Cherokee Cultural Society Meetings

Other Native Events
• The Ladies Shawl Society has ongoing monthly activities and plans another spring trip to Tahlequah, OK for a basketweaving class. Look forward to January when the group learns about Peyote stitching. Remember, women of all tribes are most welcome to share crafts, skills and many good times. Contact for details: B. J. at 713-541-4170.

• Shakey Hollow Ceremonial Ground, near Conroe, TX, is the site for dances which are held the last Saturday of each month. All are welcome at the pot luck dinner beginning at 6:00 p.m. Call for details (maps available): 281-399-1661.

• The Native American Health Coalition works to improve the health of Native peoples in the community. Call for meeting details and to volunteer: 713-861-6667.

• The Wordcraft circle of Native Writers & Storytellers, Houston Area Professional Chapter, usually meets the first Sunday each month, 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., at Borders Books, Westheimer & Gessner, in Houston. However, the December meeting will be on Sunday December 20, at 1:30 p.m., and will be a "Dutch Lunch" and fun gathering at a Macaroni Grill; location is to be determined. E-mail your CCS editor, vhenrich@swbell.net, for updates.

• The American Indian Resource Center was organized to assist the Native American community through numerous activities. Contact: Jonathan Hook, 281-599-0657, e-mail jonhook@wt.net; or the Resource Center, 281-599-8988.

• The Alabama Coushatta Reservation near Livingston, TX has activities throughout the year. For details call 1-800-444-3507.

• People whose ancestors were from the Tellico, TN area in the Old Nation can contact Dan Russell of the Tellico Plains area Chamber of Commerce regarding a Cherokee Nation gathering/reunion the entire month of April 1999, from Touqua along the Tellico River into Tellico Plains. E-mail tellicoCoC@aol.com or tellicoplainscc@tellico.net or see web site.

Congratulations

Cherokee and Native Tidbits

- excerpts from The Tulsa World On-Line (11-1-98)

Cherokee Writer Boosts Tradition
A book of interest to our readers is A CHEROKEE FEAST OF DAYS, (Volumes I & II) by Cherokee writer Joyce Seguiche Hifler. It offers an inspirational quote for each day of the year based on Native American wisdom, which she began to collect from early youth by keeping a journal. November 6, 1998 Ms. Hifler was inducted into the Indian Territory Hall of Fame in a gala at the Broken Arrow Community Center in Broken Arrow, OK . It was sponsored by the Indian Territory Arts and Humanities Council. As a nationally syndicated columnist who specializes in self-improvement for her readers, she is famous for the column and book entitled THINK ON THESE THINGS. Currently she is working on her ninth book, WHEN THE NIGHTBIRD SINGS, which is due for publication in the spring of 1999. Joyce Hifler’s Cherokee ancestors were survivors of the Trail of Tears, and she cites her Cherokee heritage as the source of her love of nature’s beauty and harmony which inspires her work.

- excerpts from an article "Indian Writer to be Honored", by Michael Smith, in The Tulsa World On-Line (November 5, 1998)

According to population projections, the nation's American Indian, Eskimo and Aleut population will grow to 3.1 million by the year 2020. This would mean that this racial group would increase faster over the next two decades than either the White or African American populations but slower than Asians and Pacific Islanders.

- from the web site of The United States Department of Commerce News, Economic & Statistics Administration Census Bureau Facts for Features, A product of the U.S. Census Bureau's Public Information Office. CB98-FF.13 (October 26, 1998)

Pet Lovers Corner

Constitutional Convention Hearing

Houston area Cherokees registered with the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma are invited to attend the hearing, which brings together representatives of the Oklahoma Cherokee Nation and local tribal members to exchange ideas and discuss possible changes to the Constitution of the Cherokee Nation. A series of hearings are held within Oklahoma; however, hearings are scheduled in other regions of the U.S. where there are significant numbers of registered Cherokees. Registered tribal members are due to receive a letter from the Nation regarding this meeting.

Poetry Corner

"Stepping Off The Train" by Meg Walker*

I woke up from my sleep
And adjusted my seat
So I could look out the window.
Lush rolling fields,
Bountiful wildflower yields,
The train had come to a standstill.
Other passengers with me
Too busy to see,
Tending children or reading the news.
I looked out again
Flowers ruffled in the wind,
The skirt of a beautiful muse.
Her hair was blue sky
White clouds smiled by
As she gracefully danced in the sun.
I felt so insane
As I stepped off the train
Touched her hand and started to run.
When I turned to look back
The train was well down the track
Carrying its families in boxes.
But here on the hill
Time seems to stand still
For me, the muse and the foxes.
I’d rather live here
In the light and the air,
Than ride down the track in a box.
I’ve been here twelve years,
Through laughter and tears.
I live in a den with the foxes.
They’re honest and true
And dance with me, too.
We all count the stars at night.
The muse visits often
With gifts often gotten
From the smiles of firefly lights.

*Meg Walker is a member of the Cherokee Cultural Society and active in the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers & Storytellers.

Web Watch

• The Oklahoma Historical Society links readers to a huge catalogue of information with many suggestions on ways to begin researching a family history. There is a small fee to research by mail, etc., since no direct information is at this site. For further details contact them at ARCHIVES AND MANUSCRIPTS DIVISION of the Oklahoma Historical Society, 2100 North Lincoln, Oklahoma City, OK 73105. E-mail mrarchives@ok-history.mus.ok.us only on questions of availability, or phone: 405-522-5206. Hours: 9 am to 5 pm, CST, Monday through Saturday (closed noon to 1 pm Saturday only); closed Sundays and legal holidays.

• "Pretty Moon" is a Cherokee woman whose site has many beautiful graphics, bits of history and interesting web links.

• Buffy Saint-Marie's site is especially educational for young people and useful for teachers and parents.

  NOTE: Send favorite sites of interest, especially regarding Cherokees, to vhenrich@swbell.net.

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