Talking Leaves - Valley of the Sun Cherokeesvalleyofthesuncherokees.org/tl/Talking Leaves - 1112...

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Volume 1, Issue 6 : December, 2011 Talking Leaves Osiyo! With the holidays upon us Talking Leaves would like to share some history and legend about Cherokee celebrations of this season. At this time of togetherness we hope you will take some time to share your Cherokee heritage and traditions and maybe even some of the food out of this months's Recipe Box. Wado! As the Cherokee's conception of Christ did not fit any European style Christmas ceremony and the fact that we, the Tsa la gi have been upon this earth a long, long time, we had our own ways of celebrating and giving thanks. If we were there at a celebration of long ago at this time of the changing of seasons it would have gone something like this: It is the time of change when the leaves are red and upon the earth and the bare branches of the trees sigh a bit of relief to shed their burden. The winter coats are thick and warm on the creatures of our mother Our brother the Bear is in the womb of Earth Mother contemplating the coming seasons and dreaming of ripe berries. The old man of the North has blanketed the earth mother with a fresh coat of snow and the promise of regeneration lies just below it. It is the time of the changing of seasons from the time of harvesting to winter and the time to give thanks for theyear we have had and the year to come. As the spirit world is the most powerful at dawn or sunrise the ceremony will be at sunrise. The villagers gather at the sacred fire pit and the keeper of the sacred fire adds the ashes from the previous fire to this and the fire glows. This insures the circle continues from one fire to the next, fromone season to the other from one generation to the next. Continued on final page Inside: A Look Back in Time, p. 2 Recipe Box, p.2 Classifieds, p. 4 Principal Chief Bill John Baker's Inaugural Address, p. 5 Kid's Corner, p.5 Finance and Membership Reports, p. 8 Horizons, p. 9 December Meeting Information Please join us for our regional community meeting to build fellowship for the ninth regular Gathering of the Valley of the Sun Cherokees. The presentation this month will include Barbara Sutteer sharing history about Native American Veterans who fought at the Battle of Little Big Horn.We will also a White Elephant Gift Exchange for anyone who would like to exchange gifts. $10 Maximum. Location: Phoenix Indian Medical Center (1st Floor of PIMC, Conf Room A&B) 4212 North 16th Street, Phoenix, AZ. 11:00 am 2:00 pm Contact Information: Valley of the Sun Cherokees VSC Newsletter PO Box 60575, Phoenix, AZ 85082 Clifton Barnhart Editor [email protected] [email protected]

Transcript of Talking Leaves - Valley of the Sun Cherokeesvalleyofthesuncherokees.org/tl/Talking Leaves - 1112...

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Volume 1, Issue 6 : December, 2011

Talking LeavesOsiyo!With the holidays upon us Talking Leaves would like to share some history and legendabout Cherokee celebrations of this season. At this time of togetherness we hope you willtake some time to share your Cherokee heritage and traditions and maybe even some ofthe food out of this months's Recipe Box. Wado!

­­­­­­­­­­­­As the Cherokee's conception of Christ did not fit any European style Christmas ceremonyand the fact that we, the Tsa la gi have been upon this earth a long, long time, we had ourown ways of celebrating and giving thanks. If we were there at a celebration of long agoat this time of the changing of seasons it would have gone something like this:It is the time of change when the leaves are red and upon the earth and the bare branchesof the trees sigh a bit of relief to shed their burden. The winter coats are thick and warm onthe creatures of our mother Our brother the Bear is in the womb of Earth Mothercontemplating the coming seasons and dreaming of ripe berries. The old man of the Northhas blanketed the earth mother with a fresh coat of snow and the promise of regenerationlies just below it. It is the time of the changing of seasons from the time of harvesting towinter and the time to give thanks for theyear we have had and the year to come.As the spirit world is the most powerful at dawn or sunrise the ceremony will be at sunrise.The villagers gather at the sacred fire pit and the keeper of the sacred fire adds the ashesfrom the previous fire to this and the fire glows. This insures the circle continues from onefire to the next, fromone season to the other from one generation to the next.

Continued on final page

Inside:A Look Back in Time, p. 2Recipe Box, p.2Classifieds, p. 4Principal Chief Bill JohnBaker's Inaugural Address,p. 5Kid's Corner, p.5Finance and MembershipReports, p. 8Horizons, p. 9

December Meeting InformationPlease join us for our regional community meeting to build fellowship for the ninthregular Gathering of the Valley of the Sun Cherokees. The presentation this month willinclude Barbara Sutteer sharing history about Native American Veterans who fought atthe Battle of Little Big Horn.We will also a White Elephant Gift Exchange for anyonewho would like to exchange gifts. $10 Maximum.Location: Phoenix Indian Medical Center (1st Floor of PIMC, Conf Room A&B)

4212 North 16th Street, Phoenix, AZ.11:00 am ­ 2:00 pm

Contact Information:Valley of the Sun Cherokees VSC NewsletterPO Box 60575, Phoenix, AZ 85082 Clifton Barnhart ­ [email protected] [email protected]

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A Look Back in TimeTwo specific events in 1828 occurred, which in their finality, ended nearly athousand years of a somewhat tranquil life for our ancestors, the Cherokee, andother tribes in the southeastern area of this continent. The first ‘phenomena’which added fuel to the removal issue or extrication of the Cherokee was thediscovery of gold by the white man, on Cherokee land, near Dahlonega,in northeast Georgia. In 1958 the citizens of Dahlonega presented theState of Georgia with a gift of gold. The metal was pounded into thinsheets and attached to the top of the State House in Atlanta. Today agold dome remains as a lasting symbol to the first of the gold rushesin America. Cherokee Gold.The Cherokee controlled the land in the gold region, but by 1830 more than300 ounces a day were being produced in the area, and not by the Cherokee.The Georgia legislature began to plan their removal almost immediately afterthe discovery of gold. They passed under Governor Gilmer the mostoppressive Enabling Acts. These acts were designed to rid the State of Georgiaof a “Blight of Humanity” (the Cherokee).The other devastating event of 1828 was Andrew Jackson's election asPresident of the United States of America.Together these two events spelled doom for the Cherokee and the four othertribes (known as, The Five Civilized Tribes) of the southeast region of the U.S.– Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Seminole.The reason the discovery of gold would prompt such ill feelings toward thetrue owners of the land was pure and simple ~ Greed. But the reason forPresident Jackson’s hatred of the Indian is not quite as simple. In fact, no oneknows for sure why he had such a hatred for the Indians ~ particularly theCherokee.

Gold Mines of Creighton in Cherokee County, Georgia

Pumpkin BreadMakes 1 loaf: Ingredients1½ cups sugar½ cup oil1 cup pumpkin filling2 eggs⅓ cup water1 tspn salt¾ cup whole wheat flour1¼ cups white flour1 teaspoon baking soda¼ teaspoon baking powder½ cup raisins, dried apples,or dried cranberries½ cup walnuts, chopped½ teaspoon each cinnamon,ground cloves, and nutmegInstructions: Preheat ovento 300° F .1. In a large bowl, combinesugar, oil, pumpkin, eggs,and water; mix well.2. In another bowl, mixwhole wheat flour, whiteflour, baking soda, and salt.3. Add the dry ingredientsto the pumpkin mixture andstir until moistened. Pourbatter into greased loaf pan.4. Bake for 1 hour, or untila knife inserted in thecenter of the loaf comes outclean.5. Cool thoroughly beforeslicing.

Copyright 1951 byMuseum of the Cherokee

Indian

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A Look back in Time: Continued

Two decades earlier, the Cherokee supported the U.S. during the War of1812, and Gen. Jackson, after his successes in New Orleans, becamecommander of the U.S. forces in the Red Stick Creek wars at the Battleof Horseshoe Bend in 1814. His adjutant during this engagement wasLt. John Ross. Jackson’s forces consisted of 600 Cherokee and LowerCreek tribal members.During the battle General Jackson was directing the frontal attack of a RedStick fortification that had been built within the projection of land created by abend in the Tallapoosa River in eastern Alabama. The Cherokee and U.S.forces were directing the Cherokee attack on the rear of the fortification butwere faced with crossing the river itself. Junaluska and two other warriorsswam the river in the dark, and took the canoes in spite of gunfire from theRed Stick Creeks, which wounded one of the three Cherokee, a man namedWhale.This brave action gave Jackson the upper hand in what had been a dismalsituation. In the ensuing battle Junaluska drove his tomahawk through the skullof a Creek warrior when the Red Stick Creek had General Jackson in his sightsand at his mercy.Nearly twenty years later the 1830 Indian Removal Act became law at theurging of President Andrew Jackson. Principal Chief, John Ross, tried andfailed to get an audience with the President to plead his case. At which time heasked Chief Junaluska (the man who had saved the President’s life) to make anattempt to convince the President that removal to an unknown land a thousandmiles away was not in the best interest of the Cherokee people. PresidentJackson did grant Junaluska an audience and heard his plea, but curtly endedthe meeting, saying, "Sir, your audience is ended. There is nothing I canor will do for you." The fate of our beloved Cherokee was sealed.This is Hopefully, this will pique your interest in wishing to read more aboutour history in the newsletter and elsewhere. Wado ~ Bruce Ross (Kuwiskuwi)

You can find more of Bruce's excellent Cherokee histories at http://www.kuwiskuwi.net/

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YourNameHere!

To promote support ofNative enterprises andbusiness people theVSC Newsletter ispublishing businesscards of members andaffiliates in both theprint and electronicversions. Placement ofbusiness card ads is $5per issue. Placementof job listings is free.If you would like tohave your cardpublished pleasecontact the [email protected]

Classifieds

VSC is currently raising funds for the organizationthrough the sale of branded T­shirts. The shirt frontdesign is titled "One Family" by Marie Buchfink.The VSC logo is on the back. The T­shirts may bepurchased for $25. They are made of 100%preshrunk heavyweight cotton and come in sizesM, L, XL, and 2XL.

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I humbly thank you all for being here. The two most important women in my life werejust introduced: my wife and my mother. I have been truly blessed to have the mostloving, giving and wise mother and the most supportive, loving and compassionatewife of any man.There is no question that I am standing here today because of my mother’s love andguiding hand. And, I know that Sherry will serve our people with the same grace andgenerous heart that she has shown our family. I have been so blessed with ninegrandchildren–whose parents are my three daughters, Lacee Jarvis, Angie Baker, andBrooke Crocker, and my three sons: John Ross Baker, BJ Baker and Brian Robertson.Little did I know that to help prepare me to lead the Cherokee Nation, my two mucholder brothers, Tim and Donn Baker made me prove my mettle every day in every waywhen we were growing up!Will my entire family please stand and be recognized?With enormous gratitude I thank my family and all of you here today who worked sohard for a new day for the Cherokee Nation. I am greatly honored to represent ourCherokee Nation to all nations–native and national. To each of our visiting Indianbrothers and sisters who traveled across Oklahoma and America I speak for allCherokees when I say thank you for joining us.Thank you to our veterans, our warriors. I ask that all the men and women who haveworn or are wearing our country’s uniform stand at this time. We thank you for yourvaliant service and salute your commitment to our country and peace. Because of yoursacrifice, we are free to celebrate this historic day.Many years ago, a true Cherokee treasure – Deputy Chief Hastings Shade – shared hiswisdom and his dream with those of us attending a joint council of the Eastern Bandand the Cherokee Nation. His words have lived in my heart since that day. He said:“Today, our circle is broken because our brothers and sisters from the UnitedKeetoowah Band are not with us. I dream of a day when our circle is complete and westand united.I am honored to say that with the presence of Chief Hicks and Chief Wickliffe today,our circle is complete and under my administration, we will always work together forall Cherokees. May you rest in peace Brother Hastings, your dream has come true.

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Principal Chief Bill John Baker was sworn in on Novermber6th and outlined his plans and vision for the future of theCherokee Nation in the following inaugural address:

Kid’s KornerDecember Gatheringwill give the kids anopportunity to showtheir love andappreciation for thosethat care for them bymaking a ChristmasGift. Be sure to markyour calendar onDecember 10th from11:00 to 2:00.There will be a“White Elephant GiftExchange” for all whowould like toparticipate.Gift maximum cost of$10.

Cherokee WordsThe Cherokees countto five by saying:Sagwu, Ta'li, Tso'i,Nvgi, Hisgi.Other basic wordsinclude: asgaya (man),agehya (woman), gihli(dog), nvda (sun ormoon), ama (water),unega (white),dalonige (yellow),gigage (red), gvhnige(black), agi'a (eat),agowatiha (see),atvgi'a (hear) anddekanogi'a (sing).

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For too long, the First Americans have been the last Americans to share in theAmerican dream. We were marched from our homelands, stripped of ourlanguages, and forgotten. We struggled to even have power run to ourcommunities because for too long, we had no power with the federalgovernment. Yet our strength and spirituality was a force in the formation of anew country built around us, called the United States. Our values and kindnesswere sometimes taken advantage of but we represented this land given to us byour Creator for thousands of years with dignity and decency.Very basic to ourCherokee belief system is the premise that good is rewarded and evil ispunished. Our good is being rewarded today with economic opportunity but wehave many miles to go before the wrongs are righted. We simply ask the UnitedStates government to always respect our sovereignty. We operate as nation tonation. We earned that right with our resolve, our blood and our tears.As you all know we just finished a tough election. We made national news andquite honestly it was not always a positive image. But that is behind us. Nowwe link arms and march forward. We heal.On a personal note, to Chief Smith and Bobbie Gail: thank you for thesacrifices you made for all of us. I applaud both of you and know that we are ina better place thanks to your service to our nation.I also want to thank my dear friends Deputy Chief Joe Crittenden and our mostrecent First Lady, Lynda Crittenden. Joe leaned strongly into a hard wind andrepresented our nation with honor and grace during two very difficult months.After what Joe went through, he will tell you no one in America is happier tolose a title and have his salary cut than he isThank you Joe.And now to my fellow Cherokees. I've always said that we come from one fire.If you voted against me, I respect that and only ask that you now give me anopportunity to gain your trust. I know what I want for all of our people and Ibelieve you want the same.Here is my vision for our nation:No child will go to bed hungry.No elder will have to choose between medicine and staying warm.No Cherokee will be ignorant of our culture and history.I see a nation where:All Cherokees will be cherished regardless of where they live.Where all Cherokees will be respected regardless of blood quantum.Where all Cherokees will be treated as family. Because we are.

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Inaugural Address Continued

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Dentures, eyeglasses and mammograms are not luxury items but necessities,and they will be provided to those who need them. I understand it's better toteach a man to fish than to give him a fish. But let's remember, he must eatwhile learning to bait a hook. There are no ATM Cherokees. I'm not concernedwith whether it's a hand out or a hand up. I'm going to offer a hand. That's whoI am. That's what I'll do. That will be my guiding principle. My priorities aredifferent than what we have seen for the past 40 years. My first week in office Isigned two executive orders–the first one allowed Cherokee employees to speakwith Tribal Council members about their jobs which some six years ago wasforbidden.The second executive order gives our employees rights under the CherokeeConstitution that were previously stripped from them when they came to workfor the nation. I pledge to rebuild and refocus our housing authority. Not longago we had a world­class housing authority and we will again. We will startbuilding houses for those who need them the most. It’s about our families, ournation and our future.And while we are building houses–I will aggressively push for more profitsfrom our companies so more money can go to our people. Expanding casinosthat are already doing well doesn't mean they will make more money. We aregoing to rethink our business strategy, our investment strategy and our gamingstrategy. Why? Because we are going to work even harder to squeeze moredollars out of our businesses and gaming to use those dollars for you. Ourgovernment exists to serve you.I'll make the changes even when it’s tough. I will bring in the brightest minds tocreate the greatest return on investment possible. I have high expectations forCNE and CNB. It is my goal to double the non­gaming revenue as quickly ascan safely be done. I promise you I will watch the bottom line closely and bringa new level of research, marketing and technology to our effort that is wellbeyond what we have done in the past. We owe it to those who came before usand those who will follow. Our history is proud. Today we stand in a schoolnamed after one of our most honored and revered ancestors: Sequoyah, whowas the creator of the Cherokee syllabary in 1821. In 1828, we published thefirst newspaper in an American Indian language. One hundred years ago, ourschools were so superior that our white neighbors paid tuition to send theirchildren to us to educate.Both of my parents were teachers. I watched them work long hours for little paybecause they believed you must give more than you take. I will focus oneducating Cherokee children and setting an example for them. And oneexample is keeping your word.I made five promises in the campaign and 17days ago, when I was sworn in, I began keeping those promises.

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Inaugural Address Continued

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Financial Report as ofDec 2nd, 2011Balance in bank:$1,074.26Membership Report asof October 4th, 2011Number of Members:99

First was to sell the nation’s plane. Well, the plane is grounded! We have had itappraised and are currently taking bids.Second was to build houses for Cherokees by Cherokees. Last week, we hadalmost $38 million in HUD money released from the federal government. Andwe will reactivate the Housing Authority to start building hundreds of homes.Third I promised to more fully audit the nation’s books as a way to streamlinegovernment and find more money to help our people. This week I nominatedLacey Horn, a talented CPA, to be the nation’s new Treasurer. Lacey and herstaff will work day and night to make sure that every dollar is accounted for andthat waste is eliminated.Fourth, I promised to put more money into contract health and I'm pleased toreport that the Tribal Council last week approved my legislation to take 5 percentof casino profits to be earmarked for contract health. That act will be the first actI sign as chief of the Cherokee Nation.Fifth, I promised to provide our elders in need a $200 stipend every six months.I've directed my staff to begin the process of creating that program and I canreport that we are on it.I'd like to make a sixth promise. I will work every minute of every day to makeour nation as great as it can be. I pray that I will have the wisdom of our elders,the courage of those who walked the Trail before me, and I pray that God willalways be my guide. I can't do it alone. I need your help. I need your ideas. And Ineed your prayers.Together and only together will we take the Cherokee Nation from good to great.God Bless each and every one of youGod Bless AmericaAnd God Bless our Cherokee NationPrincipal Chief Bill John BakerNovember 6th, 2011

Inaugural Address Continued

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HorizonsVSC Monthly Gatherings: Save the Date: Time: Location:

Saturday, Dec 10th 11:00­2:00 TBDCherokee National History Course: Tuscon. Arizona. January 28­29th, Febuary 11­12th. Location TBD. Rgistration isfree. For more information call: 918­453­5389Phoenix Indian Center Dine Culture Night ­ Dine Christmas Night: December 22nd, 4520 North Central Ave, Phoenix,AZ. All day event.

A man of medicine leads us in our prayers, song and thanks. He speaks his silentprayer asking the spirits of the 4 directions to help him carry the prayers tothecreator. He asks the sun father and star nation of the skies to also help carrythe prayers of thanks. He asks the mother of us all to give herblessing and helpcarry the prayers and for the Tsa la gi, the 7 th spirit. Sometimes called indifferent ways it is the power within us, the power around us it is that of ourbeings our own spirit, it is also asked tohelp carry our prayers and bless us thisday.As the sun rises and we stand facing the east we sing. We sing a song ofwelcome to the sun and we pray. It is time to thank the creator for the food storesthat will get us thru the winter and to thank the creatures of the earth for givingtheirlives so that we and our families may live. It is time to thank the earthmother for being good to us and for the plant people she provides us that healand nourish us.We pray around the fire and and give thanks for all these things and we pray forthe coming year and that it may be good to the earth mother. For if it is good toher, it will be good for us and the creatures of the earth. We also at this timethank the Corn Mothers for providing us with her corn, which is a large part ofour daily nourishment.We share grits passed to show that we are grateful and toforgive the things of the past. We will sing and pray and perhaps dance this day,as we are grateful to the spirits and show our love for the earth and one another.It is another passing of the seasons.One more way we give thanks near this day called Christmas.

Souce: Dianna Wolfe, diannawolfe.com/sheo­xmas.html­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

Talking Leaves wishes you and yours the happiest of holidays!

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