Welcome To My Tsa-la-gi ( Cherokee) Page

Dedicated To All Native Americans

I share the Cherokee heritage. I hold dear in my heart and with pride this small part that makes me whole.
I am fascinated with the history of this great Nation and I make no claims to have great knowledge of it.
And with that, rather than even try to compose my own research into articles or stories, and at the
risk of duplication, I have just compiled a list of links to some fascinating sites I have visited,
dedicated to this wonderful culture.

The Cherokee Nation
In The Beginning
The Cherokees called themselves the Ani-Yun' wiya meaning leading or principal people.
The original Cherokees lived in early times in Georgia, Alabama, North and South Carolina,
Tennessee, Kentucky and West Virginia.
History of the Cherokee
Cherokee History - Part One



The Cherokee Seal

The Great Seal of the Cherokee Nation was designed to show the eternal endurance of the Cherokee People.
It was adopted by an act of the Cherokee National council and approved in 1871.
The seven pointed star symbolizes:
The seven clans of the Cherokee Nation.
(Paint Clan-Wolf Clan-Bird Clan-Bear Clan-Deer Clan-Wild Potatoe-aka-Bear Clan-Longhair Clan)
The seven characters of Sequoyah's syllabry, meaning "Cherokee Nation".
The wreath of oak leaves symbolizes the sacred fire, which the Cherokees keep burning in their land.
The margin wording proclaims the authority of the seal in both the English and the Cherokee languages,
and records the date (1839) of the adoption of the Constitution of the Cherokee Nation West.

The Trail of Tears

Led by Chief Little John (Tsan-Usdi) (Born John Ross Oct. 03, l790-August 1, 1866

The Trail of Tears, was painted by Robert Lindneux in 1942
No known depictions of the actual journey are known to have survived

(In 1838 and 1839, as part of Andrew Jackson's Indian removal policy,
the Cherokee nation was forced to give up its lands east of the
Mississippi River and to migrate to an area in present-day Oklahoma.
The Cherokee people called this journey the "Trail of Tears," because of its devastating effects.
The migrants faced hunger, disease, and exhaustion on the forced march.
Over 4,000 out of 15,000 of the Cherokees died.)

"We are now about to take our leave and kind farewell to our native land,
the country that the Great Spirit gave our Fathers,
we are on the eve of leaving that country that gave us birth...
it is with sorrow we are forced by the white man to quit the scenes of our childhood...
we bid farewell to it and all we hold dear."
Charles R. Hicks, Tsalagi (Cherokee) Vice Chief on the Trail of Tears, November 4, 1838

No amount of white blood shall dilute the pride of the Cherokee people - nor erase their memories"
Cherokee Chief Charles R. Hicks

"We, the great mass of the people, think only of the love we have for our land.
For we do love the land where we were brought up. We will never let our hold to this land go.
To let it go will be like throwing away our mother that gave us birth"
Letter from Aitooweyah to John Ross, Principal Chief

Trails End

Legend of the Cherokee Rose(nu na hi du na tlo hi lu i)

When the Trail of Tears started in 1838, the mothers of the Cherokee were grieving and crying so much,
they were unable to help their children survive the journey.
The elders prayed for a sign that would lift the mother’s spirits to give them strength.
The next day a beautiful rose began to grow where each of the mother’s tears fell.
The rose is white for their tears; a gold center represents the gold taken from Cherokee lands,
and seven leaves on each stem for the seven Cherokee clans.
The wild Cherokee Rose grows along the route of the Trail of Tears into eastern Oklahoma today.
The Cherokee Rose became the Georgia State Flower in 8-18-1916

The tradional Cherokee philosophy is that even the smallest drop of Cherokee Blood
makes one a Cherokee.

There is no such thing as 'part-Cherokee.'
Either you're Cherokee or you're not.
It isn't the quantity of Cherokee blood
in your veins that is important,
but the quality of it . . . your pride in it.
I have seen full-bloods
who have virtually no idea of
the great legacy entrusted to their care.
Yet, I have seen people
with as little as 1/500th blood
who inspire the spirits of their ancestors
because they make being Cherokee
a proud part of a their everyday life."

Jim Pell: Principal Chief
of the North Alabama Cherokee Tribe

Cherokee Blessings

Cherokee Travelers Blessing

I will draw thorns from your feet
We will walk the white path
Of life together
Like a brother of my own blood
I will love you.
I will wipe tears from your eyes
When you are sad
I will put your aching heart to rest

A Cherokee Blessing

May the warm winds of Heaven blow softly on your home,
And the Great Spirit bless all who enter there.
May your mocassins make happy tracks in many snows
And may the rainbow always touch your shoulder.

Native American Poetry

Cherokee Rose
By Marc McCord

Seven petals for seven tribes
growing on the trail where they cried.
Center of gold for the land white men stole.
Four thousand of my ancestors died.
The trail was long, the journey harsh
crossing a thousand miles of mountain and marsh
and in the place where proud people those
cried the tears that watered Cherokee Rose.

Oh Spirit Wolf, oh Spirit Owl
hear the winter winds that howl.
Oh Spirit Eagle, oh Spirit Deer
why did so many have to die here?

One nation prospered, one nation fell.
One went to heaven, one was sent to hell.
Cherokee Rose that blooms in spring
reminds us of the songs they sing.

White petals, a sign of those tears
that still wet the ground after a hundred fifty years
remind us all of what was lost
from proud people who bore the ultimate cost.

Seven petals for seven tribes
growing on the trail where they cried.
Center of gold for the land white men stole.
Four thousand of my ancestors died.

© Copyright 1999 Marc"Dances with Owls" McCord

A Cherokee Rose
By Rick Brown

Tsa-la-gi! Tsa-la-gi!
by the Great Mystery kissed!

Listen! Hear them sing their songs!
In drums, in mourning's midst!

At a river's crossing, through forests,
seen by those who care to look,
spirits from days long ago wait
near the blood-soaked path they took.

That cold, cold trail of sorrow,
damped by tears as scattered corn;
a witness to lost horizons
but a return to freedoms born.

Along that trail so many stayed,
trusting souls hard spurned;
though frozen was this liars way,
deep were heart-prints burned.

Like rain, the tears of anguish fell,
sad moments locked in time;
hoped for sounds from a Mission's bell,
were hidden with the promised sign.

As wagons, weighted, marked their way,
from new Echota to where they close;
where each tear fell, as some will tell,
will be seen a Cherokee rose.

Indian Soulmates

Man does not measure the stars. It is a gift he can not count. So it is with my love for you.
How can I tell you of my love? Strong as the eagle, soft as the dove,
patient as the pine tree that stands in the sun and whispers to the wind...'You are the one!'

Author Unknown

Native American Prayers

Prayer for The White Man

And now, Grandfather, I ask you to bless
the White Man.

He needs your Wisdom, your guidance.
You see, for so long,
he has tried to destroy my people,
and only feels comfortable
when given power.

Bless them, show them
the peace we understand,
teach them humility.
For I fear they will
someday destroy themselves
and their children,

As they have done so Mother Earth.
I plead, I cry.
After all, They are my Brothers.......

Author Unknown

An Indian Prayer

I give you this one thought to keep,
I'm with you still. I do no sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush,
Of quiet birds in circled flight
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not think of me as gone
I am with you still, in each new dawn.
Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there, I do not sleep.
Do not stand there at my grave an cry
I am not there, I did not die.

Author Unknown.

An Indian Prayer

Happily may I walk.
May it be beautiful before me.
May it be beautiful behind me.
May it be beautiful below me.
May it be beautiful all around me.
In beauty it is finished.
Unknown.

A Cherokee Prayer

Oh Great spirit,
grant that I may never find fault
with my neighbor until I have walked
the trail of life in his moccasins.

A Cherokee Prayer

As I walk the trail of life
In the fear of the wind and rain
Grant O Great Spirit
That I may always walk like a man.

A Cherokee Prayer

Great Spirit
I am alive
Great Spirit you are all
That is and has ever been!
I was born to say,
"I Love You!"
Help remind me through the day
That love should be my only goal,
My only thought in what I do,
And my only inspiration.
For without love,
I Am Lost,
I am Lonely.

The Twenty Third Psalm
Spoken By The Cherokee People

The Great Father above a Shephard Chief is.
I am his and with Him I want not.
He throws me out a rope and the name of the rope is love,
And he draws me to where the grass is green
And the water not dangerous.
And I eat and lie down and am satisfied.
Sometimes my heart is very weak
And falls down but he lifts me up again
And draws me into a good road.
His name is Wonderful.
Sometime, it might be bery soon,
It may be a long, long time.
He will draw me into a valley.
It is dark there, but I'll be afraid not,
For it is in between those mountains,
That the Shepard Christ will meet me and the hunger
That I have in my heart all through this life will be satisfied.
He gives me a staff to lean upon.
He spreads a table before me with all kinds of food.
He puts His hand upon my head and all the tired is gone.
My cup He fills, till it runs over.
What I tell is true, I lie not.
These roads that are "away ahead" will stay with me through this
life and after.
And afterwards I will go to live in the Big Teepee,
And sit down with the Shephard Chief forever.

Author Unknown.

Some Cherokee Historical Firsts

1808 The first written laws by an Indian tribe.
1822 The first Indian alphabet written by Sequoyah.
1824 First written law of Western Cherokees.
1827 First written constitution among Indian tribes.
1828 The Cherokee Phoenix was the first newspaper and the only bilingual newspaper.
1844 The Cherokee Advocate becomes the first newspaper in Indian territory.
1957 First Cherokee National Holiday.
Stand Watie was the only Indian to become a General in the Confederate Army.
The first and only Indian tribe with two representatives (Sequoyah and Will Rogers)
in the National Statuary Hall in the Nation's Capitol Building, Washington, D.C.
First Masonic Lodge in Oklahoma.

Sequoya

Sequoya, or George Guess, b. c.1760, d. Aug. 1843, is credited with the invention of the Cherokee written
language, the so-called talking leaves. As a young man he was a fine hunter, warrior, trader, and
silver craftsman. An able linguist who learned French, Spanish, and English, he was determined to
preserve Cherokee culture and was implacably opposed to American intrusions into his tribal lands.
After continued white encroachments, however, Sequoya journeyed westward (1797), although
he returned periodically to his homeland. Recognizing the power of the written word, Sequoya
developed a Cherokee syllabary of 86 symbols by adapting letters of the English alphabet to
represent sounds in the Cherokee tongue. The generally accepted date for its completion is 1821,
although Cherokee tradition dates the syllabary earlier. Although there is some question whether
Sequoya was its inventor, he certainly popularized the syllabary, which led to the founding of the
Cherokee Phoenix, a Cherokee language newspaper, on Feb. 21, 1828.
Sequoyah of the Tsalagi

Modern Cherokee Syllabary

Kanagagota ( Standing or Stalking Turkey )
Famous Cherokee Chief

A Cherokee Tale

An old Cherokee man is telling his grandson about a fight that is going on inside himself,
One is evil: Anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment,
inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
The other is good: Joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy,
generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asks his grandfather, "Which wolf wins?"
The old Cherokee man simply replied, "The one I feed."

KokopelliA prehistoric Deity depicted as the first flute player
Kokopelli

Native American Midis

Spiritual Music Of The World From elan michaels

Here are some more links to some beautiful and intersting sites I have enjoyed visiting,
where you can get the whole stories of the above and much more.

This Beautiful Park Located in My Home State of Missouri
Missouri State Parks - Trail of Tears State Park

Official Site of the Cherokee Nation

MOTCI - Home

Personal Home Page The Rainbow

Cherokee Cultural Society of Houston

All Things Cherokee: About Us - Cherokee Rose Design

Cherokees of California

SmithDRay's Nancy Ward page

Why Your Great-Grandmother Wasn't A Cherokee Princess

Phyllis' Genealogy Place
This site contains a tracing of the(Cherokee) family name Harris.
Our Grandmothers maiden name, Katie Leona Harris.
Our G Grandparents Martha Jane Williams Harris, and Thomas Knox Harris
Our GG Grandparents Martha Jane (Ward--Blackfoot) Williams, and Walter Tillmon Williams
as done by my first blood cousin Phyllis Harwell
We also share the Blackfoot Heritage

© Copyright 2003-2007 Paula Scola

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Midi-Trail Of Tears-© 1999 by elan michaels