Ayetli gadogv?to "stand in the middle"?is at the heart of a Cherokee perspective of the natural world. From this stance, Cherokee Earth Dwellers offers a rich understanding of nature grounded in Cherokee creature names, oral traditional stories, and reflections of elders and knowledge holders. During his lifetime, elder Hastings Shade created booklets with over six hundred Cherokee names for animals and plants. With this foundational collection at its center, and weaving together a chorus of voices, this book emerges from a deep and continuing collaboration between Christopher B. Teuton, Hastings Shade, Loretta Shade, and others. Positioning our responsibilities as humans to our more-than-human relatives, this book presents teachings about the body, mind, spirit, and wellness that have been shared for generations. From clouds to birds, oceans to quarks, this expansive Cherokee view of nature reveals a living, communicative world and humanity's role within it.

Traditional and modern stories by the Cherokee Indians of North Carolina reflect the tribe's religious beliefs and values, observations of animals and nature, and knowledge of history.

Theda Perdue examines the roles and responsibilities of Cherokee women during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, a time of intense cultural change. While building on the research of earlier historians, she develops a uniquely complex view of the effects of contact on Native gender relations, arguing that Cherokee conceptions of gender persisted long after contact. Maintaining traditional gender roles actually allowed Cherokee women and men to adapt to new circumstances and adopt new industries and practices.

For the Cherokee, health is more than the absence of disease; it includes a fully confident sense of a smooth life, peaceful existence, unhurried pace, and easy flow of time. The natural state of the world is to be neutral, balanced, with a similarly gently flowing pattern. States of imbalance, tension, or agitation are indicative of physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual illness and whether caused intentionally through omission or commission, or by outside actions or influences, the result affects and endangers the collective Cherokee. Taking a true anthro.

In Building One Fire, Chad Smith and renowned Cherokee-Osage scholar and author Rennard Strickland present a unique look at Cherokee art through the lens of Cherokee philosophy. Since the time when Water Spider brought the gift offire to the Cherokee people, the One Fire, "the Ancient Lady," has been at the center of Cherokee spiritual life. From this fire, which represents community, thewhite smoke of prayer rises to Nitsudunvha, One Who is Always Above. In return Nitsudunvha sends to each person four sets of gifts with whichto develop mind, body, and spirit. These gifts are brought by four messengers, one from each of thecardinal directions. The gifts of the four messengers, the colors and qualities associated with them, and the four-pointcircle that embraces the sacred fire--all these arepart of Cherokee consciousness and creativity.They take visible form, subtly or directly, in works created by Cherokee artists. This book presents more than 200 art-works by some 80 artists which speak to what it means to be Cherokee. Cherokee philosopher Benny Smith shares his teachings about Cherokee world view, Cherokee art is laid before the reader in a visual feast, and a special endingsection celebrates the vivaciousness of child artists who represent the next generation's creative Cherokee citizens.

Includes bibliographical references.

Presents a collection of traditional Cherokee tales, teachings, and folklore, with four works presented in both English and Cherokee.

The author of the nationally beloved inspirational column Think on These Things offers a book of daily meditations drawn from her own rich Cherokee heritage and that of other tribes. Joyce Sequichie Hifler presents readings for each day of the year from Una la ta nee'--the cold Month, January-- to U Ski' Ya, the Snow Month of December. Each provides insights expressed both in English and in Cherokee, and germs of Native wisdom recorded in the words of Native speakers. This little treasury is for readers of all fauths, and for those seeking faith.

The stories of the Cherokee people presented here capture in written form tales of history, myth, and legend for readers, speakers, and scholars of the Cherokee language. Assembled by noted authorities on Cherokee, this volume marks an unparalleled contribution to the linguistic analysis, understanding, and preservation of Cherokee language and culture. Cherokee Narratives spans the spectrum of genres, including humor, religion, origin myths, trickster tales, historical accounts, and stories about the Eastern Cherokee language. These stories capture the voices of tribal elders and form a living record of the Cherokee Nation and Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians' oral tradition. Each narrative appears in four different formats: the first is interlinear, with each line shown in the Cherokee syllabary, a corresponding roman orthography, and a free English translation; the second format consists of a morpheme-by-morpheme analysis of each word; and the third and fourth formats present the entire narrative in the Cherokee syllabary and in a free English translation. The narratives and their linguistic analysis are a rich source of information for those who wish to deepen their knowledge of the Cherokee syllabary, as well as for students of Cherokee history and culture. By enabling readers at all skill levels to use and reconstruct the Cherokee language, this collection of tales will sustain the life and promote the survival of Cherokee for generations to come.

After five centuries of Eurocentrism, many people have little idea that Native American tribes still exist, or which traditions belong to what tribes. However over the past decade there has been a rising movement to accurately describe Native cultures and histories. In particular, people have begun to explore the experience of urban Indians -- individuals who live in two worlds struggling to preserve traditional Native values within the context of an ever-changing modern society. In Genocide of the Mind, the experience and determination of these people is recorded in a revealing and compelling collection of essays that brings the Native American experience into the twenty-first century. Contributors include: Paula Gunn Allen, Simon Ortiz, Sherman Alexie, Leslie Marmon Silko, and Maurice Kenny, as well as emerging writers from different Indian nations.