Signs of Cherokee Culture

Signs of Cherokee Culture PDF Author: Margaret Bender
Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Press
ISBN: 0807860050
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 212

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Book Description
Based on extensive fieldwork in the community of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in western North Carolina, this book uses a semiotic approach to investigate the historic and contemporary role of the Sequoyan syllabary--the written system for representing the sounds of the Cherokee language--in Eastern Cherokee life. The Cherokee syllabary was invented in the 1820s by the respected Cherokee Sequoyah. The syllabary quickly replaced alternative writing systems for Cherokee and was reportedly in widespread use by the mid-nineteenth century. After that, literacy in Cherokee declined, except in specialized religious contexts. But as Bender shows, recent interest in cultural revitalization among the Cherokees has increased the use of the syllabary in education, publications, and even signage. Bender also explores the role played by the syllabary within the ever more important context of tourism. (The Eastern Cherokee Band hosts millions of visitors each year in the Great Smoky Mountains.) English is the predominant language used in the Cherokee community, but Bender shows how the syllabary is used in special and subtle ways that help to shape a shared cultural and linguistic identity among the Cherokees. Signs of Cherokee Culture thus makes an important contribution to the ethnographic literature on culturally specific literacies.

Signs of Cherokee Culture

Signs of Cherokee Culture PDF Author: Margaret Bender
Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Press
ISBN: 0807860050
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 212

Get Book Here

Book Description
Based on extensive fieldwork in the community of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in western North Carolina, this book uses a semiotic approach to investigate the historic and contemporary role of the Sequoyan syllabary--the written system for representing the sounds of the Cherokee language--in Eastern Cherokee life. The Cherokee syllabary was invented in the 1820s by the respected Cherokee Sequoyah. The syllabary quickly replaced alternative writing systems for Cherokee and was reportedly in widespread use by the mid-nineteenth century. After that, literacy in Cherokee declined, except in specialized religious contexts. But as Bender shows, recent interest in cultural revitalization among the Cherokees has increased the use of the syllabary in education, publications, and even signage. Bender also explores the role played by the syllabary within the ever more important context of tourism. (The Eastern Cherokee Band hosts millions of visitors each year in the Great Smoky Mountains.) English is the predominant language used in the Cherokee community, but Bender shows how the syllabary is used in special and subtle ways that help to shape a shared cultural and linguistic identity among the Cherokees. Signs of Cherokee Culture thus makes an important contribution to the ethnographic literature on culturally specific literacies.

Eastern Cherokee Stories

Eastern Cherokee Stories PDF Author: Sandra Muse Isaacs
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 0806165529
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 371

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Book Description
“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.

We Are Grateful

We Are Grateful PDF Author: Traci Sorell
Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group
ISBN: 1430144149
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 32

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Book Description
This authentic, loving celebration of gratitude & community—written by a citizen of the Cherokee nation—follows celebrations and experiences through the seasons of a year, underscoring the traditions and ways of Cherokee life.

Cherokee Astrology

Cherokee Astrology PDF Author: Raven Hail
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1591439280
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
Explains the ancient astrological system sacred to the Cherokee and how to use it in the modern world • Provides easy-to-use format for determining what signs and numbers rule the day of your birth and what influence they have on your destiny • Includes a traditional Cherokee ephemeris through 2015 An essential aspect of Cherokee religion is the belief that everything on Earth is the reflection of a star. This includes not only people and animals but also trees, rivers, stones, and mountains--all sentient beings to the Cherokee. Astrology has always played a strong role in the Cherokee tradition because of this belief, but unlike our Western system of astrology, Cherokee astrology is based on a 260-day Venus calendar, which includes 20 individual day signs and 13 numbers. It was the task of the Cherokee daykeeper to coordinate this calendar with those of the Sun and the Moon to determine the most auspicious times for ceremonies as well as to understand the star wisdom carried back to Earth by each newborn child. The day sign of a child explains his or her strengths and weaknesses; the number explains the individual’s role in the great cosmic scheme. Raven Hail, an elder of the Cherokee nation, provides insightful descriptions for each of the twenty signs that identify characteristics of those born under a particular day sign and gives the meanings of the thirteen numbers that determine the significance of that sign in the larger scheme of life. The author has translated the traditional Cherokee ephemeris into an easy-to-use format that allows readers to quickly determine which sign rules the day of their birth and which number has influence over it.

Cherokee Women

Cherokee Women PDF Author: Theda Perdue
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 9780803235861
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 270

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Book Description
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.

Sequoyah and His Talking Leaves

Sequoyah and His Talking Leaves PDF Author: Wim Coleman
Publisher: Red Chair Press
ISBN: 1939656370
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 44

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Book Description
In the early 1800s, white settlers and missionaries were intent on bringing the English language to the illiterate Native Americans. Sequoyah was intrigued by these leaves of paper with strange marks that talked. Doing what no one had ever done before, Sequoyah set about creating a written Cherokee language—helping preserve the tribe's history and culture even today.

The Cherokee and Their History

The Cherokee and Their History PDF Author: Mary Englar
Publisher: Capstone
ISBN: 9780756512736
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 52

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Book Description
Discusses the origin, history, daily life, customs, and future of the Cherokee Indians.

Cherokee Indian Magic Symbols: Native American Composition - 7.44 X 9.69 - Wide Ruled - 120 Pages

Cherokee Indian Magic Symbols: Native American Composition - 7.44 X 9.69 - Wide Ruled - 120 Pages PDF Author: Grimbutterfly Books
Publisher: Independently Published
ISBN: 9781794652897
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 122

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Book Description
The original artistic vision of Indian Native American magic symbols with a dream catcher and a Cherokee warrior. Great for lovers of Native American people, culture, and imagery, as well as those who have Cherokee blood in their veins.

Where the Dead Sit Talking

Where the Dead Sit Talking PDF Author: Brandon Hobson
Publisher: Soho Press
ISBN: 1616958871
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
With his single mother in jail, Sequoyah, a 15-year-old Cherokee boy, is placed in foster care with the Troutt family. Literally and figuratively scarred by his unstable upbringing, Sequoyah has spent years mostly keeping to himself, living with his emotions pressed deep below the surface - that is, until he meets 17-year-old Rosemary, another youth staying with the Troutts. Sequoyah and Rosemary bond over their shared Native American background and tumultuous paths through the foster care system, but as Sequoyah's feelings towards Rosemary deepen, the precariousness of their lives and the scars of their pasts threaten to undo them both.

Eastern Band Cherokee Women

Eastern Band Cherokee Women PDF Author: Virginia Moore Carney
Publisher: Univ. of Tennessee Press
ISBN: 9781572333321
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
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.