CCS Monthly Meeting

Thursday, September 7, 2000 7:00 p.m.
The Tracy Gee Community Center
3599 Westcenter, one block south of Richmond
east of the Sam Houston Tollway West Belt.
Free admission. Open to all interested persons. Newcomers are eligible for the door prize awarded at each meeting.

About the speaker:
Julia Coates, Staff Development Officer at the Cherokee Nation in Tahlequah, OK, is responsible for teaching the Nation's history courses to tribal employees, developing curriculum for the adult and professional level, developing additional teachers to team teach and teaching the course in the communities. Join us for this exciting meeting as we hear from a dedicated Cherokee who helps many understand who we are as Native people and where we have been on our long historical journey.

Other Events & Projects

• "Tobacco Education" will be the topic when the Native American Health Coalition meets at the Northwest Community Health Center, 1100 West 34 Street, Houston, September 12, 2000, 6:30 p.m. Refreshments will be served. Contact for details: Deborah Scott, 713-861-6667, e-mail dpscott@sageways.com

• The Shawl Society, which meets most months on the second Saturday, 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m., features crafts and friendship for women and men of all tribes. September will be an exception, when the group attends the Cherokee National Holiday in Tahlequah, OK, September 1-3. Contact Barbra (B.J.) Callihan, 281-208-1751 or e-mail trbjc@fondren.com to learn more about a special October trip to Tahlequah for an advanced basket weaving class.

• The Shakey Hollow Ceremonial Ground, near Conroe, TX, is the site of dances held the last Saturday of each month. Potluck dinner begins the evening. Call 281-399-1661. Maps are available.

• The Houston Area Chickasaw Community Council, represented by Lucy Wiley, invites visitors to attend their Council quarterly meetings at Two Shell Plaza. The growing organization meets next on Tuesday, October 24 at 6:00 p.m. For details, contact 713-864-3221 or lucywiley@aol.com

• Thursday, October 26, 3:00-7:00 p.m.: The Houston Museum of Natural Science will present its first Annual Anthropology Symposium. The theme will be "Power and Cultures", how indigenous people draw on their cultural heritage to address contemporary issues. Contact for details: Dorothy Lippert, 713-639-4659 or e-mail dlippert@hmns.org

• The Cherokee National Historical Society will honor K.S. "Bud" Adams, Jr. for his years of service on their Board of Trustees and Executive Committee; his donation of funds for Adams Corner Territorial Rural Village at the Heritage Center; and his continuing support of Cherokee artists and artisans. Chief Wilma Mankiller and C. W. "Bill" Flint are previous honorees. The Reception and Dinner will be held on Saturday, September 16, 2000, at Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, OK. Contact for further information: Cherokee Heritage Center, 1-888-999-6007.

NOTE: See Oklahoma Indian Times for pow wows and other Native events across Indian country.

Heritage Day

The event theme is linked to opening of the IMAX film "Wolves," about a Nez Perce Wolf Education Research Center in Idaho. Tribal member Levi Holt will discuss their program.

Expect no fee for the outside events, but visitors need a ticket to enter the Hall of the Americas inside the Museum. Adults pay $5; children 3-11 years and seniors 62 years and older pay $3. Museum information is available by calling 713-639-4629, or see their website.

Benefit Dinner

All Day Benefit Dinner Set for Saturday, September 23 at Hungry's Restaurant.

Recently, long time CCS member Joe Davis suffered a sudden heart attack, followed by emergency bypass surgery. Fortunately, our friend is recovering well. However, Joe and wife Patty lack health insurance. To offer our well wishes and assistance at this difficult time, CCS is having a benefit dinner at Hungry's Restaurant, 2356 Rice Boulevard in Houston's Rice University Village area. Come dine any time that day or evening, as a percentage of the dinner will go to the Joe Davis family. Those wishing to make a direct donation can send funds made payable to the Cherokee Cultural Society, noting the "Joe Davis Fund" as the recipient. Mail to CCS, P. O. Box 23187, Houston, TX 77228-3187. For questions, please contact one of our board members or your editor at vhenrichs@earthlink.net.

Hungry's features "healthy and tasty sandwiches, pastas and salads" in a casual, friendly setting with moderate prices. Their phone number is 713-523-8652. We look forward to seeing all of our friends on this occasion.

Web Gems

• The Southeastern Native Confederacy was formed to promote unity and exchange of information between people who have chosen to research, recreate and demonstrate the life ways and culture of the 18th century Southeastern Native American Tribes. Thanks to CCS board member Clabert Menard for alerting us to this site.

• See the newly revamped site of the Cherokee Nation. It is featured in the current issue of Yahoo! Internet Life Magazine, a leading national internet publication.

• The Cherokee Page provides a quick reference to many historical sites about Cherokees. Send useful Native American related sites to your editor: vhenrichs@earthlink.net We focus on educational rather than strictly commercial interests.

Annual CCS Election

The Serenity Prayer in Cherokee

(phonetic only)
God Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
u-ne-la-na-hi s-gv-si nv-wa-do-hi-ya-di o-s-da
a-yi-li-di ni-ga-di gv-gi-ne-tli-yv-s-di
ni-ge-s-sv-na ge-sv-i

The courage to change the things I can,
a-le u-tla-ni-gi-da a-quu-da-na-da-di-s-di
a-gi-ne-tli-yv-s-di na gv-gi-ne-tli-yv-s-di
ge-sv-i

and the wisdom to know the difference.
a-le a-ga-do-hv-ne-s-di a-quu-nv-da
yu-li-s-do-si d-u-da-le-hna-v-i

From "Cultural Tidbits" forwarded from the Cherokee Nation Cultural Resource Center. Contact cultural@cherokee.org

Monumental Milestones

It finally happened. Oklahoma recognizes and makes further peace with the Native Indian population by planning a "generic male Indian image" to adorn the top of a new state capitol building dome in Oklahoma City. Completion is scheduled for 2002. The August 22, 2000 Tulsa World quoted former Principal Chief Wilma Mankiller as saying it is a tribute "to all of the Indian people in the state." Many Oklahomans, she noted, think state history began with the late 1800 Land Run, "and they have little idea of the rich Native American history that predates that." The privately funded statue, which will cost about $300,000, will avoid identifying any specific tribe or individual. There had been a movement to use the likeness of Will Rogers or another famous state Native American. Current Cherokee Nation Chief Chad Smith suggested that the statue face east, in the direction of original homelands of many Oklahoma tribes. Various tribal leaders agree that it is a major step forward in positive relations between the state and the Native tribes.

Excerpts from an article entitled "Capitol Dome: Indian Statue Selection Gains Support from Tribal Leaders," by Rob Martindale in the Tulsa World Online, (August 22, 2000)

Yes, We Do Need Volunteers!

Current Opportunities:
• Volunteers can enjoy lots of fun on the September 9 Heritage Day at the Museum of Natural Science to assist with crowd control, game demos, the language corner and, for experienced basket weavers, a chance to help visitors with starter baskets.

• Telephone committee to call members with meeting reminders each month. It does help meeting attendance and we want to stay in touch with everyone. This is a fun way to get acquainted if you are new to CCS.

• Volunteer help with monthly snail mail-outs of this newsletter. Jimmy Melton, Cindy Linnenkohl, Victor Carroll, the Menard family and many others have done wonders in the past. Now we need new energy from members who will fold, stamp, label and buzz the package off to the mailbox on time. CCS pays for the postage.

• Speakers' Bureau volunteers go to schools and community groups to share information about Cherokee culture. Many speaker requests come to CCS during the fall. Please contact Barbra Callihan, 281-208-1751 or e-mail trbjc@fondren.com

Appreciation Corner

• CCS Thanks this month go to Ms. Bobbie Tomlin, who recently donated Cherokee archival materials to our organization: 1970's era Cherokee newspapers, language tapes, a book on the Cherokee Constitution and other memorabilia. She had inherited these treasures from an uncle who was half Cherokee and originally a Tahlequah resident.

• Our appreciation goes to Charles (Chuck) Conklin for his recent donation to our treasury, to assist with mailing expenses.

• Thanks to CCS Board Secretary Marjorie Lowe, who provided the outstanding video program for the August 3 meeting as we learned about Native American women's clothing. CCS welcomed many newcomers to the group that evening.

• Special kudos to Marjorie and to one our CCS founding members, Deborah Scott, who organized and presented the enriching Cherokee Culture course that CCS held during two August Saturdays at Challenger Seven Park. A vigorous turnout for the course generated new members as well. For those who missed it, stay tuned for a future offering of the course, which provided fascinating history, genealogy and mythology of our Cherokee people. We could not have pulled off this fete without the invaluable assistance of another CCS founding member, Barbra (B.J.) Callihan, who coordinated the registration and park facility access, Dawn Westerman, with the registration reply forms, Judith Bruni, who toted soft drinks, t-shirts, etc., and Cindy Linnenkohl with her ice donation.

• A special round of applause for three of our CCS board members whose terms will end this year: Judith Bruni, our hard-working 2000 President; Marjorie Lowe, our steadfast Secretary; and Clabert Menard, expert on historical clothing and artifacts. We appreciate their dedication during these past few years.

Ongoing thanks to our volunteer webmaster, Tom Strapp of Powersource, who regularly updates our newsletter on the CCS website at

We couldn't do it without all of you.

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