This is the first ethnographic study of Snowbird, North Carolina, a remote mountain community of Cherokees who are regarded as simultaneously the most traditional and the most adaptive members of the entire tribe. Through historical research, contemporary fieldwork, and situational analysis, Sharlotte Neely explains the Snowbird paradox and portrays the inhabitants' daily lives and culture. At the core of her study are detailed examinations of two expressions of Snowbird's cultural self-awareness--its ongoing struggle for fair political representation on the tribal council and its yearly Trail of Tears Singing, a gathering point for all North Carolina and Oklahoma Cherokees concerned with cultural conservation.

This is the first ethnographic study of Snowbird, North Carolina, a remote mountain community of Cherokees who are regarded as simultaneously the most traditional and the most adaptive members of the entire tribe. Through historical research, contemporary fieldwork, and situational analysis, Sharlotte Neely explains the Snowbird paradox and portrays the inhabitants' daily lives and culture. At the core of her study are detailed examinations of two expressions of Snowbird's cultural self-awareness--its ongoing struggle for fair political representation on the tribal council and its yearly Trail of Tears Singing, a gathering point for all North Carolina and Oklahoma Cherokees concerned with cultural conservation.

First published in 1956, this book traces the progress of the Cherokee people, beginning with their native social and political establishments, and gradually unfurling to include their assimilation into “white civilization.” Henry Thompson Malone deals mainly with the social developments of the Cherokees, analyzing the processes by which they became one of the most civilized Native American tribes. He discusses the work of missionaries, changes in social customs, government, education, language, and the bilingual newspaper The Cherokee Phoenix. The book explains how the Cherokees developed their own hybrid culture in the mountainous areas of the South by inevitably following in the white man's footsteps while simultaneously holding onto the influences of their ancestors.

Susannah Pelton is a woman alone, a woman who’s lost everyone she loves and has become wary of entanglements. Ryan Whitepath is a Cherokee, member of a close family and a vibrant community, a man who cares about his little girl, Nia, above all else. Because of her mother’s death, Nia is emotionally ill, but Ryan’s grandmother tells him a redbird with a broken wing will heal his daughter. Ryan dismisses her vision—until redheaded Susannah shows up on their North Carolina mountain with her wrist in a cast. Nia seems to connect with Susannah, who agrees to stay until Christmas. But Ryan wants to change that to forever—for his own reasons as well as Nia’s!

For the first time, the voices of Eastern Band Cherokee women receive their proper due. A watershed event, this book unearths three centuries of previously unknown and largely ignored speeches, letters, and other writings from Eastern Band Cherokee women. Like other Native American tribes, the Cherokees endured numerous hardships at the hands of the United States government. As their heritage came under assault, so did their desire to keep their traditions. The Eastern Band Cherokees were no exception, and at the forefront of their struggle were their women. Eastern Band Cherokee Women analyzes how the women of the Eastern Band served as honored members of the tribe, occupying both positions of leadership and respect. Carney shows how in the early 1800s women leaders, such as Beloved Nancy Ward, battled to retain her people’s heritage and sovereignty. Other women, such as Catharine Brown, a mission school student, discovered the power of the written word and thereby made themselves heard just as eloquently. Carney traces the voices of these women through the twentieth century, describing how Cherokees such as Marie Junaluska and Joyce Dugan have preserved a culture threatened by an increasingly homogenous society. This book is a fitting testament to their contributions. Eastern Band Cherokee Women stands out by demonstrating the overwhelming importance of women to the preservation of the Eastern Band. From passionate speeches to articulately drafted personal letters, Carney helps readers explore the many nuances of these timeless voices.

“Throughout our Cherokee history,” writes Joyce Dugan, former principal chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, “our ancient stories have been the essence of who we are.” These traditional stories embody the Cherokee concepts of Gadugi, working together for the good of all, and Duyvkta, walking the right path, and teach listeners how to understand and live in the world with reverence for all living things. In Eastern Cherokee Stories, Sandra Muse Isaacs uses the concepts of Gadugi and Duyvkta to explore the Eastern Cherokee oral tradition, and to explain how storytelling in this tradition—as both an ancient and a contemporary literary form—is instrumental in the perpetuation of Cherokee identity and culture. Muse Isaacs worked among the Eastern Cherokees of North Carolina, recording stories and documenting storytelling practices and examining the Eastern Cherokee oral tradition as both an ancient and contemporary literary form. For the descendants of those Cherokees who evaded forced removal by the U.S. government in the 1830s, storytelling has been a vital tool of survival and resistance—and as Muse Isaacs shows us, this remains true today, as storytelling plays a powerful role in motivating and educating tribal members and others about contemporary issues such as land reclamation, cultural regeneration, and language revitalization. The stories collected and analyzed in this volume range from tales of creation and origins that tell about the natural world around the homeland, to post-Removal stories that often employ Native humor to present the Cherokee side of history to Cherokee and non-Cherokee alike. The persistence of this living oral tradition as a means to promote nationhood and tribal sovereignty, to revitalize culture and language, and to present the Indigenous view of history and the land bears testimony to the tenacity and resilience of the Cherokee people, the Ani-Giduwah.

"Footsteps of the Cherokees divides the Cherokees' eastern homeland into 19 geographical sections and explores many of the historic Cherokee sites in these areas. Sites range from Moccasin Bend in Chattanooga, inhabited by Cherokees and earlier Indian cultures and considered one of the most important archaeological complexes within a United States city, to the Qualla Boundary, the home of the Eastern Cherokee reservation, where visitors can still experience the historic Cherokee culture. For each site, Rozema gives historical background, directions to the site, and the hours of operation and telephone numbers if the site is located within a park or museum area. The book also includes an overview of Cherokee history that sets the stage for the tours of the historic sites."--Back cover.