My husband is Italian. He is very proud of that fact and often comments about it. He eats Italian food, wears Italian logos on his clothing and even smokes Italian cigars when the mood strikes.I, however, am a mutt. I have English, French, German, and Cherokee Indian blood running through my veins. I recently found out, though, that both my maternal and paternal side can be traced back to the Cherokee. My great grandmother on my maternal side was full Cherokee Indian. I can't tell you how happy that made me to know that I can now call myself "mostly" Cherokee.
It bothered me that I couldn't say, "I'm Italian" or "I'm Irish." I've always wondered where my people hailed from and how my present was affected by my ancestors' past. It tickles my fancy that I can now say. "I lived here before any other souls and I also came over on the boat and stole the land from myself." LOL
Yes I'm Cherokee and English. What a mixture.
As I begin to delve into my new found revelation I am finding that I very much enjoy the writing and singing of the Cherokee. They are so wise and deep feeling. The words and lyrics are swelled with emotion and philosophy.
This native Cherokee story depicts the depth of tradition that the Cherokee built and how their words still have meaning today. Enjoy.
One evening an aged Cherokee chief told his grandson about a battle that is ever raging inside people.
"My son, there is a battle between two "wolves" inside the human spirit. One wolf is Evil.
It is easy to anger, rise to envy, rage with jealousy, wallow in sorrow, wring with regret, embrace greed, exude arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
The other is Good. It breeds joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, service and faith."
The grandson thought about this for a moment. He then asked his grandfather:
"Which wolf wins in the end?"
The aged and wise Cherokee replied,
"The one you feed."
7 comments:
First I must say thank you for the information you dropped off.
I haven't had time to check it out yet. But, I definitely will.
Second I say hello to a native sister.
I was adopted and quite a few years ago was very fortunate to have located all of my family both maternally and paternally.
I am 1/4 Cherokee mixed with German and a touch of Scottish. Now that's quite a mixture too huh?
I know how thrilled I was to discover my NA heritage. My ancestors also walked The Trail Of Tears.
Oh my you will have blast exploting all of this.
I may not know you...but I am thrilled for you!!:-)
I love wolves, and this is a great lesson to learn. Thanks for sharing it.
That's very interesting. My husband has a great-grandmother who was full Cherokee, too. Could the chance be that you are related?? The Cherokee woman was named Alice Hull. Familiar?
Shinade, It's nice to know you too. I am just delving into my new found self. I'll be sure to visit you often to learn and enjoy. :-)
Ben, I have always been fascinated by wolves also. That is exactly why we have Huskies. We all like the wolf look of the grey and white Husky. The last line of that lesson smacks you between the eyes doesn't it! lol
Rebecca, My gread-grandmother was from Fultz Kentucky. My mother and her sisters are diving into their files to search for her name and picture. I hope to have that soon. :-)
Thanks for the Twitter follow! I'm the same mix as you, my great grandmother was a full-blooded Cherokee. I had the chance to see her home last September-- what a great trip with a lot of good memories to pass on to my kids!
In the words of Colette on RatPatootie, "Stop it! You're freaking me out!" - My great-grandmother was a Cherokee!
When/if you want, I tagged you on my latest post. ;-)
Coming from his wonderful sister though...We may be Italian, but we do have plenty of mutt in us as well! Just because you're more mutt than us doesn't mean we love you any less!!!!! hehehe
But, yes, the Italian dominates so well.
Betsy
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