Long Ago Stories Of The Eastern Cherokee

Tragically, relatively little of this flourishing nation and its rich culture has survived. Its stories, however, live on today. In this priceless and engaging collection, native Cherokee and professional storyteller Lloyd Arneach recounts tales such as how the bear lost his long bushy tail and how the first strawberry came to be.

“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.

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.

Includes bibliographical references.

To be from Appalachia—to be at home there and to love it passionately—informs the narratives of each of the sixteen storytellers featured in this work. Their stories are rich in the lore of the past, deeply influenced by family, especially their grandparents, and the ancient mountains they saw every day of their lives as they were growing up.

"According to Cherokee tradition, the place of creation is Kituwah, located at the center of the world and home of the most sacred and oldest of all beloved or mother towns. Just by entering Kituwah, or indeed any village site, Cherokees reexperience the creation of the world, when the water beetle first surfaced with a piece of mud that later became the island on which they lived. People of Kituwah is a comprehensive account of the spiritual worldview and lifeways of the Eastern Cherokee people, from the creation of the world to today. Building on vast primary and secondary materials, native and non-native, this book provides an in-depth look not only at what the Cherokees perceive and understand--their notions of space and time, marriage and love, death and the afterlife, healing and traditional medicine, and rites and ceremonies--but also at how their religious life evolved both before and after the calamitous coming of colonialism and Christianity. Through the collaborative efforts of John D. Loftin and Benjamin E. Frey, this book offers an in-depth understanding of Cherokee culture and society"--

Parents and teachers can use this book to engage children with the world outside by opening their eyes to fascinating common bird species. Once upon a time, common bird species all had well-known stories associated with them. Legends and folklore about birds abound in almost every culture. It's likely their ability to fly, their beauty and grace, their distinctive and puzzling calls, and the fact that they live all around us is what makes them popular subjects for fables. This book presents a sampling of traditional bird tales retold in a fresh way that makes them especially relevant and memorable for today's children. Each story is complemented by a "Feathered Fact File," a "Backyard Bird Watching Tip" for kids, a classroom/home school activity suggestion, and a story sharing suggestion for parents and teachers. The teaching activities are designed with flexibility so that they may be used to either introduce new concepts of science and math or reinforce familiar concepts in a hands-on fashion. Reading selections are written at third to fourth grade reading levels, but are designed to engage both younger listeners and older readers.

Retelling 30 myths and legends of the Eastern Cherokee, this book presents the stories with important details providing a culturally authentic and historically accurate context. Background information is given within each story so the reader may avoid reliance on glossaries, endnotes, or other explanatory aids. The reader may thus experience the stories more as their original audiences would have. This approach to adapting traditional literature derives from ideas found in reader-response and translation theory and from research in cognitive psychology and sociolinguistics.