Unique Beings Being Unique: Cherokee vs Algonquin

 Cultures, Native American Antiquity  No Responses »

Apr242014

 

I am constantly struck by the images evoked by the term “Native American”. I find that the English language has a way of sorting and categorizing that often combines very different entities. For instance, the word” love”, in English, refers to both the concept of agape and eros as if they are the same thing. In one case, we are referring to a very unselfish affection, whereas the other is completely selfish.

I think the term “Native American” can be just as contradictory. Certainly, the Native Americans

Cherokee house

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Alien-like Skulls of Ancient America

“Alien-like skulls found in a small Mexican village recently date back 1,000 years ago.”

This quote is from a recent article by Bruce Baker in “examiner.com.”   Elongated skulls have been found all over the world.  The question asked over and over is:  “Are these skulls proof that we have been visited by aliens from outer space?”

Let’s look at the skulls found in Paracas, Peru.  Brien Foerster, contributor to

Paracas Skulls

History Channel’s Ancient Aliens, recently reported that DNA testing of the Paracas Skulls turned up “DNA mutations [that] are unknown in any human, primate, or animal known so far.”

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Native American History: Rediscovery of Ancestral Pueblos

Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde National Park

 

When the Ancestral Puebloan People, popularly known as the Anasazi, Left their magnificent pueblos in Chaco Canyon and throughout New Mexico and Cliff Dwellings in Mesa Verde, Colorado these incredible palace-like structures lay dormant for over seven-hundred years.  The descendants of these people kept the ancient places sacred in their hearts, memories and stories but never returned.

So, when ranchers, explorers, and archaeologists “discovered” the ruins of these grand houses they were a great mystery to be investigated and in some cases plundered.  The earliest reference to ancient “ruins” was made by Don Juan Maria de Rivera on an expedition ordered by New Mexico Governor Tomas Velez Cachupin in 1765.  But the reference was vague and no detail provided.

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Cherokee Ball Play Dance

Nachez Powwow–picture from website

 

This past weekend (March 29 and 30), there was a powwow in Nachez, Mississippi.  Native American powwows are very colorful and the dances are festive and interesting.  Dancing and singing has always been a major part of Native American life.   When James Mooney lived with the Cherokee in the 1830’s, he witnessed and wrote about the Cherokee Ball Play Dance.  Here are some of Mooney’s observations:

 

“In 1834, before the removal of the Cherokee to the west, a great game was played near the present site of Jasper, Georgia, between the settlements of Hickory Log and Coosawattee, in which there were eighteen players on a side, and the chiefs of the rival settlements wagered $1,000 apiece on the result.

 

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--Courtney Miller

 

Author of The First Raven Mocker

Book 1 of the Cherokee Chronicles

Finalist, Beverly Hills Book Awards