CHEROKEENative American PrideEnforcer at's blog: ""

I look to the long road behind My heart is heavy with my people’s sorrow Tears of grief I weep - for all that we have lost As we march ever farther from the land of our birth On the Trail of Tears Mile after mile and day after day Our people are fewer with each rising sun Disease and starvation they take their terrible toll And though we suffer still we march on… On the Trail of Tears I watch my beloved weaken and fall Upon the road like so many before… With tears in my eyes I hold my wife to my breast And in my arms she breathes her last… On the Trail of Tears Mile after mile and day after day We march to a land promised us for all time But I know that I can no longer go on I know that is a land that I shall never see… On the Trail of Tears As my body - it falls to embrace the earth My spirit - it soars to greet the sky With my dying breath am I finally set free To begin the very long journey towards home On the Trail of Tears

If you talk to the animals they will talk with you and you will know each other. If you do not talk to them you will not know them, and what you do not know you will fear. What one fears one destroys. As winter descends, two kindred spirits- Wolf and Raven prevail, ever wise, sly, playful, hardy... mythical creatures, sacred to the native peoples...

It was the raven who created the waters and the salmon, which came to sacrifice themselves to the people. The raven fashioned every creature that walks or flies. It was the raven who helped the worthy, but loved to trick the unsuspecting; and as full of mischief as he was wonderful, who made this world the way it is. Raven is the messenger of magic from the great void where all knowledge waits for us. His powerful medicine can give us the courage to enter the darkness of this void, called Great Mystery. He is also the symbol of changes in consciousness, of levels of awareness and of perception.

To Native Americans, the wolf is a powerful spiritual symbol. They are considered to be teachers or pathfinders. The wolf star was red, an esteemed color, associated with the wolf by all tribes. Also known as Sirius, it is the brightest star in the Northern Sky. The milky way was the wolf's trail-the route to heaven. In time, the wolf also became associated among the four seasons with summer, among the trees with the willow, and among the great natural forces with the clouds. The indians respected the wolf's prowess as a hunter, his stamina, and the way he moved silently across the landscape. They were moved by his howling, which they sometimes regarded as talking with the spirit world. The wolf appears in many legends as a messenger, great long distance travelor and a guide for anyone seeking the spirit world. He was the forerunner of new ideas who returned to the clan to teach and share medicine. Wolf is the Grand teacher. Wolf is the sage, who after many winters upon the sacred path and seeking the ways of wisdom, returns to share new knowledge with the tribe. Wolf is both the radical and the traditional in the same breath. When the Wolf walks by you - you will remember. The old ones tell us stories about our beginnings and of a time when human kind first came to live upon this Earth. It was Wolf who taught Humans the ways of living in harmony. It was Wolf who taught us how to form community upon this Earth, for Wolves have an intuitive knowledge of order through chaos and they possess the ability to survive change, intact. Wolf medicine is very ancient and born of living experience. Wolf will look deep into your heart and share the greatest of knowledge, but will demand full participation, and absolute sincerity. When Wolf has walked by you, the very presence of the wolf will rekindle old memories within your soul. Through the friction of experience you rekindle the emotional fires of the inner soul and question the manifestations of your own consciousness. You can own a thing only when you have come to own the emotional experience of it, and realize the responsibility for its creation. then you are free to continue. Wolf medicine can make you whole. You will return to Wolf many times in your life as you complete and begin your cycles of experience and seek the inner truth.

The Eagle is the great sacred bird of the Cherokee Indians and of nearly all native tribes. Eagle figures prominently in their ceremonial rituals. Each Tribal group has its own stories and legends concerning the Eagle. Only the greatest warriors and the Medicine Man wore feathers of the eagle. Eagle medicine is the power of the great spirit, the connection to the Devine. It is the ability to live in the realm of spirit, and yet remain connected and balanced within the realm of earth. If someone dreamed of an eagle or eagle feathers, the town organized an Eagle Dance as soon as possible. This could only be done in late fall or winter as the songs sung during the dance angered the rattlesnakes. The eagle could only be killed by a proffessional Eagle Killer who knew the proper ceremonies for turning aside vengeance by the eagle's spirit. There were only certain times when the eagle could be killed, usually only when an Eagle Dance was held.

Mighty horse...power to run Across the open plains, Or to bring the vision of the shields Dancing in purple dream rain... The horse was a marvel to the Indian and came to be regarded as sacred. It had a mysterious or sacred character. The Indian often times referred to the horse as the big dog or the sacred dog. The ceremonial importance of horses is strong in many cultures. In the Navajo Enemy Way ceremony, which is used to rid someone who has come in contact with the enemy of the evil, horses transport the sacred staff that carries the evil away from the person. Horses are the focus of many Plains ceremonies as well.

The buffalo or bison is considered by many tribes to be a symbol of adundance for it was the meat of the buffalo that fed the people, the hides that provided clothing and shelter, the bones and sinew provided tools of survival. In the Legend of the Sacred Pipe, the White Buffalo Calf Woman gave the Sacred Pipe to the Sioux as a caretaker for the Red Nation. This pipe held the power of the Great Spirit. She brought the people a message of peace and said that they would have good hunting and turn into a great nation. The appearance of a white buffalo is a sign that prayers have been heard, and signals a time of abundance plenty. "Buffalo Medicine" means to bring a special honor, or appreciation for all of the things that the Earth provides for her children. To use buffalo medicine is to smoke the pipe in a sacred manner, and to give praise for the richness of life to be shared with all. If a child's name included the word "buffalo" in it, the Indians believed that the child would be especially strong and would mature quickly. If a warrior was renamed after a vision or great hunting or war accomplishment, and his new name included the word "buffalo," it meant that the buffalo was his supernatural helper, or that he exhibited the strength of a buffalo, or that he was an extraordinary hunter. In other words, the name desribed the powers of the man. Societies named after the buffalo had the animal as their patron. Holy men who saw buffalo in the vision during which they were called to the practice of medicine would seek thereafter to commune with the Great Spirit through the buffalo.

Yellow Eyes We've roamed the wild country My beautiful yellow eyes, Side by side we've hunted Shadows dancing on northern skies. There have been times of plenty We were content and serene, Peacefully sleeping Dangers few and far between. We've also known much hunger Ribs protruding from each side, Mournfully we howled When our starving cubs had died. And then there was our first winter Romping thru the glistening snow, Tasting each crystal snowflake Falling gently to and fro. Ah my dear, sweet yellow eyes I've known no greater love, Without you, I am nothing Our wild souls are one. And now you lay there dying Steel jaws upon your frame, Life's blood slowly seeping I whimper your sweet name. Helpless, I watch you struggle Chest heaving with labored breath, Steel jaws clenching tighter Winds whisper the song of death. The blood has now stopped flowing I know the time is near, And you will forever leave me My love, my life, my dear. And now my world is silent Your struggles now have ceased, I lay my head upon you And know you are at peace. Perhaps your soul has lifted To skies where eagles soar, And there you'll greet your brothers To run with them forever more. And someday I shall find you In the heaven's so far above, And when our wild soul's unite There'll be no greater love.

Just Looking For Some Peace So live your life so the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their views, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and of service to your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide. Always give a word or sign of salute when meeting or passing a stranger if in a lonely place. Show respect to all people, but grovel to none. When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life and strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies in yourself. Touch not the poisonous firewater that makes wise ones turn to fools and robs them of their visions. When your time comes to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song, and die like a hero going home. Tecumseh We did not think of the great open plains, the beautiful rolling hills, and winding streams with tangled growth, as wild. Only to the white man was nature a wilderness, and only to him was the land infested with wild animals and savage people. To us it was tame. Earth was bountiful and we were surrounded with the blessings of the great mystery. Not until the hairy man from the east came and with brutal frenzy heaped injustices upon us and upon the families we loved was it wild for us. When the very animals of the forest began fleeing from his approach, then it was that for us the wild west began. Chief Luther Standing Bear Oglala band of Sioux "The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells the Great Spirit, and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us." Black Elk ...You have stories to tell and that is what will keep the memory of a great people alive. Pass the stories to your children. Teach them who, where and what their people were. Take time to search your ancestry. Remember the past they took and have patience. Stay in tune with your feelings and be strong in your search. Trace your walk, feel satisfaction in knowing the end of the rainbow you have looked for can be found at the toe of your moccacin after realizing who we are and what we have. Chief John "Eagle Spirit" Campbell Cherokee Elders Council, Houston, TX Learn how to withhold judgment Learn to listen Get in touch with your own inner self Look at life with joy Don't ever cry over something that cannot cry over you. Cheewa James Modoc I did not know then how much was ended. When I look back now from this high hill of my old age, I can still see the butchered women and children lying heaped and scattered all along the crooked gulch as plain as when I saw them with eyes still young. And I can see that something else died there in the bloody mud and was buried in the blizzard. A people's dream died there. It was a beautiful dream. And I, to whom so great a vision was given in my youth, —you see me now a pitiful old man who has done nothing, for the nation's hoop is broken and scattered. There is no center any longer, and the sacred tree is dead. Hehaka Sapa (Black Elk) Medicine Man of the Oglala Sioux, 1931 You have noticed that everything an Indian does in a circle, and that is because the Power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round. In the old days all our power came to us from the sacred hoop of the nation and so long as the hoop was unbroken the people flourished. The flowering tree was the living center of the hoop, and the circle of the four quarters nourished it. The east gave peace and light, the south gave warmth, the west gave rain and the north with its cold and mighty wind gave strength and endurance. This knowledge came to us from the outer world with our religion. Everything the power of the world does is done in a circle. The sky is round and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power, whirls. Birds make their nests in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours. The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle. The moon does the same and both are round. Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves. Our teepees were round like the nests of birds, and these were always set in a circle, the nation's hoop, a nest of many nests, where the Great Spirit meant for us to hatch our children. Black Elk Oglala Sioux 1863-1950 It’s A Good Day To Die I lift my hands unto the Great Spirit and worship him who has by himself created all things visible and invisible, who has blessed me with long life, who has set me upon my Mother among the Human Beings that respect his name and worship him with an unsoiled spirit and heart. Many moons have passed and my memory flickers as a candle on a windy day that is ready to die out forever more. I have seen unspeakable things that have been committed against the Human Beings, hard to be spoken, the cry of the young for their mothers, and mothers for their children that will never return unto to them ever again. The wisdom of our Elders died with our old a helpless people that embraced those who traveled across the deep waters, they came with a split tongue killed our people and fed them to their dogs, covering our Mother with a heavy blanket, killing our buffalo for sport, our land is sacred! Our Mother has nourished our fathers and our children and the creatures have given their life for meat and their coat to keep us warm. They didn’t understand nor do they still understand the way of life, they despise the day of small things and raped our mother for gain and pleasure we must keep the decree of life and respect the land. Our Mother has been provoked and she will shake the heaviness that has been placed on her. The blood of our children cries unto the Great Spirit. They cannot feel the fire of the heavens that nourished their existence that gave them their beauty. Oh Great Spirit this is a good day to die, I’m weak but ye are strong keep me in the right path which my fathers have taken back to you, I humble myself to be accepted in your most sacred presences. Shanawanikki Nations (Nippowa Tribe)

Let neither cold, hunger, nor pain, nor the fear of them, neither the bristling teeth of danger nor the very jaws of death itself, prevent you from doing a good deed...... Sun Seeker The secret ideals which have nourished in the American Indian, a unique character among the peoples of the earth. It's simplicity, it's reverence, it's bravery and uprightness must be left to make their own appeal to the American of today, who is the inheritor of our homes, our names, and our traditions. Since there is nothing left us but remembrance, at least let that remembrance be just! The elements and majestic forces in nature, Lightning, Wind, Water, Fire, and Frost, were regarded with awe as spiritual powers, but always secondary and intermediate in character. We believed that the spirit pervades all creation and that every creature possesses a soul in some degree, though not necessarily a soul conscious of itself. The tree, the waterfall, the grizzly bear, each is an embodied Force, and as such an object of reverence. The Indian loved to come into sympathy and spiritual communion with his brothers of the animal kingdom, whose inarticulate souls had for him something of the sinless purity that we attribute to the innocent and irresponsible child. He had faith in their instincts, as in a mysterious wisdom given from above; and while he humbly accepted the supposedly voluntary sacrifice of their bodies to preserve his own, he paid homage to their spirits in prescribed prayers and offerings. The attitude of the Indian toward death, the test and background of life, is entirely consistent with his character and philosophy. Death has no terrors for him; he meets it with simplicity and perfect calm, seeking only an honorable end as his last gift to his family and descendants. Therefore, he courts death in battle; on the other hand, he would regard it as disgraceful to be killed in a private quarrel. If one be dying at home, it is customary to carry his bed out of doors as the end approaches, that his spirit may pass under the open sky. Even the worst enemies of the Indian, those who accuse him of treachery, blood-thirstiness, cruelty, and lust, have not denied his courage but in their minds it is a courage is ignorant, brutal, and fantastic. His own conception of bravery makes of it a high moral virtue, for to him it consists not so much in aggressive self- -assertion as in absolute self-control. The truly brave man, we contend, yields neither to fear nor anger, desire nor agony; he is at all times master of himself; his courage rises to the heights of chivalry, patriotism, and real heroism.