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Preserving the Culture: Introduction

 

In ancient times, the Cherokee culture was preserved and passed on to each generation through ceremony and oral stories.  It was an informal process that incorporated changes slowly and naturally over the ages.  Cultures change as new generations bring new ideas and new interpretations to old traditions.  Cultures are influenced by their neighbors, by changing climate, by changing food sources, by war, and by changing political influences.

 

Today, we have but hints and whispers of the ancient Cherokee culture.  So much has vanished under the influence of the European explorers, colonists, and the formation of the new European-American governments.  The pressures and influences of this foreign culture forced the Cherokee to examine what had once been a natural progression and introduced the conscious effort of “preserving the culture”.

 

This is a preview of Preserving the Culture: Introduction. Read the full post (538 words, 12 images, estimated 2:09 mins reading time)

Author's Book Praised by Native Americans

With the release of my new book, The Raven Mocker’s Legacy, this week’s article takes a look at the first two books of The Cherokee Chronicles series and their impact on the Native American community.

Author’s New Book praised by Natchez Chief

 K. T. “Hutke” Fields, Uvcenv Cunv Uvsel, Principal Chief of the Natchez Nation, has great praise for award-winning author Courtney Miller’s new book, “The Raven Mocker’s Legacy”, Book 2 of a 7-book series entitled “The Cherokee Chronicles”. The chronicles follows a fictional Cherokee family starting in mythical times and follows the generations through classical pre-contact, first contact, European colonization, and ends with the forced relocation of the Cherokee people in the 1800’s.

 

This is a preview of Author’s Books Praised by Native Americans. Read the full post (599 words, 12 images, estimated 2:24 mins reading time)

Cherokee Fables: The Bird Tribes, Part 2

The ancient Cherokee’s connection to the “Bird Tribes” is fascinating and we are so fortunate that the elders and medicine men shared their stories with James Mooney in the 1870’s.  Here is the continuing account from his book, Myths of the Cherokee.

 

The raven (kâ’länû) is occasionally seen in the mountains, but is not prominent in folk belief, excepting in connection with the grewsome tales of the Raven Mocker (q. v.). In former times its name was sometimes assumed as a war title. The crow, so prominent in other tribal mythologies, does not seem to appear in that of the Cherokee. Three varieties of owls are recognized, each under a different name, viz: tskïlï’ [also tsigili], the dusky horned owl (Bubo virginianus saturatus); u’guku’, the barred or hooting owl (Syrnium nebulosum), and wa`huhu’, the screech owl (Megascops asio). The first of these names signifies a witch, the others being onomatopes. Owls and other night-crying birds are believed to be embodied ghosts or disguised witches, and their cry is dreaded as a sound of evil omen. If the eyes of a child be bathed with water in which one of the long wing or tail feathers of an owl has been soaked, the child will be able to keep awake all night. The feather must be found by chance, and not procured intentionally for the purpose. On the other hand, an application of water in which the feather of a blue jay, procured in the same way, has been soaked will make the child an early riser.

 

This is a preview of Cherokee Fables: The Bird Tribes, Part 2. Read the full post (1283 words, 12 images, estimated 5:08 mins reading time)

Cherokee Fables: Bird Tribes, Part 1

The sky is the flyway of the bird, whose freedom is to light and go at will … .  When evening shadows fall upon the earth and a lone jet cuts the puffy clouds with straight lines, it does not bother the birds.  They chirp and murmur night sounds and settle down to sleep.  We forget and think we are all there is. –Joyce Sequichie Hifler (A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume 2)

 

This morning (Monday, May 11, 2015) while I brushed the snow off our solar panels, my best friend Näkwïsï’ (Meadowlark) serenaded loudly, proudly, and eloquently from the flocked lawn.  He was not serenading for me but for a beautiful, quiet lady wearing a golden blouse adorned with a black necklace.  She pretended to ignore him knowing it would inspire him to sing bolder and more melodious; to be more inventive and creative; to be more alluring and beguiling.  She has the heart of a woman and he the heart of a man in courtship and it is beautiful. [listen to a pretty nakwisi

 

And so I am inspired to share the beautiful concept of the Cherokee bird tribes as told by a Cherokee Medicine man to James Mooney in 1887-90.

 

This is a preview of Cherokee Fables: The Bird Tribes, Part 1. Read the full post (1519 words, 12 images, estimated 6:05 mins reading time)

Cherokee Fables: The Rabbit and the Possum after a Wife

Spring is here and with the month of May comes the season for weddings!  The ancient Cherokee told a funny story about the devious rabbit and the lazy possum who decide to team up to find wives.

 

In most of the stories involving the rabbit, the Cherokee portrayed them as clever, devious, and the penultimate trickster.  The Cherokee rabbit fables are so similar to the “Uncle Remus” and “Brer Rabbit” fables, that I think they must be connected.  [refer to my article: Tar Baby vs Tar Wolf]

 

This is a preview of Cherokee Fables: The Rabbit and the Possum After a Wife. Read the full post (561 words, 12 images, estimated 2:15 mins reading time)

Native American Firsts

 

The January issue of National Geographic magazine is called “The Firsts Issue”.  I think that Native Americans might “take issue” with some of the “firsts”.   Chocolate is one of the very few firsts attributed to ancient Americans.  So, maybe we should revisit this topic from a Native American bias.

 

Since the earliest date for American occupation only goes back to 16,000 B.C., I guess we’ll have start there to see how Native Americans compete with mankind’s firsts.  Well, on the National Geographic Firsts Chart only the control of fire is listed as a first before 16,000 B.C.   So, everything else is fair game.

 

 

This is a preview of Native American Firsts. Read the full post (577 words, 16 images,