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 A
meeting of the Cherokee Wolf Clan, based in Yuma,
Tennessee, brings as diverse a population as one might see
at any local gathering, with hair and eye coloring of
members as likely to be blond or red as the dark coloring
typically associated with Native Americans. More telling
is the clothing worn at the events, ranging from
pre-European leather, to the tear dresses and ribbon
shirts that are the traditional dress of the Cherokee, to
modern attire and even cowboy regalia.
The sometimes visibly indiscernible bond of American
Indian ancestry - whether near or generations removed -
finds expression in the spirit of fellowship that is
immediately apparent among the group of kindred spirits,
with the group's common goals as laudible as the personal
accomplishment of the individual members: this one works
with disabled children, that one does volunteer work with
children and adult victims of HIV, these spend free time
traveling to West Tennessee elementary schools to educate
children in Native American arts and culture.
"As Native Americans, we are our brother's keeper," says
Chief Joseph Manycoats Walters who praises local grocery
stores for their assistance in helping the clan assemble
ten boxes of groceries for needy families during the
Thanksgiving holiday.
Chief Joseph's wife of forty-four years, Peggy Blue Moon,
softly explains the Thanksgiving project as a larger-scale
undertaking of what the clan does for people every day.
Her husband elaborates, "People get hungry 365 days a year
- they need clothes every day."
The Cherokee Wolf Clan strives to meet that need as often
as they can, with the help of members that span the
country from coast to coast and from northern to southern
boundaries. In their meeting hall, a building that was
once a store belonging to Peggy's grandmother, a map of
the United States is thickly dotted with colorful tacks
showing the areas of the country in which members reside.
In the upturned shell of a tortoise (who died a natural
death) burns heavenly-smelling sweet grass. Along the
walls are Indian art and artifacts, the Cherokee alphabet
and tools for learning the language.
 Chief
Joseph and Peggy are passionate in their quest to educate
anyone interested in the ways of the Cherokee; in their
language, songs and philosophies. Their own desire to
return to the ways of the ancestors brought the pair to
rural Yuma in 1988 after years of city-living in Illinois,
where both had settled as youths when their parents
relocated from southern states to work for the Caterpillar
company.
The former Tennessee girl and Kentucky boy met, fell in
love and married when he was just 16 and she was 17. Over
the years, the pair followed the pursuit of "things" until
they decided enough was enough.
"We were trying to get two VCRs, a half dozen TV sets, a
half dozen cars - we didn't want that - we wanted peace
and quiet," relates Chief Joseph, who is three-quarters
Cherokee and Choctaw.
 They
began studying the ways of the Indian, in time buying the
home and store in Yuma where they set up the Cherokee Wolf
Clan headquarters, a Native American clan that
accepts persons of Indian descent regardless of the
percentage of blood in their background, as opposed to
many other Indian groups. For those whose ancestry is
purely European or African in origin, the clan offers
associate memberships, feeling that following the beliefs
and ways of the American Indian are more important than
blood lines.
Indeed, the concept of "blood quantum" as a qualification
of status as a Native American is an issue high on the
agenda of many of America's earliest peoples. According to
one source representing Native Americans, "Native America
does not believe that the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs)
or any other government organization has the right to
determine who is or is not Native American by degree of
blood. There is no other group in America that is ever
asked who they are by how much blood... Blood quantum does
not determine who and what Indians are. Only Native
societies and /or communities have the sovereign right to
determine who is and who isn't a part of their nation,
tribe, clan, or community... Every indigenous nation had
and has a process for accepting, or adopting outsiders
into the fold. From mixed blood Indians through
intermarriage, to like-minded people of other races,
indigenous communities and nations must determine 'who is
Indian'."
 Unlike
any other group of American citizens, American Indians are
forced to prove their lineage and are issued cards to
prove the authenticity of their bloodlines. This practice,
along with the fact that many tribes are officially
unrecognized by the federal government, threatens the
American Indian with eventual extinction as more Indians
intermarry, diluting the "quantum blood" percentage of
their descendants. Even Indians with full blood whose
primary lineage falls within a group unrecognized by the
federal government is denied his or her own heritage as an
American Indian.
 These
issues and others are covered in the clan's monthly
newsletter, "The Wolf Clan Howls", and debated in the
Cherokee Wolf Clan Website (www.cherokeewolfclan.org). The
newsletter offers many informational and educational items
as well as humor, current events and recipes. The
children's section of the newsletter, "Wolf Cub News",
includes news, legends, lessons in the Cherokee alphabet
and more. "The Chief Speaks" is a section reserved for the
more serious issues confronting Indians today such as
educating members in the legal aspects of Indian affairs,
and includes personal messages by Chief Joseph that
underscore the values by which he leads.
"For the benefit of our people, and for the people to come
after us in our land, and for those who care to learn, we
want to be known as proud keepers of mother earth and
faithful to God... Our faith in God expresses itself in
attitude toward other human beings, and animals, in fact,
all living things, and the earth as our mother... 'All
things are connected.'
"What is the ultimate value of a man's life?" he asks,
answering his own question in saying, "When I make my
personal decisions in terms of my spiritual being instead
of property, I have made a start."
 The
Indians' belief in God is a fact that has sustained them
as far back (and beyond) as "The Trail of Tears" when
Christian hymns sung in the rhythmic chant of the Cherokee
language gave strength during the long, winter march
westward.
As a part of their mission, Chief Joseph and Peggy provide
songbooks in which verses in the Cherokee language are set
to the tunes of popular Christian hymns like Amazing
Grace, At the Cross, Sweet Hour of Prayer and Jesus Loves
me, among many others. The booklets include translations
of the phonetic representations of the Cherokee words and
contain historical accounts of the songs and the
Cherokee's Christian heritage.
 Even
before the introduction of Christianity by European
missionaries, men observed striking similarities between
the Cherokee traditions and religious ceremonies and those
practiced by the Jewish population in Old Testament times,
leading some (including James Adair who wrote History of
the American Indian) to conclude that the Indian race was
derived from the scattered tribes of Israel after
Solomon's reign, "when the peoples had fallen into idol
worship and the keeping of religious rites without
meaning."
Among other similarities, Adair noted their worship of
"Jehovah, using the word Ye ho wah in their chants."
The Cherokee language, as set out in the songbooks and
other written texts, was the creation of the legendary,
Tennessee-born, Cherokee genius, Sequoyah. Unable to read
or write when he first observed European settlers putting
words to paper, Sequoyah set out to make available to his
own people the "talking leaves" of the white man.
"Never in the history of man, as it is recorded, has one
individual brought a whole nation out of illiteracy," says
one source.
Chief Joseph hands down a humorous account of Sequoyah's
struggles in establishing the Cherokee alphabet. For
months, he said, Sequoyah sequestered himself in the task
of setting the Cherokee language into symbols, neglecting
work and family in the process. As sheaves of paper grew
in his workshop as he sought to tackle the chore, success
continually escaped him, until, leaving his shop
unattended one day, his angry wife burned the building to
the ground, and with it, all the research he had
accomplished.
 It
was just what Sequoyah needed to break through the
stalemate he had encountered. Forced to begin anew, his
efforts produced the alphabet with which he led his people
to literacy.
Like Sequoyah, Chief Joseph has a vision for the future:
"We want to keep our heritage and culture from vanishing
from the face of the earth. We hope to keep the language
alive by teaching the Cherokee language to members both
old and young that want to learn it. We wish to continue
the dances, storytelling, singing, and gatherings to
celebrate the national holidays of the Cherokee people."
Chief among the dreams of the Cherokee Wolf Clan is the
establishment of a village where traditional Native
American crafts can be both practiced and taught. He hopes
to construct cabins on almost 200 acres of land bordering
the Natchez Trace State Park with a council house for
meetings, and a clearing for native stomp dances. The
establishment of a Native American church through which
all activities will be accomplished is the highest of all
the clan's goals.
In the meantime, the group's focus remains on education,
gathering new members and helping those in need.
The Cherokee Wolf Clan welcomes anyone with American
Indian ancestry into their fold, as well as those with a
sincere desire to learn the ways of the Indian.
 Enrolled
members receive a certificate as well as a photo ID card
with their own registered roll number of the Cherokee Wolf
Clan with associated benefits and responsibilities.
Meetings of the Cherokee Wolf Clan are generally held on
the third Saturday of each month with members coming from
as far away as Nashville to participate in the events.
Members join in providing finger foods and non-alcoholic
beverages for fellowship after the meetings.
Says Chief Joseph, "If you have Native American blood, but
cannot prove any direct link to the Native rolls (Dawes
roll) to get a membership card or a Registered Certificate
of Indian blood (C.D.I.B) then check out the Cherokee Wolf
Clan at www.cherokeewolfclan.org. If our historians cannot
find direct proof, they will send your application to the
twelve member tribal council who then vote to accept or
reject the application. If accepted, they send your
application to the register who issues your Membership
card and C.D.I.B papers. Our cards are used in szchools,
courts, prisons, in every state we have members."
 "We
know how hard it is to prove blood lines," says Chief
Joseph, who explains that many Native Americans evaded
registration or misrepresented their degree of ancestry in
order to avoid discrimination when the rolls were
established in the late 1800s.
For more information about the Cherokee Wolf Clan, see
www.cherokeewolfclan.org of the worldwide web, or contact
Chief Joseph and Peggy at 731-986-9166 or by email at
josephmanycoats@cherokeewolfclan.org. |
