This storybook is about the
origin stories of the Cherokee Nation. In this storybook, you will read
Cherokee myths about how the world began, why the pine is so tall,
where the sun rises, and how tobacco was brought back. The source
I am using for my stories is the book Myths
of the Cherokee by
James Mooney.
These stories will be told in the frame tale of a fictional story about a man I’ll call John Denman. John Denman will be following the Cherokee as they embark on the Trail of Tears, and along the way he will hear many stories.
What is the Trail of Tears? In 1838, the Cherokee nation signed the Treaty of New Echota, in provision with the Indian Removal act being enforced by President Jackson. This treaty exchanged Indian land in north Georgia and North Carolina for land out west. The Cherokee nation began a long journey that would not end until they reached Oklahoma. They were being relocated from the hills of north Georgia and North Carolina across the nation, because the United States was experiencing tension between the white Americans and the Native Americans that had lived their for years. In this storybook, you will follow John Denman as he learns the history of his people while he walked across the United States. You will read stories like “How the World Was Made,” and "The Origin of the Pleiades and the Pine." These stories will teach Denman lessons about who he is, and where he is going.
The Cherokee nation was moved across the nation along with the Choctaw, Seminole, Muscogee, and Chickasaw. These tribes have been referred to as “The five civilized tribes.” This storybook attempts to capture some of the beauty of their myths and legends. In it, we will learn about our fictional character, John Denman, but hopefully we will learn an appreciation for the Cherokee Nation and their wonderful myths.
These stories will be told in the frame tale of a fictional story about a man I’ll call John Denman. John Denman will be following the Cherokee as they embark on the Trail of Tears, and along the way he will hear many stories.
What is the Trail of Tears? In 1838, the Cherokee nation signed the Treaty of New Echota, in provision with the Indian Removal act being enforced by President Jackson. This treaty exchanged Indian land in north Georgia and North Carolina for land out west. The Cherokee nation began a long journey that would not end until they reached Oklahoma. They were being relocated from the hills of north Georgia and North Carolina across the nation, because the United States was experiencing tension between the white Americans and the Native Americans that had lived their for years. In this storybook, you will follow John Denman as he learns the history of his people while he walked across the United States. You will read stories like “How the World Was Made,” and "The Origin of the Pleiades and the Pine." These stories will teach Denman lessons about who he is, and where he is going.
The Cherokee nation was moved across the nation along with the Choctaw, Seminole, Muscogee, and Chickasaw. These tribes have been referred to as “The five civilized tribes.” This storybook attempts to capture some of the beauty of their myths and legends. In it, we will learn about our fictional character, John Denman, but hopefully we will learn an appreciation for the Cherokee Nation and their wonderful myths.
The
sun was just coming up and the morning dew still soaked the ground and
trees. A man of large stature and strong features crouched on a
hilltop, watching as the Indians from his mountains were herded like
cattle. The man had a rough and dirty visage, and his clothes were
stained with sweat and dust from the ground he slept on every night. He
clearly had a white man’s blood, so it was a curious sight to see him
dressed the way he was. Even more curious was why he sat perched on
this hilltop watching the herding of Indians.
John Denman was an interesting man. The Cherokee Indians he watched now called him I'näge-utäsûñ'hï, but he did not know why… yet. The white men of the region called him a savage just like they did the Cherokee. He was a man without friends. He felt no anger towards the Cherokee who resented him for his skin, or the white men who resented him for his lack of civility. They could not be blamed for their ignorance. No one had raised Denman. He had only gotten older. His mother was a Cherokee who had foolishly fallen in love with a white man. And his father was a man who had taken advantage of a young girl’s curiosity. His father had left a long time ago, not interested in his bastard child. In fact, Denman had never even learned his name. His mother was crushed, and had grown cynical; she spoke rarely and never loved anything again. She raised her son like a dog, and when she passed into the other world Denman was young and scared. But he had found his way in the mountain. The Cherokee had saved him many times from starvation and death, while the white man had scorned him as savage and filthy. Ultimately, that was why Denman was crouching on this hilltop, watching the Cherokee being herded like cattle.
The Cherokee were being removed. The white man wanted more land. And the Cherokee were too busy living on it. So the Cherokee were being moved. Denman took a swig from his animal skin bladder. Denman loved this land, and he knew that the Cherokee loved it more than he did. But now, they were being moved from the mountains and forests of their fathers. Denman had no father, and he had no mother. But Denman knew that if he were ever to find peace, it would not be here in the mountains of the Carolinas with white men who hated him, while they expanded their land further. Denman had no beginning, but he wanted a future. So he would follow the Cherokee; perhaps the father of his mother would allow him to travel with him. His grandfather had always been kinder than others… secretly. Denman wanted roots; he wanted to know where his name came from. He wanted an answer. He was plagued by the origin of all these unanswered questions. He needed to begin all things new in his life. That is what drove John Denman down that hilltop to fall in line with the moving Cherokee. He was seeking an origin. Perhaps he would find it among this trail, wherever it might lead.
So Denman picked up what few possessions he had, and moved down the hill. He began scanning the crowd for his grandfather. Taking a step into the crowd, John Denman was on the trail.
John Denman was an interesting man. The Cherokee Indians he watched now called him I'näge-utäsûñ'hï, but he did not know why… yet. The white men of the region called him a savage just like they did the Cherokee. He was a man without friends. He felt no anger towards the Cherokee who resented him for his skin, or the white men who resented him for his lack of civility. They could not be blamed for their ignorance. No one had raised Denman. He had only gotten older. His mother was a Cherokee who had foolishly fallen in love with a white man. And his father was a man who had taken advantage of a young girl’s curiosity. His father had left a long time ago, not interested in his bastard child. In fact, Denman had never even learned his name. His mother was crushed, and had grown cynical; she spoke rarely and never loved anything again. She raised her son like a dog, and when she passed into the other world Denman was young and scared. But he had found his way in the mountain. The Cherokee had saved him many times from starvation and death, while the white man had scorned him as savage and filthy. Ultimately, that was why Denman was crouching on this hilltop, watching the Cherokee being herded like cattle.
The Cherokee were being removed. The white man wanted more land. And the Cherokee were too busy living on it. So the Cherokee were being moved. Denman took a swig from his animal skin bladder. Denman loved this land, and he knew that the Cherokee loved it more than he did. But now, they were being moved from the mountains and forests of their fathers. Denman had no father, and he had no mother. But Denman knew that if he were ever to find peace, it would not be here in the mountains of the Carolinas with white men who hated him, while they expanded their land further. Denman had no beginning, but he wanted a future. So he would follow the Cherokee; perhaps the father of his mother would allow him to travel with him. His grandfather had always been kinder than others… secretly. Denman wanted roots; he wanted to know where his name came from. He wanted an answer. He was plagued by the origin of all these unanswered questions. He needed to begin all things new in his life. That is what drove John Denman down that hilltop to fall in line with the moving Cherokee. He was seeking an origin. Perhaps he would find it among this trail, wherever it might lead.
So Denman picked up what few possessions he had, and moved down the hill. He began scanning the crowd for his grandfather. Taking a step into the crowd, John Denman was on the trail.
Image Information: This is a picture taken from some Thru-hikers website, PureBound.com. I love the Appalachain, and this is how I picture the beginning of Denman's trail. The majority of the Cherokee dealing with the politics surronding the Trail of Tears lived in north Georgia, but the Cherokee were also uprooted from the tips of North Carolina and Georgia that connect in the Appalachains.
Adaleniha Owasa Iyusdi
Chapter 1, Answers on the Road: Denman finally finds his grandfather on the trail. They begin a discussion about the future of the Cherokee. Denman's grandfather puts his mind at ease by telling him the story of how the world began.
Chapter 2, Reaching on the Trail: Denman tells a young girl a story about children as a bedtime story. It marks the beginning of Denman's acceptance into the tribe.
Chapter 3, Where the Sun Rests: Denman's grandfather tells a story about a long journey, and he relates it to the long journey the Cherokee are on now. He comforts a young boy with this story.
Chapter 4, The Smoking Hummingbird: Denman speaks up for a young boy who has been cast out of the elders' meeting. This story marks the end of the trail, and the beginning of the new obstacles. But Denman gives the people hope, by reminding them about their past.
Page Note: The general facts about dates and treaty names surronding this introduction were derived from personal and general knowledge that can be found in the Wikipedia article concerning the Trail of Tears.