vicechiefmessage

Osiyo Visitors and Friends,

A wise man once said, “heritage does not make you a tribe”, it is my belief that heritage gives you something to be proud of, it tells you where you come from, and where your future can lead you. However, to become a tribe, it takes a group of people proud of that heritage, willing to keep it alive and pass it down to their children and their grandchildren.

According to the dictionary a tribe is “A unit of sociopolitical organization consisting of a number of families, clans, or other groups who share a common ancestry and culture and among whom leadership is typically neither formalized nor permanent.”

The Cherokee Tribe of Northeast Alabama is just that, a number of families sharing one common goal. I am very proud to be a part of that group. I also plan to keep doing as we have been doing, teaching our children and grandchildren to respect their tribe, elders and one another, more lessons in language, and social dances, the traditional food and how it was prepared, and fun things like stickball and Cherokee Marbles. We will continue to be only what we are, a band of Cherokee people proud of where we come from and even prouder of where our future is leading us.

I send an invitation out to all who are interested, in learning, and laughing and enjoying life. You are not always handed perfect circumstances, but you are handed opportunities to make your life as perfect as you can. So, come on out to one of our events and shake our hand, see where we are coming from. What you will see are lots of smiling faces willing to welcome you in. My prayer is what you will leave with is a sense of family and belonging.

The year 2010 is upon us and may this be the year where we all just learn our tribal motto “Degadageyusesdi” let’s all be good to one another.

Dodadagohv’i

First Vice Chief

Mary West Slaton

Cultural Tidbit:The design used

on this page is used to represent the four directions. The Cherokee colors that are associated with these: North being blue, South being white, East being red, and West being black.

The Great Seal of the Cherokee Tribe of Northeast Alabama is trademarked under U.S. and International law.