Hope this is not OT? (learned that from my grands and grgrands) Daddy used to tell me his people were Cheerykey (remember the accent is from both S GA and N FL) and he was naming me Cheenkypeen as he now saw signs of what I was. Daddy said the shape and color of my eyes were that of the nut from the Cheenkypeen tree so clearly that is who I should be. I was about age two at the time. As an adult, I happened upon a Chinkapin/Chinquapin tree, saw the nut for the first time (that I remembered) and realized that was the name Daddy had given me. At some point, after leaving my home areas, I heard the word Cherokee and also came to realize that Daddy had told me his people were of the Cherokee, rather than of the Cheerykey. I am asking if any readers have ever heard of such a naming custom among the Cherokee? As I age, I find myself more and more curious about my roots and a growing desire to separate fact from legend in my own history. A Cherokee anthropologist looked at my nephew's YDNA and had a great deal to say about our "Native heritage", but there was no way of saying definitely that it was Cherokee. Several years ago, I had the great pleasure of attending an American Indian Women's Conference at University of NC at Pembroke in Robeson Co., NC. One of my daughters looks exactly like those Lumbee women; shape of face, color of hair, skin color, jaw, etc. That gave me the inspiration to delve further into my roots as Daddy's kinfolks were from NC. Well, in truth, I don't do the "delving" but leave that up to the younger ones. At the Conference, I was recognized as an Elder but could not sit at head table as I had not mentored any Native child(ren) in past year. However, the respect/deference shown me at table when the feather was passed took me back so many years. The silence, the attention as an Elder, or non-Elder, spoke evoked many memories. I learned from one of the Lumbee women that jalapenos cut up into the regular fried corn bread provides relief for those aches and pains that some Elders experience. For several years now, I have been adding jalapenos to my fried corn bread and I have known much relief. It is my daily breakfast and/or supper. Another walk down memory lane. Fran Chinkapin

What a neat & special family history & experiences -----Original Message----- From: cherokee-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:cherokee-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Fran West-Powe Sent: Friday, January 24, 2014 2:31 PM To: CHEROKEE@rootsweb.com Subject: [Cherokee Circle] Cheerykey Hope this is not OT? (learned that from my grands and grgrands) Daddy used to tell me his people were Cheerykey (remember the accent is from both S GA and N FL) and he was naming me Cheenkypeen as he now saw signs of what I was. Daddy said the shape and color of my eyes were that of the nut from the Cheenkypeen tree so clearly that is who I should be. I was about age two at the time. As an adult, I happened upon a Chinkapin/Chinquapin tree, saw the nut for the first time (that I remembered) and realized that was the name Daddy had given me. At some point, after leaving my home areas, I heard the word Cherokee and also came to realize that Daddy had told me his people were of the Cherokee, rather than of the Cheerykey. I am asking if any readers have ever heard of such a naming custom among the Cherokee? As I age, I find myself more and more curious about my roots and a growing desire to separate fact from legend in my own history. A Cherokee anthropologist looked at my nephew's YDNA and had a great deal to say about our "Native heritage", but there was no way of saying definitely that it was Cherokee. Several years ago, I had the great pleasure of attending an American Indian Women's Conference at University of NC at Pembroke in Robeson Co., NC. One of my daughters looks exactly like those Lumbee women; shape of face, color of hair, skin color, jaw, etc. That gave me the inspiration to delve further into my roots as Daddy's kinfolks were from NC. Well, in truth, I don't do the "delving" but leave that up to the younger ones. At the Conference, I was recognized as an Elder but could not sit at head table as I had not mentored any Native child(ren) in past year. However, the respect/deference shown me at table when the feather was passed took me back so many years. The silence, the attention as an Elder, or non-Elder, spoke evoked many memories. I learned from one of the Lumbee women that jalapenos cut up into the regular fried corn bread provides relief for those aches and pains that some Elders experience. For several years now, I have been adding jalapenos to my fried corn bread and I have known much relief. It is my daily breakfast and/or supper. Another walk down memory lane. Fran Chinkapin ======*====== List archives http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/index?list=cherokee ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to CHEROKEE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message