Good Morning Everybody! Both my dogs and I were anxious to get out into the wilderness yesterday and perhaps I should have gone into more detail in my blog about mixed heritage. The comments on the list concerning New Agers shanghaiing Native American culture and making it into a false religion were especially accurate. First, Michelle, you will be happy to hear that recently I set the Boy Scouts straight. I was one of the youngest Eagle Scouts ever, but because of a snooty clique of air line pilot kids in our scout troop in College Park, GA, I was never invited to join the Order of the Arrow. I was also the only Native American in the troop, yet all the high-ranking scouts in my troop, but me, got to wear the fancy, store-bought Sioux head-dresses. However, being that an Eagle Scout had complained, the BSA did respond to my complaint. I stumbled upon an official Georgia Boy Scout web site that stated Etowah was a Cherokee town and that the Cherokees built all the mounds in a seven state area of the Southeast. The web site also stated that the Cherokees had lived in Georgia for thousands of years. Some web site consultant had copied a tourist brochure from Cherokee, NC verbatim. Eventually, an official of the BSA responded to my complaint of inaccuracy and asked me to re-write the section of the web site on Native Americans! At any rate, there is something that genetics, BIA regulations and federal laws can not quantify or even identify. My personal experience has been that there is such a thing as a Native American soul. That soul has special spiritual traits and gifts. Phil Whitley obviously has one. I still suspect that he has a Creek ancestor out there somewhere, or else some time in his life, a grandfather spirit became his guardian angel. I know from personal experience that there is a very strong Creek spiritual presence west of Riverdale (where Phil lives) in the vicinity of Old National Highway and then down into Fayette County. The presence of a Native American soul, is the only way one can explain why it is typical for one or more siblings in a mixed-heritage family to be drawn to things Native American almost from the day they can walk. Certain mixed heritage women, even if they have blond hair and blue/gray eyes, will become medicine women and vision-keepers, when they listen to the guidance of their grandmother spirit. Having a Native American soul does not necessarily mean you have a "good" soul, but it does give one spiritual powers - whether one serves the Master of Breath, or the Darkness. I can think of no better example of this than an experience I had at the Oconaluftee Living History Museum Village in Cherokee, NC in early July of 2006. I was doing research on my first book. I was trying to discern the real architectural history of the Southern Highlands. There were no books on the subject, so I thought the Cherokee Museums might help. Lordamercy! I should have turned around and gone hiking in the Smokies, when I saw the logo of the Museum of the Cherokee Indian on the front wall of the museum. It is the famous Creek Spider Gorget that is actually on display at the Moundville Museum near Tuscaloosa, AL. The gorget is used on all stationary and all cultural facilities of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. The guide at the museum tells people that it is a gorget found on the reservation by an elder many years ago! LOL However, if you ask to see this gorget, they tell you that it is kept in a sacred place known only to the Cherokees. If you mention that it is actually at Moundville, they respond that the Great Cherokee Nation once covered seven states and their ancestors built all of the major mound centers. The last straw was when I saw beautiful Swift Creek and Etowah Complicated Stamp ceramics from Georgia on display that were labeled as being examples of the skills of the ancient Cherokees. We left. Well, anyway, after quickly exiting the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, I drove with my date (a Canadian Obigwe on vacation in the mountains) to the Oconaluftee Village. Since it was a collection of reconstructed Native architecture, I assumed that I could get accurate answers there. The museum village consists of about 24 reconstructed buildings typical of those in the Southeast, and includes an accurate Cherokee Council House of the style of the 1700s. All are grouped around a Creek Square. I asked our guide, a young Cherokee lassie of college age, why did the Cherokees suddenly switched around the year 1680 from building large, square houses with thick daub & wattle walls to smaller, crude round houses sheaved in bark shingles? To give her credit, she honestly answered that all she knew was what was on a sheet of paper that was given summer guides to memorize. She said she would go get the elder, who was the expert on Cherokee history. He was a wise man, who could answer all questions. The elder showed up wearing all sorts of symbols typical of Cherokee medicine men. I only got to ask one short sentence, "Why did the Cherokees switch from building big square houses to small round ones around the ...." He interrupted me and blurted, "What you say is untrue." He then raised his right hand so as to block his eyes' view of my face. While walking backwards out of the Creek Square, he repeated the same statement over and over again. Once out of the square, he literally ran completely out of the Okonaluftee Village. At that point the reality came to me, "I reckon I will have to stop relying on the so-called experts and become one myself! " Oconaluftee has no meaning in Cherokee other than being a proper noun. The name of the river that flows through the Cherokee Reservation was originally written as Okonee talufa tee which means "Okonee People Town." My Creek heritage is primarily Okonee. Obviously, the Native American soul of the Cherokee medicine man was quite afraid of the Native American soul of an Okonee Creek warrior. The word for the Okonee in Cherokee translates as "the mean ones." Have a blessed Sunday! **************Looking for a car that's sporty, fun and fits in your budget? Read reviews on AOL Autos. (http://autos.aol.com/cars-BMW-128-2008/expert-review?ncid=aolaut00050000000017 )

Richard, I know traditionally the Cherokees lived in houses that faced a square, this was pretty common in most Indian towns, and at some point the Cherokees switched from their traditional houses to cabins, just as the Catawbas did in their villages. The change in housing was probably due to new ideas or methods of living that were introdudced, and since the Cherokees have always been a people who adapt it was just a natural thing to accept new ideas. As for the Elder, with most older traditional Cherokees instead of having a confrontation with you, he simply chose to walk away and end the conversation with you, and given the fact that he was working as a instructor or teacher of Cherokee culture. yes the people at Oconoluftee Village are working, as I knew two tribal Elders that use to work at the village Hayes Lossiah, and Mary Shell before they passed on. I know when visiting in Cherokee homes if one is offered food, it is a insult not to accept the food and eat with them. I have Creek ancestry, but know far more about Cherokee culture than I do about Creek culture, since I was more in contact with my Cherokee heritage. --- On Sun, 8/10/08, [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote: > From: [email protected] <[email protected]> > Subject: [CREEK-SOUTHEAST] On having a Native American soul > To: [email protected] > Date: Sunday, August 10, 2008, 9:05 AM > Good Morning Everybody! > > Both my dogs and I were anxious to get out into the > wilderness yesterday and > perhaps I should have gone into more detail in my blog > about mixed heritage. > The comments on the list concerning New Agers shanghaiing > Native American > culture and making it into a false religion were especially > accurate. > > First, Michelle, you will be happy to hear that recently I > set the Boy > Scouts straight. I was one of the youngest Eagle Scouts > ever, but because of a > snooty clique of air line pilot kids in our scout troop in > College Park, GA, > I was never invited to join the Order of the Arrow. I was > also the only > Native American in the troop, yet all the high-ranking > scouts in my troop, but > me, got to wear the fancy, store-bought Sioux > head-dresses. However, being that > an Eagle Scout had complained, the BSA did respond to my > complaint. > > I stumbled upon an official Georgia Boy Scout web site that > stated Etowah > was a Cherokee town and that the Cherokees built all the > mounds in a seven > state area of the Southeast. The web site also stated that > the Cherokees had > lived in Georgia for thousands of years. Some web site > consultant had copied a > tourist brochure from Cherokee, NC verbatim. Eventually, > an official of the > BSA responded to my complaint of inaccuracy and asked me > to re-write the > section of the web site on Native Americans! > > At any rate, there is something that genetics, BIA > regulations and federal > laws can not quantify or even identify. My personal > experience has been > that there is such a thing as a Native American soul. > That soul has special > spiritual traits and gifts. Phil Whitley obviously has > one. I still suspect > that he has a Creek ancestor out there somewhere, or else > some time in his > life, a grandfather spirit became his guardian angel. I > know from personal > experience that there is a very strong Creek spiritual > presence west of > Riverdale (where Phil lives) in the vicinity of Old > National Highway and then down > into Fayette County. > > The presence of a Native American soul, is the only way one > can explain why > it is typical for one or more siblings in a mixed-heritage > family to be drawn > to things Native American almost from the day they can > walk. Certain mixed > heritage women, even if they have blond hair and blue/gray > eyes, will become > medicine women and vision-keepers, when they listen to the > guidance of their > grandmother spirit. > > Having a Native American soul does not necessarily mean you > have a "good" > soul, but it does give one spiritual powers - whether one > serves the Master of > Breath, or the Darkness. I can think of no better example > of this than an > experience I had at the Oconaluftee Living History Museum > Village in Cherokee, > NC in early July of 2006. I was doing research on my > first book. I was > trying to discern the real architectural history of the > Southern Highlands. > There were no books on the subject, so I thought the > Cherokee Museums might > help. > > Lordamercy! I should have turned around and gone hiking in > the Smokies, > when I saw the logo of the Museum of the Cherokee Indian on > the front wall of > the museum. It is the famous Creek Spider Gorget that is > actually on display > at the Moundville Museum near Tuscaloosa, AL. The gorget > is used on all > stationary and all cultural facilities of the Eastern Band > of Cherokee Indians. > The guide at the museum tells people that it is a gorget > found on the > reservation by an elder many years ago! LOL However, if > you ask to see this gorget, > they tell you that it is kept in a sacred place known only > to the Cherokees. > If you mention that it is actually at Moundville, they > respond that the > Great Cherokee Nation once covered seven states and their > ancestors built all of > the major mound centers. The last straw was when I saw > beautiful Swift Creek > and Etowah Complicated Stamp ceramics from Georgia on > display that were > labeled as being examples of the skills of the ancient > Cherokees. We left. > > Well, anyway, after quickly exiting the Museum of the > Cherokee Indian, I > drove with my date (a Canadian Obigwe on vacation in the > mountains) to the > Oconaluftee Village. Since it was a collection of > reconstructed Native > architecture, I assumed that I could get accurate answers > there. The museum village > consists of about 24 reconstructed buildings typical of > those in the Southeast, > and includes an accurate Cherokee Council House of the > style of the 1700s. > All are grouped around a Creek Square. I asked our > guide, a young Cherokee > lassie of college age, why did the Cherokees suddenly > switched around the > year 1680 from building large, square houses with thick > daub & wattle walls to > smaller, crude round houses sheaved in bark shingles? To > give her credit, > she honestly answered that all she knew was what was on a > sheet of paper that > was given summer guides to memorize. She said she would > go get the elder, > who was the expert on Cherokee history. He was a wise > man, who could answer > all questions. > > The elder showed up wearing all sorts of symbols typical of > Cherokee > medicine men. I only got to ask one short sentence, > "Why did the Cherokees switch > from building big square houses to small round ones around > the ...." He > interrupted me and blurted, "What you say is > untrue." He then raised his right > hand so as to block his eyes' view of my face. While > walking backwards out > of the Creek Square, he repeated the same statement over > and over again. > Once out of the square, he literally ran completely out of > the Okonaluftee > Village. At that point the reality came to me, "I > reckon I will have to stop > relying on the so-called experts and become one myself! > " > > Oconaluftee has no meaning in Cherokee other than being a > proper noun. The > name of the river that flows through the Cherokee > Reservation was originally > written as Okonee talufa tee which means "Okonee > People Town." My Creek > heritage is primarily Okonee. Obviously, the Native > American soul of the > Cherokee medicine man was quite afraid of the Native > American soul of an Okonee > Creek warrior. The word for the Okonee in Cherokee > translates as "the mean > ones." > > Have a blessed Sunday! > > > > > > > > > > > > > **************Looking for a car that's sporty, fun and > fits in your budget? > Read reviews on AOL Autos. > (http://autos.aol.com/cars-BMW-128-2008/expert-review?ncid=aolaut00050000000017 > ) > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word > 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and > the body of the message