http://www.minorities-jb.com/native/apnews/nacher0214.html
Many Cherokee Following Ancient Traditions Of Balance And Harmony By Dale Neal ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) _ Isaac Welch wants to see some credentials before he listens to any talk about American Indian spirituality. >From the wallet in his jeans pocket, he pulls out his own _ a Bureau of Indian Affairs ID that lists Welch as a full-blooded member of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee. But there's no document that shows Welch's spiritual path. For that, you have to read his brown hat. The crown is pinned with a small metal feather. A black feather juts from the beaded hatband, a continuous coil of red, yellow and black like a Scarlett King Snake. Those signs reveal Welch to be a warrior, a messenger and a man of peace. "We are not a religious people, we are a spiritual people," said Welch, an elder in the Yellow Star Society, a group of warriors whose traditions he learned in Oklahoma. For the Cherokee and other tribes, worship was an everyday way of life, not reserved for certain days or special occasions or certain sanctuaries. "Everything we Cherokee do is religious. We danced to balance the earth," said Raven Hail, a 79-year-old Cherokee from Oklahoma. Five hundred years after the continent's first inhabitants encountered the first European explorers, the clash of cultures continues along with misconceptions about what Indians believe. Whites still have Hollywood visions of American Indians _ either demonizing or romanticizing them, according to writer MariJo Moore. In Asheville, not far from the Cherokee ancestral home in the Great Smoky Mountains, the spiritually curious seek out ancient tribal wisdom. Their biggest mistake, Moore says, is "they think they can get this in a weekend, that doing a sweat will make you a shaman. It's not something you can buy or become. Having a dreamcatcher doesn't make you an Indian. You're either born an Indian or you're not." Born in Birdtown on the Qualla Boundary, Welch, 50, was the son of a Baptist minister, but he was raised mainly by his grandparents who didn't speak English, only Cherokee. Welch said he was considered "stupid" by his English high school teacher. Welch began to connect with his past long after he left Cherokee, serving in the military, before heading to college at Mars Hill. The key was rediscovering his lost language. "I had a dream about my grandfather. He used to gather us children at sundown. He would sing a song and have us dance. In the elation of that dream, I remembered the words of that song." Welch had to learn to think and see like an Indian again. "The hardest thing for Native Americans is unlearn Judeo-Christian English concepts and concrete terms." Welch recalled as a boy walking in the woods with his grandfather. "Shh!," the old man would stop and say. "Did you hear that?" The boy would shake his head. Nothing but silence. Then his grandfather explained. "Everything else is listening. The animals are quiet for a reason." Welch relied on that woodscraft to stay alive in the jungles of Vietnam. While other soldiers kept watching their every step, Welch kept his eyes up to the trees, scouting for signs among the birds and monkeys. After his discharge, he found more answers in Oklahoma, especially among the Yellow Star Society. Indians believe that killing is wrong and that warriors sacrifice part of their souls when they go to war. Those healing rituals were a balm to Welch after Vietnam. "Non-violence is the essence of the warrior." Carrying on those traditions in Western North Carolina, Welch and other society members offer graveside ceremonies for military veterans, offering words and rituals of comfort for the bereaved families. Deane Killion has found spiritual solace in the Yellow Star code of conduct for warriors. Born in California to an Indian mother, Killion said, "There was always a calling at my heart from that side of my blood." He joined the Yellow Star Society soon after moving to the Asheville area and meeting Welch. "This was the first group I knew I was accepted in. This is where I learned that the warrior is himself a spiritual person." Shim Welch has watched and listened to his father, picking up on the tribal traditions. "They have to be passed down by word of mouth to keep them alive," the 14-year-old Erwin High student said proudly. Balancing the earth. Living in harmony. The interconnectedness of all creatures and creation. These ideas are central to the Cherokee world view, according to Raven Hail, author of the "Cherokee Sacred Calendar" and many other titles on Indian spirituality. "Everything on Earth is a mirror image of something in the sky," Hail explained. The Mississippi River is a reflection of the Milky Way, or the Path of Souls where the dead travel past the moon to their individual stars. The Cherokee believe "Souls dance in a circle, waiting to be born again on Earth," according to Hail, who's authored a book on the sacred Cherokee calendar. The use of that calendar has died out, which is why Hail is publishing the details for posterity. After a career as a bookkeeper and secretary in Texas, Hail retired to Arizona, but felt little in common with the Indians there. She recently moved to the Asheville area, eager to explore the sacred sites of her Cherokee ancestors. Hail instructed members at Jubilee in a Cherokee dance and prayer for the recent Interfaith prayer vigil held over New Year's Eve. "Cherokee Spirituality is not just for the Cherokee, but for all the children of Mother Earth," said Hail who refers to the "Gathering of Eagles" _ the confluence of spiritual seekers like herself, both Indian and others, drawn to Asheville by its spiritual energy. "The mountains have not been asleep, but the people have been deaf, dumb and blind. There is a reawakening of Cherokee spirituality." But Hail cautions people not to be taken in by marketed spirituality. "There's a lot of wannabe shamans out there. They're selling sweat house sessions, and they don't know their elbow from a hole in the ground." Moore agrees. The poet and essayist says she's approached each month by people seeking a shaman or a "sweat" _ a purification ritual practiced by the Cherokee and many tribes. "It's a fascination more than anything. I don't chastise these people for wanting to learn. My advice to them is to research their own heritage." Cherokee spirituality and the beliefs of American Indians rests on their respect and reverence for the land, said Moore. "Survival depended on the land, you had to respect it. But I think that's true of everybody's ancestors, whether Indian or Celtic. We are all interconnected." Donadaghovi AiSv Nv wa do hi ya do (Til next we meet, Walk in Peace) --<<< --<<< --<<< Visit and show your support for the Grass Roots Oyate http://members.tripod.com/GrassRootsOyate Clemency for Leonard Peltier. Sign the Petition. http://petitiononline.com/Release/petition.html ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?b1ddNB.b2HgmN Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
