"They took the whole Cherokee Nation
Put us on this reservation Took away our ways of life The tomahawk and the bow and knife Took away our
native tongue Cherokee people, Cherokee tribe They took the whole Indian Nation Cherokee people, Cherokee tribe But maybe someday when they've learned John D. Loudermilk |
So goes a popular folk song of my childhood.
As a child, I knew little about my non European heritage. Until I was a teenager, the only thing I new about my heritage was that I was part Irish, nothing else. As I began my journey of discovery into the world unprotected by my childhood protectors, I learned that in addition to my Irish ancestry, I also had English, Dutch, and yes, Cherokee blood. My mother was born in Tahlequah,Oklahoma, the capital of the Cherokee Nation. She is 1/4 Cherokee along with some Choctaw. I learned this when I was fairly young. I was raised having no contact with Cherokee culture. Never the less, I've kept this knowledge near the front of my mind ever since I learned it. This website is my contribution to the people who I know only as an outsider. Years ago, I wanted to learn to speak Cherokee. Living in California, I had no access to anything Cherokee. In 1990, I moved to Maryland, where I now live. On my trek from the west coast to the East, I passed through Oklahoma on the great Interstate. I must have stopped at every sovenier along the way, but I did manage to collect several books along the way that presented Cherokee food, culture, and yes language. Not long after that, I met my wife. I decided to write her love letters, in Cherokee. I was immediately presented with a problem, I didn't speak Cherokee. I didn't read it either. I pulled out my collection of Cherokee books and soon discovered that looking up each word was very time consuming. My solution was to write this program in an attempt to be able to stumble my way through the language, just to write a couple of simple love notes. As I started to write it, the thought of bringing a modern touch to an ancient people was irresistable, especially since it was the only thing I could do for a people that I could never belong to, but am forever a part of. |