏥᎩ I know skin tone and cards are at best a beginning to ᎠᏂᏣᎳᎩ ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯ
I have come to terms with the paradigm shift caused by ᎠᏂᎦᏚᏩᎩ ᎢᏯᏛᏁᎵᏓᏍᏗ

At some point it was no longer enough for me to be Cherokee, I realized I had to live it.  Of course to some this would have been an obvious truth, but to me first I had to become ᎠᏩᎾᏈ.  Before then, I was what I was - Cherokee ᎠᏎᏛ ᏃᏊ I have to seek and learn, I have to want-to-be.   My identity must become about what I do not who I am; I must be a verb ᏥᏣᎳᎩ

I looked at myself, no language skills, a weak understanding of clan and spirituality.  Sure I admired the Druids, but .....ᎠᏎᏛ  I went to my extended family but they knew little more than myself, well actually I was wrong about that, I just didn’t realize what they knew.  In fact, they were speakers ᏣᎳᎩ ᎠᏂᏬᏂᏍᎩ and I failed to hear them correctly.  Despite that, I have spent a lot of time learning from them and other ᎠᏂᎦᏴᎵ ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯ that are barely, if at all related to me.

ᏃᏊ ᏥᎩ I go to ᎦᏘᏲ
I teach ᏣᎳᎩ ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ
I am sometimes called traditional.
I’m not traditional, I wasn’t taught ᏣᎳᎩ ᎢᏯᏛᏁᎵᏓᏍᏗ from my parents, and little came from close relatives at all.  I was taught by the ᎤᏂᎵᏏ  ᎠᎴ ᎤᏂᏚᏚ of the children and grandchildren that I will teach when they bother to listen, or one day ask.

ᏥᏩᎾᏈ I will always seek and hunger, I can never quit.  I was struck with ᏚᏳᎪᏛ and cannot go back to being a noun.  I am a wannabe, I am not cool and relaxed and refined, I cannot rest on my laurels, my thirst will always rage, and I will always search.... aniwanabi.... There is too much to learn in one life time so I ask you to ᏕᏣᏌᎳᏗᎨᏍᏗ ᎢᏯᏛᏁᎵᏓᏍᏗ ᏕᏣᏕᎶᏆᏍᎨᏍᏗᏃ and I only hope you will want to lift one another up to learn what you can ᎢᏥᎦᏚᏩᎩ ᎠᏎᏛ ᏥᏩᎾᏈ.... ᎣᏏᏳ ᎠᏯ ᏩᏕ ᏥᎪᏪᎸᎦ

ᏂᎪᎯᎸ

Ꭷ ᏃᏊᏗᎾ

In an ᏂᎪᎯᎸ (infinite) ᎡᎶᎯ all things (ᏂᎦᏓ ᎪᎱᏍᏗ ᏄᏍᏗᏃ) are not just possible, or probable; all things are absolute.  All things imagined and unimagined are ᏚᏳᎪᏛ "true".  They say the only absolute is that there are no absolutes.  If this paradox is the absolute truth, then who wins the battle for reality (ᎡᎶᎯ)?

ᎢᎦᎵᎪᏒ  ᏌᏊ  ᎢᏯᏓᏅᏙ  ᏃᏊᎴ ᎢᎦᏁᎳᏅᎯ  ᎢᎦᎵᎪᏒᏃ  ᎤᏁᎳᏅᎯ  ᏫᏗᎦᏔᎾ  ᏕᎦᎳᏏᎦᏕᏂᏃ  ᎾᏍᎩ  ᏭᏂᎦᎵᏍᏓ ᏂᎦᏓ  ᎪᎱᏍᏗ  ᎨᏎᏍᏗ

When we unite and discern ᎤᏁᎳᏅᎯ’s will, we will become one in heart and mind.  Not just with each other but with ᎤᏁᎳᏅᎯ.  Face, turn towards and reflect ᎤᏁᎳᏅᎯ, follow that path provided to us and what is to be will be. ᎣᏏᏳ ᎠᏯ ᏩᏕ ᎦᎵᏍᎨᏫ ᏥᎪᏪᎸᎦ

ᏗᏆᏂᏲᏍᏗ

Ꭷ ᏃᏊ ᏥᎩ

To be honest....  I am very political, but often I am unable to be openly political about a great many things.

I fear that in my Ceremonial life that I am not allowed to have an opinion sometimes.  If I choose one candidate over another I am causing factionalism and knowingly opening our ᏗᎦᏚᎯ to division.  I don’t belong to any political party or Church, and even though I vote in the ᎠᏍᏆᏂᏱ elections, I will not discuss it.  I belong to the political unit of our ᎪᏛ ᎦᏘᏲ ᏗᎦᏚᎯ ᎠᎴ ᎠᏂᏌᎰᏂ ᏗᎩᏴᏫ and I feel in my heart everything else is less than.

ᏗᏆᏂᏲᏍᏗ is a gamble and that seed corn can go bad if it is not planted, I also feel that those ᏗᏆᏂᏲᏍᏗ - ᏌᎪᏂᎨ ᎠᎴ ᎤᏁᎦ are a gamble too.

ᎠᎹᏰᎵ ᎠᏰᎵ ᎠᏂᏲᏁᎦ ᎤᎾᏤᎵᎦ

Even our ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ political system was developed in response to ᎠᏂᎦᎵᏏ ᎤᏂᏴᏫ ᎠᏰᎵ and the other colonial states we initially dominated politically.  To use their standard for self identification is handy but ᎦᏂᏰᎩ

ᏂᎦᏓ ᎠᏂᏲᏁᎦ ᏗᎧᏃᏩᏛᏍᏗ ᏧᏠᏱ

Don’t get fooled by the cards, like our ᏧᏂᎦᏴᎵ we are still gambling people but we always knew the stakes in the past - I am not so sure we do this time.

ᎢᎩᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ ᎢᎦᏛᏁᎵᏓᏍᏗ ᎤᏠᏯᏃ ᏫᏓᏤᏢᎢ ᎤᎵᏍᎨᏓᏃ we need to talk about what that means and use that dialogue to inform our decisions.

I know we cannot bastardize and prostitute our ᎢᏯᏛᏁᎵᏓᏍᏗ and I know we are not even allowed to promote it.  The sad truth is - if we don’t educate our people on ᎠᏂᎦᏚᏩᎩ ᎢᏯᏛᏁᎵᏓᏍᏗ our live ways will become prostituted, bastardized, corrupted and raped.  We will bleed to death, and no one will even hear the sobs and no one will see the ᎪᏛ our Fire light glisten in the tears.

Without maintaining our responsibility to ᎢᎦᏁᎳᏅᎯ ᏗᎩᎦᏴᎵᎨᏃ we will continue to wage their war against our own ᎠᏂᎦᏚᏩᎩ ᏧᏂᏴᏫ ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯ.  Don’t promote it, live it ᎢᏣᏛᏁᏗ live it in our schools, at work, in the political office and at home.  Rekindle that ᎪᏛ while you can and ᎪᏖᏍᏗ ᏂᎪᎯᎳ

ᎤᏁᎳᏅᎯ  ᏕᏣᎳᏏᎦᏕᏍᏗᏊ we are stronger than any colonial system or foreign power, the blood of our grandmothers’ runs in our veins, its time to talk about what’s at stake and let them know it is the same blood as their’s. ᏂᎦᎥ ᎡᎶᎯ ᎢᎦᏤᎵᎪ ᎢᎦᏓᏠᏯᏊ ᎠᏥᎸ ᎠᎦᏴᎵ ᎢᎨᏥ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏫᏂᎦᎵᏍᏓ

ᎣᏏᏳ ᎠᏯ ᏩᏕ ᏥᎪᏪᎸᎦ

ᏍᎩᏯᏛᏛ

Ꭷ ᏂᎦᏓᏊ ᏍᎩᎾᏍᏊ

ᏗᎫᎵ ᏗᏍᎩ asked me for an interview, and as a language instructor I felt compelled to aquiesse ᎭᎭᎭ.  His questions were so well written that I couldn’t help but indulge myself with these uncensored responses.  I was emotionally engaged and drawn into a period of contemplation about my feelings and beliefs.  These are his questions and my confessions about language revitalization.

"What do you feel are the most effective forms of Language Revitalization teaching? Are they being employed by Cherokee language speakers and if so, how well are they working?

ᎯᎠ ᎠᏉᎯᏳᎯ I believe that immersion ᏣᎳᎩᎭ is the tool par excellence ᏫᏓᏤᏢᎢ. I think there are many different types of immersion, but total language immersion with TPR, Form Focused approach, and Natural Language techniques should be practiced along with conventional etymological exploration and eventually grammar linguistic analysis. I’m afraid that one technique or practice will not have enough depth to meet the needs of a serious student to achieve fluency.

The Cherokee Nation, United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma, and various Colleges, Universities as well as elementary schools both public and private have engaged in these various aspects of language instruction, some having more effective results than others, but none have successfully implemented a comprehensive approach Ꮭ Ꮟ ᏱᎩ.

I don’t know for certain the specific combination of techniques and strategies that will ensure complete success, but I know it cannot be one dimensional and unilateral. The more interface time and exposure to the language with any technique will yield the best results.

As of yet I have not seen any one educational system ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ on is own create a single fluent speaker of the same calibre as an elder first language learner, a true fluent speaker ᎬᎵ ᎦᏬᏂᏍᎩ. I too have not met that goal.


What do you feel is likely for the future of Cherokee language? For Native languages as a whole?

We have no choice but to succeed. I am a fanatic and will never give up, there are others out there more dedicated than myself and we will succeed, we have no choice.


What is the relationship between culture and language and how could cultural revitalization be used to enhance language learning?

ᎢᏯᏛᏁᎵᏓᏍᏗ Culture is everything. When it comes to the language, it doesn’t exist without the culture. Without the language the culture is dead. The language ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ is the vehicle for our life ways, values, beliefs and even behavior, it is the lifeblood of our culture. Without the culture the language has no meaning, purpose, role or value. Without the culture the language is simply a complicated code to express English ideas. ᏲᏁᎦᏛ

ᎢᎩᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ ᏱᎦᏛᏁᎵᏓᏍᏗᏃ they must go hand in hand, language revitalization must be decolonizing and must inherently be cultural revitalization.


In your opinion is language revitalization for Native tribes possible without cultural revitalization? Where do you see Native languages in 50 years?

Ꮭ No, I think they are inexorably the same ᏧᏠᏯᏊ. I’m afraid that in 50 years most native languages will be gone, but I believe some will be successfully renewed and vibrant expressions of contemporary native life ᎢᏯᏛᏁᎵᏓᏍᏗ. Those that are well documented can be renewed, but I believe any nation with even one fluent speaker still has hope to continue the living tradition. Given resources and time, and most importantly commitment it can be done. ᏂᎦᏛᏁᏗ It will take a movement, but I am hopeful that in 100 years those languages that have gone to sleep can be renewed and awakened. ᏗᎩᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ ᏕᎦᏓᎢᏤᎮᏍᏗ


What are the differences in Cherokee that make is essential for language speakers to understand the culture?

English ᏲᏁᎦ and ᏣᎳᎩ do not share the same foundation ᏗᎧᏃᏩᏛᏍᏗ of philisophical understanding or etymological analysis. This fundamental difference is as wide as can be discerned. In Cherokee ideas are not defined through binary opposition, where comparison or contrasts are used to define aesthetic and symbolic opposites such as white and black, cold and hot, good and evil, ect.

Those dichotomies can and do exist, but there is no word for opposite, only on the other side ᎠᎾᏗᏢ. Each Cherokee concept can and does stand alone. Just like individuals, ᏣᎳᎩ defines things as inherently unique, they carry their own weight. ᎤᎵᏍᎨᏗ ᏕᎦᏓᏰᎸᏎᏍᏗ There are cultural and philisophical patterns that defy verbalization and explanation, logos is not our foundation for truth ᏚᏳᎪᏛ


What do you feel is different in the mind of a Cherokee speaker who learned English as a second language?

ᎾᎦᎥ ᎡᎶᎯ ᏅᏬᏘ ᏥᎩ They see the world in concrete expressions of tangible experience. Descriptions are wholly visual and tied to the physical world. There are no inherent understandings for the English equivalent for ideas such as perfection, opposite or hate. ᎢᎩᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ only has ᎬᎵᏬᎯ complete, ᎠᎾᏗᏢ other side, Ꮭ ᏯᎩᎸᏉᏗ I don’t like that.   Spirituality is inherent.


Why is revitalizing Cherokee language so important?

Without ᎢᎩᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ we will have no ᎢᏯᏛᏁᎵᏓᏍᏗ and there will be no more ᎠᏂᎦᏚᏩᎩ. To truly have a Cherokee people we need our language and culture. ᎤᏁᎳᏅᎯ ᏕᏣᎳᏏᎦᏕᏍᏗ that there is a value system, perspective, worldview, and behavior patterns that are valuable, not only for our own people but the whole world. We need a broader survey as a civilization before we can finalize our list of best practices.


If you were to give me a quote encouraging beginning speakers about the language and the hope for its future, what would it be?

ᏕᏣᏓᏝᏂᎪᎯᏍᏙᏗᏍᎨᏍᏗ ᎬᏩᎵᏨ ᏗᏣᏓᏲᎯᏍᏗ ᏕᏣᏓᏙᎯᏳᏎᏍᏗ ᏗᏣᏓᎫᏍᏓᎢᏃ ᎢᏤᎮᏍᏗ ᎾᏂᎥ ᏴᏫ ᏕᏥᏠᏯᏍᏗᏍᎨᏍᏗ ᏚᏳᎪᏛ ᏗᏝ ᏕᏣᏓᏎᎮᎮᏍᏗ

With strengthening and encouraging words, live and support one another, never giving up, treat one another as equals and direct one another in the Cherokee way of life. (My translation) From Benny Smith’s speeches about community values and traditional precepts" ᎣᏏᏳ

ᎠᏯ ᏩᏕ ᎦᎵᏍᎨᏫ ᎠᎴ ᏗᎫᎵ ᏗᏍᎩ ᏦᏍᏙᏪᎵᎦ

ᏕᏣᏕᏲᎲᏍᎨᏍᏗ ᏚᏳᎪᏛ

Ꭷ ᏃᏊᏥᎩ

We don’t hit kids.  I’m sorry, but we don’t.  I share the same peach limb stories; I have heard our Elders trade stories about corporal punishment and I even remember a few slaps in the mouth.

The world is different, again.  At one time they say we treated our ᏗᏂᏲᏟ like adults and watched them like hawks, we guided them with a soft touch through the perils of the natural world and we learned through natural consequences.

Correction came through speeches and stories, but that was long ago - then our ᏧᏂᎦᏴᎵ met a new way and the world that tore into ᎠᏂᎦᏚᏩᎩ lives was dangerous, deadly and still is.

They had to tighten the reigns and change the rules.  The world was too dangerous to let our little ones have the autonomy they deserved, the change protected the babies from much worse.  We needed to create artificial consequences to prevent fatal natural consequences.  Maybe we still do. I spanked my son, but don’t need too now - maybe I never did.

We don’t live in the communities of our ᏗᎩᎦᏴᎵ, there was safety in ᏗᎦᏚᎯ but not in this world, ᎯᎠ ᏲᏁᎦ ᎡᎶᎯ ᎦᎾᏰᎩ

ᏗᎩᎦᏴᎵ did the best with what they had, and we still live in that ᎦᎾᏰᎩ ᎡᎶᎯ and its clear that it’s even more dangerous today than it was yesterday.  There is violence from every corner and they don’t even make school a safe zone.  The ᏗᏂᏲᏟ have learned to strike back, like ᎤᏦᎾᏘ they rattle their tails and learn the ᎩᎦᎨ ᎦᏅᏅ

ᏍᎩᎾ ᎤᏁᎦ ᎦᏅᏅ ᏚᏳᎪᏛ ᏧᏙᏍᏛ ᏚᏂᏲᎱᏏ

I cant blame them, their parents, the video games or MMA, but I know unless I am part of the solution I am just as much to blame as anyone or anything else. 

ᎠᏂᎦᏚᏩᎩ are not bullies, and we should not bully ᏗᏂᏲᏟ, and we should not suffer them to bully one another.

ᏗᎾᏟᎯ do not bully, and only walk the ᎩᎦᎨ ᎦᏅᏅ to protect.  Our ᏗᎧᏃᏩᏛᏍᏗ is ᏚᏳᎪᏛ

ᎠᏎᏛ ᏕᏣᏕᏲᎲᏍᎨᏍᏗ ᏚᏳᎪᏛ

ᎣᏏᏳ ᎠᏯ ᏩᏕ ᎦᎵᏍᎨᏫ ᏥᎪᏪᎸᎦ  

ᏄᏓᎴ

Ꭷ ᎪᎯ ᎢᎦ ᎣᏍᏓ ᏥᎨᏒ

ᏄᏓᎴ - different
ᎠᏎᎩ - weird
ᎤᎵᎩᏍᏗᏕᎩ - flirt
ᎤᏓᏅᏙ - heart/spirit

These are terms associated with the traditional ᎠᏂᎦᏚᏩᎩ that some call GLBTQ today.  Others call them Two Spirited.

I know some ᎠᏂᏣᎳᎩ call it ᎠᏍᎦᏃᏨ a sin, and say that these people are damned.  To them I say ᎢᏨᎨᏳᎯ and I ask them to think differently.  ᏂᎦᏓ ᎢᏗᏴᏫ ᎢᎦᏠᏯ ᎠᎴ ᎢᎦᏤᎵᎦ

We can not afford to leave them out, they are our ᏏᏓᏁᎸ and loved ones.

We can’t control one another, or change another’s heart.  I know what is says in the Bible, and I don’t dare argue against that.  Too many of my loved ones put it at the center of their world, and I would never seek to undermine their ᏗᎧᏃᏩᏛᏍᏗ

There are many things called sin in the Bible, but we cannot kill our wounded.  The Churches have a tendency to do that, but we are a ᏗᎦᏚᎯ, and the ᎠᏥᎸ ᎠᎦᏴᎵ belongs to the world we cannot afford to loose a single person.

When anyone needs help ᎾᎯᏳ ᏕᎦᏓᏍᏕᎵᏍᎨᏍᏗ ᎢᎦᏤᎵᎦ

Our ancestors accepted these people without regard to personal judgment, can we do any less?

I hope you’ll understand when I say ᏄᏓᎴ ᎠᏍᎦᏯ is sacred thing.  ᏄᏓᎴ ᎠᎨᏯ is a Blessing.  ᎠᏎᎩ ᎤᏓᏅᏙ is a treasure. ᎤᎵᏍᏗᏕᎩ is a joy.   It is something I have had to learn and experience ᎠᏎᏛ ᏃᏊ ᎠᏆᏓᏅᏔ ᏕᎦᏓᎨᏳᏎᏍᏗ

Now is the time ᎢᏥᏙᎿ ᏕᎦᏓᏟᏴᏎᏍᏗ ᎤᎵᏍᎨᏗ ᏕᏣᏓᏴᎸᏎᏍᏗ

I don’t think they are wrong, I love them and cannot help it.   We cannot choose who we love,  just how we treat one another.  ᎣᏏᏳ

ᎠᏯ ᏩᏕ ᎦᎵᏍᎨᏫ ᏥᎪᏪᎸᎦ

ᏗᎦᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ

Ꭷ the ᎡᎶᎯ it changing.  ᏂᎪᎯᎸ, but revolution is the crisp scent of spring after the bitter cold velveteen blanket melts back into the soil; the rich black of the earth beckons the new, after the piercing reflection fro a mirror of white.  Ꭷ it’s time for change.

Our cycle, new and renewing seeks the inevitable change like the ᏴᏫ ᎦᏅᎯᏓ of the river seeks the depths of the sea.  The cycle persists and opportunity, like hope is a constant ᎦᏄᎪᎦ, unyielding and ever present.  There will always be another frost but we know the the path of the ᏅᏙ ᎢᎦ ᎡᎯ as she ascends closer to her apex is a promise of new things and bold scents to come on the heels of the spring thaw.

As dictators fall and fascists kneel, ᎡᎶᎯ takes a much needed breath of fresh hope; a time will come when we all have a choice to make and a promise to fulfill.  Each of us has been given a purpose and a means to carry it out, those poor souls that have more than one must not only discern their path, but must also prioritize their destinations.  Our natures reveal that we are created with a purpose.  We must refine ourselves, lest our complacency draw its own challenges to temper and whittle down our will and pride, to mold us to meet greater needs.  It is a good time to kindle our vision from a spark to a bright ᎠᏓᏪᎳᎩᏍᎬ and cast our reaching scope to the waters to pull our dreams to the shoreline and share them with our families, and communities.  Let the old sandcastles crumble and wash out the darkness into the depths of the deepest waters.

We have, in our ᏗᎦᏚᎯ, decided to plant a seed.  We hope to nourish the tiny seedling as it pushes through the ᎦᏓ.  Its a delicate time, a time to prepare.  We hope to guard it close and watch it bud, and when it blooms ᎠᏥᎸᏍᎩ, it will bear fruit and dig its roots deep in the fertile soil of our community.  The young hearts and minds will have shelter when we lay the foundation for a place of learning ᎢᏗᏏᎾᏍᏗ ᏗᎦᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ. 

Looking back at our past, even the golden years, our people have never fully realized the dream that is our way.  The best is yet to come.  Sometimes it’s easy for me to get discouraged, as ᎢᎩᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ and ᎢᏯᏛᏁᎵᏓᏍᏗ slip through our fingers.  Every time i go to a place of mourning and memorial and the last handshake’s dust and sand slips of my palm down into the tomb, I know the hour glass is just that much closer to empty. Time is not on our side.

I can’t help but be afraid of the falling sky as the earth shakes and crumbles, but ᎤᏚᎩ ᎠᏋᏌ.  When I look around I see Champions, my brothers and sisters holding one another up, ᏗᎾᏟᎯ for the children, the beloved elders and the way ᏚᏳᎪᏛ.  I can see their faces and the stone in their souls.  The ᎠᏥᎸ ᎠᎦᏴᎵ lives there and they will not give up, we will not fail.

ᏍᎩᏯᏁᎳᏅᎯ ᎢᎦᏁᎳᏅᎭ ᎢᏍᎩᏍᏕᎵᏍᎩ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏭᏂᎦᎵᏍᏓ
ᎣᏏᏳ ᎠᏯ ᏩᏕ ᎦᎵᏍᎨᏫ ᏥᎪᏪᎸᎦ

ᎠᎾᏗᏢ

Ꭷ opposition/opposite...  I am surrounded in beauty ᎡᎶᎯ ᎤᏬᏚᎯ if only they could see what I can.

We are already nothing, dead and ephemeral, but the beauty persists ᏅᏬᏘ

I can’t find solace in the binary opposition of politics, tribal or otherwise ᏙᎯ ᏥᎪᏩᏘ  it’s not the world I see. ᎤᏁᎳᏅᎯ ᏕᏣᎳᏏᎦᏕᏍᏗ ᎠᏉᎯᏳᎯ for me, myself, the way is truly white. ᏚᏳᎪᏛ

They do oppose us  ... always have at least.  Often they don’t know it, our friends and brothers, they might even try to stop us.  It doesn’t matter we cannot be their opposite, we don’t have one but it hurts when we find ourselves standing on the other side ᎠᎾᏗᏢ.

One side will speak about our ugly prayers and lack of God, like Canaanites they call us reprobate.  Manifest Destiny is our fault, God’s will. The Creator is an idol to their iconoclasts. 

The others call us friends and lift up our teary eyed image, but that is the idol they love, selfishly ᎤᎨᏳᎭ Its not who we are.  We held the fort for 470 years, and we are still gathered around our ᎪᏛ, our ᎠᏥᎳᎦᏴᎵ.  They call us friends and want to shelter us, but he day we refuse guardianship will be the day they remember that they sit in the same house as those across from us ᎠᎾᏗᏢ.

We cannot brag and hubris is no virtue, we have done no different.  ᎢᎦᏠᏯ, ᎢᎦᎵᎪᏒ ᏅᏩᏙᎯᏯᏓ ᏂᎧᎥ ᎡᎶᎯ ᎡᎵᏊᏍ ᏕᎦᏕᎨᏳᏎᏍᏗ but if we had treated them that way would we have not been swallowed up? That’s why we are here, they were ᎠᎾᏗᏢ

ᏃᏊᏥᎩ ᏂᎦᏓ ᏧᎾᎴᏅᏓ we look around and we are all seated ᎠᎾᏗᏢ our ᎠᏥᎸ is barely glowing, do we even have faith in the ᏅᏬᏘ, really?  It is God’s gift ᎠᏓᏍᏕᏟᏙᏗ we have laid our ᎢᏯᏛᏁᎵᏓᏍᏗ down, and we can’t recognize our own faces in the shadows.

We have become too quick to correct and too slow to teach, by example.  When we see someone on the other side, ᎠᎾᏗᏢ do we go and get them by the hand, accept them?  If they are to blind do we still have the ᎠᏕᎳᎰᏎ to lead them, is our vision still that strong?

ᎬᏂᎨᏒ ᎯᎪᎵᏯ Include them and if our way is worthy they will follow.  ᏕᎦᏓᎸᏉᏕᏍᏗ and we will have to show it.  ᏂᎦᏓᏊ ᏱᏗᏙᎿ ᏕᏣᏓᏟᏴᏎᏍᏗ cling together because we need to live and speak ᏚᏳᎪᏛ

ᎢᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ ᎢᏗᎦᏚᏩᎩ ᎢᏣᏓᏅᏔᏓ ᏂᎦᏓ ᎠᏂᏴᏫ ᎤᎾᏤᎵᎦ ᎢᎦᏠᏯ and we don’t have a word for opposite, we are united in cause because we cannot be defined by a false dichotomy.  We carry our own weight, we provide our own value, as created by God ᎤᎵᏍᎨᏗ ᏕᎦᏓᏰᎸᏎᏍᏗ

I cannot stay on the other side...  no darkness will define my light.  ᎣᏏᏳ ᎠᏯ ᏩᏕ ᏥᎪᏪᎸᎦ

ᎢᏯᏛᏁᎵᏓᏍᏗ

Ꭷ ᏃᏭᏥᎩ
"Is it the Government’s job to teach culture?" "What culture is taught if we don’t teach our own? “and [in general] what is the best way to teach?" "Until today, I didn’t think it was Cherokee Nation’s role to teach the culture. At least not the way I think of it now." "If not, then we will be taught [and will be teaching] their culture de facto at work...and school." "I think if we should start with conversations between friends and family.  I don’t think enough people are talking about it and I know that we are not all talking about it. Then [we could] move it to co-workers and people we are in organizations with."  "Later, if we create momentum we can [then] formalize the dialogue."

As the excerpts of my own words from conversations I have had with my friends over the last few days above suggest, I have been thinking.

The front line of the war for our language, culture and identity is in the institutional walls of the Cherokee Nation’s complex, the Immersion School, the Group Leaders’ Pod and even over at the United Keetoowah Band.  We train our new workers and soldier employees that are the front line in our service teams departments to suit up in their ᏲᏁᎦ clothes and to follow the norms and expectations of the mainstream world as they march out into the Cherokee communities (ᏗᎦᏚᎯ) to help our people to be happy and healthy.  Too often they find cold and mistrusting faces asking hard questions in whispered, suspicious voices.  Children cling to calves and thighs, they hide behind the shelter of their mother’s legs as she stands in the doorway negotiating with the representatives of self help as they crack heads against the entitlement promised to our ancestors one or two generations ago.  Those same Cherokee Nation spokesmen and women on the front line or in the trenches were once the self same children sheltered behind their mother’s doorway ten or twenty years before.  We are teaching them how to act, behave and think at work and by making them professionals, we strip them of their foundations, their ᏗᎧᏃᏩᏛᏍᏗ and their ᎢᏯᏛᏁᎵᏓᏍᏗ.

Yes, we must be professionals and be successful in the mainstream world, we must even be better at it than the non-Indians.  Some of us do need to be that sort of ᏗᏟᎯ, those that want to should, but why do we all need to fall into that pattern?  If we employ our own people and those employees are hired to interact with other Cherokees, why do we need to support any cultural values and systems other than our own?

At one time a ᏣᎳᎩ (Cherokee) employee woke up in the ᎦᏚᏩᎩ world from a ᎦᏚᏩᎩ dream, did ᎦᏚᏩᎩ things.  Then that employee put on their ᏲᏁᎦ clothes, coat and shoes and went to work at the Cherokee Nation.  There they spoke ᎠᎦᎵᏏ (ᏲᏁᎦ) and as paid to, did ᏲᏁᎦ things. At 5:00 PM they went home and took off their ᏲᏁᎦ clothes, coat, and shoes.  That is when they resumed their ᎦᏚᏩᎩ life, ate ᎦᏚᏩᎩ food, and spoke ᏣᎳᎩ.  These people had a Cherokee or ᎦᏚᏩᎩ world, and Cherokee Nation was their profession not their life.  That world is nearly gone, and the Cherokee Nation has a new mission, happy and healthy people, through a focus on ᏧᏂᎸᏫᏍᏓᏗ jobs, ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ language and ᏍᎦᏚᎩ community.  Through intensive social services the Cherokee Nation has taken over the role of BIA and IHS for many of our communities.  They have replaced many of the services that would have otherwise been provided by the State or the Federal Governments.  They have also taken on the roles of hegemony and colonialism created by those foreign systems and structures.  Its time to renew ourselves and re-evaluate those systems. ᎠᏤ ᎢᎦᎴᏂᏍᎨᏍᏗ ᎫᏩᎵᏨᎭ ᏗᎦᏓᏲᎯᏍᏗ ᎢᏤᎮᏍᏗ Its time for a renewal.

What is "culture"?  Anthropologists, Sociologists and Scholars still debate that very issue.  It is more than baskets, songs, and stories.  It is the whole of that which we call life.  It is what makes us human, and ᎦᏚᏩᎩ.  It’s vessel is our ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ, and its expression is our ᎢᏯᏛᏁᎵᏓᏍᏗ life ways, all that we do.  This includes our thoughts, values and beliefs. Where we ᎦᏚᏩᎩ can, we must put our ways, models, systems and culture into place.  "Culture is everything" my friend told me this week, and even though I thought I already knew that - I didn’t realize what that meant.  Now I do, if we cant make the Cherokee Nation a place for ᎠᏂᎦᏚᏩᎩ ᎢᏯᏛᏁᎵᏓᏍᏗ that culture will be stripped from all the Cherokee Nation serves and represents. ᎣᏏᏳ

ᎠᏯ ᏩᏕᎦᎵᏍᎨᏫ ᏥᎪᏪᎸᎦ

ᎤᏁᎳᏅᎭ

Ꭷ  ᏍᎨ

fear
You God? That is laughable to me.
You have nothing about you that i fear. The most mighty and all powerful? What can
You take from me?
You own all that i am. No part of me belongs to anyone but
You, master of all things.
You can unmake creation and destroy reality. Why fear
You, your power is inevitable, your truth unyielding? It is useless to live in fear of any potential destruction. My own end is inevitable and uncompromising, a shared conclusion with all living things.

i love this gift, why fear its loss?
i am yours, You cannot loose me. In You nothing can be lost.
i seek only to discern your designed intent and share in that purpose. To work against it is not only fruitless but impossible. To fear You is not only groundless but without value.

i have no fear,
i know we are united in your breath.
ᏥᏬᎵᏕ ᎤᎿ ᎤᏣᏩᏕᎪ ᎤᏁᎳᏅᎭ

ᎣᏏᏳ
ᎠᏯ ᏩᏕ ᏥᎪᏪᎸᎦ

ᎬᎵ ᎠᏂᏣᎳᎩ ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯ

Ꭷ I put this on facebook (tm) lol

How many fullblood Cherokees did we have near contact?
About 30,000 I think.
How many fullblood Cherokees did we have after the trail of tears?
Less than 20,000 I think.
How many fullblood Cherokees do we have now?
...Around 10,000-20,000 or so, never enough though.

How many Speakers do we have now?
...do we know what ᎠᏂᎦᏚᏩᎩ means?
Will we continue to exist?
Yes, biologically.
Will we continue to exist?

I know that the original concept of ᎬᎵ full blood was a social definition.  I have discussed this as a student, an instructor and as an eavesdropper in more than one college level course. Even some of my discussions, informal and among friends, in a community setting has added support to this idea.  Language was until recently a defining factor, but in the murky depths of our collective past, kinship - specifically clan - was paramount.  Although biology was always a part of the criteria for evaluation, appearance was always trumped by clan and language fluency, but in the absence of aforementioned attributes, appearance/biology have become the foundation for identity and Cherokee classification.  Since the Dawes Allotment Act this has been encapsulated and packaged as a new formal pedigree - CDIB.  ᎣᏏᏳ
ᎠᏯ ᏩᏕ ᎦᎵᏍᎨᏫ ᏥᎪᏪᎸᎦ

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