‘Earth Keepers’ convene from across globe
-
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians member Bo Taylor leads a friendship dance around the mound at the Little Snowbird campground on Sept. 14. The “Earth Keepers” ceremony drew spectators from various countries across society. Photo by Latresa Phillips/The Graham Star
Snowbird – Imagine a world of beauty, nature and wellness – a world of peace.
Members of the Cherokee tribe known as the “Earth Keepers” gathered in the Little Snowbird community on Sept. 14, to pray, celebrate with one another, and share their dream of a new vision on mankind and life on Earth with a group of fellow “Earth Keepers” from as far away as Africa, Indonesia and India.
The purpose of the gathering was to unite spiritual leaders from around the world performing the sacred mound-building dance, a prayer session, ending the gathering with a friendship dance; and a reminder of how things once were.
A meeting place
Mound building is an ancient tradition in Cherokee communities. When tribal leaders wanted to discuss future plans or tribal concerns, they would call a meeting to gather everyone together. Families would come to the meeting place. Many traveled a day’s journey to get there.
Each tribal member would bring a handful or a turtle shell full of dirt from their home. They would build a large fire with seven different kinds of wood to represent the seven clans. They would lay four different kinds of wood strategically placed to represent the four directions.
Before the meeting started, a dance in honor of the mound building was held around the fire. Tribal members circled the fire seven times and deposited their dirt around the fire.
Over time, the pile of dirt became a mound. The many different kinds of dirt brought from the areas of the Cherokee symbolized the connectedness of the Cherokee communities.
This voice will not fade
When the tribe moved their ceremony site in 1996, the soil from the Snowbird Day School mound was gathered and placed at the now-site of the annual “Fading Voices” festival at the Little Snowbird Playground.
Last week’s community unified not only the Cherokee communities, but tribal leaders from around the world who participated in the ceremony by placing dirt from their homelands into the mound.
The ceremony began in a prayer offered by Elder Alfred Welch in the Cherokee Language. Visiting members from research institutes all over the world introduced themselves before joining in the ceremony.
It is a Cherokee custom to build fires to honor the past and embrace the future.
Fire is a special gift from the Creator and when a fire is made, it is a symbol of respect.
Fire is a place of respect like a church and is also considered a place of prayer for the Cherokee.
As the group of leaders gathered around the fire, Welch sang in Cherokee and the march around the fire began – with each participant placing their dirt into the mound around the fire. The reverent ceremony continued as they marched around the fire seven times to complete the dance.
At the end of the dance, dirt from Indonesia, India and Africa had been combined with dirt from different areas of Graham County and the Cherokee Reservation as a symbol of unity.
After the dance ended and the dirt was placed on the mound, the leaders ended the ceremony with a friendship dance. The friendship dance is performed at the end of ceremony as a farewell. During the performance, the leader of the dance will call out and the dancers will respond with a “Whoo!”
The tribal members danced around the fire as they sang in Cherokee and they celebrated the union of friends from across the world as one in the universe.
This dance was performed counterclockwise and offered up a shout as they sang together around the fire.
There was a feeling of oneness and celebration, as the whole community and visitors danced and socialized together.
Humble reminder
Long Creek – After the ceremony concluded, the group caravanned to the Long Creek community, where the Trail of Tears began in Graham County.
The year was 1838, when more than 16,000 Cherokee were driven from their homelands in North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia, and sent to the Indian Territory in Oklahoma. Thousands of the Cherokee Nation perished during the forced relocation, which became known as the Trail of Tears.
Along Tatham Gap Road – which connects Cherokee and Graham counties – is an old Army road that followed an ancient Cherokee trail through Graham County, which was known as Cheoah (“Land of the Otter.”) Troops at Fort Montgomery in Cheoah began gathering Cherokee prisoners from the surrounding Cheoah, Tallula, Connichiloe, and Buffalo Town communities, and escorted more than 300 Cherokee from Fort Montgomery along the 11-mile road to Fort Delany (now Andrews), where they joined thousands of others awaiting relocation.
On Sept. 14, this exodus was remembered and shared with guests from the other countries, as a steady rain began to fall. It was a sobering reminder of how blessed Graham County is to have its Cherokee history preserved and commemorated.