Southeastern Native American Alliance

Vol. 1; No. 7 7 March 1996

MEETING SCHEDULE

Next Executive Council Meeting:   Thursday, 28 March 1996; to be held at
                                  1314 Wildwood Lake Road
                                  Cleveland, Tennessee 37311
Next General Meeting: Thursday, 4 April 1996; to be held at
                       1314 Wildwood Lake Road, Cleveland, Tennessee.
      *                   *                   *                   *

MAKE PLANS FOR SENAA'S FIRST RAMP DAY SOCIAL

   SENAA will hold a Ramp Day    also have a blowgun competition.
Social on Saturday,   20 April,      We ask that our ramp chefs be at
beginning    at   11:30 a.m., at    Red Clay, at the picnic tables
Red Clay State Park.                  near the amphitheater, an hour
   As with past socials, the Ramp    early, since tables   are on a
Day Social will be pot-luck, so    first-come-first-served basis.
plan to make your favorite dish to      SENAA will furnish drinks, paper
share.   Steve & Al Swilling, and    plates, plastic-ware, napkins, ice
Brian Davis will gather ramps for    and ramps (prepared, of course).
this year's feast. Anyone else       Invite a friend, fix a pan, pot
who would like to help gather    or bowl of something you like, and
ramps is welcome to join in the    come on down to Red Clay for our
hunt.                                 first annual Ramp Day Social.
   Besides getting stuffed on lots    It'll be fun-- and "full-filling!"
of delicious home cooking, we will        *       *       *       *

MARCH BIRTHDAYS

Happy Birthday Wishes go to the following people:

3 March . . . . Mike Sutherland 15 March . . Cheri Swilling/Lawson
11 March . . . . Kelsie Sparkman

7 March SENAA Newsletter 2

                        "VIEW FROM MOCCASIN BEND"
                       SLATED FOR ECOLOGY CHANNEL
                            by, Van Henderson

Chattanooga Free Press; 18 Feb. --
      Chattanooga's environmental       "The View From Moccasin Bend"
success story will be beamed into    will     portray     Chattanooga's
14 million U.S. households April    successes and   the people   who
19-22 as The Ecology Channel (TEC)    played key roles in them.
marks the   26th Anniversary of         VIP showings of the special
Earth Day with a TV special titled    will be held   in   Chattanooga,
"The View From Moccasin Bend."        Washington,   and   other   select
   NBC News White House Correspon-    cities.
dent John Palmer will host the one         The special will be broadcast
hour show and Mary Walker, a local    by some   1,500 cable channels.
environmental    consultant    and    . . . The Ecology Channel does not
publisher, will serve as script    yet serve this market. However,
consultant, TEC Chairman John H.    TEC will announce   area   cable
Hoagland said.                        channels on which "The View From
"The environmental community has    Moccasin Bend" can be seen before
been well aware of Chattanooga's    it airs in April, Mr. Hoagland
tremendous transformation,"   Mr.    said.
Hoagland said by phone from his      The special's subtopics will be:
office in Boston.                     The Leadership and Vision; A River
"We had read impressive articles    for People's Enjoyment; A New Look
about   the city's turnaround in    at Modern Transportation; Managing
Audubon    and    other   national    for the Future; Cleaner Air and
magazines and newspapers, but we    Cleaner   Water;   Creating Green
really began to consider Chatta-    Spaces in the City; New Approaches
nooga as the centerpiece of our    to   Waste   and Recycling;   and
Earth   Day   special    on    the    Presenting History and Culture.
recommendation of   Roy F. Weston       "What we believe it will spot-
Inc., one of the world's largest    light about Chattanooga is that
environmental   companies,"    Mr.    the city possesses the crucial
Hoagland said.                        factor for success in this decade:
The Ecology Channel chairman was    cooperation rather than confron-
brought to Chattanooga   several    tation by business and industry,
years ago and introduced to local    committed citizens,   local   and
leaders by Tom Doolittle of the    state governments, federal agen-
international   Weston   company's    cies, environmental   and   civic
Atlanta office.                       organizations," Mr. Hoagland said.
   "I realized on my first visit       The program on Chattanooga will
there that Chattanooga would be a    also be distributed to hundreds of
natural    for   our   Earth   Day    schools via cable for use with
anniversary special," said   Mr.    study    guides,    and    through
Hoagland.                             libraries and other outlets on
"This special will tell and show    videocassettes.
how one   historic and colorful       Mr. Hoagland said TEC hopes to
American city has marshalled its    establish   "a tie-in" with the
resources for   the   sustainable    science,technology and sustainable
development of its environment,    development   summit   Congressman
culture and   economy   in   this    Zach   Wamp   has   scheduled   in
century and how Chattanooga is    Chattanooga this June.
preparing for the 21st century,"
Mr. Hoagland said.                       *        *        *        *

7 March SENAA Newsletter 3

                   BLYTHE FERRY NAMED AS PROPOSED SITE
                      OF CHEROKEE MEMORIAL PARK AND
                          WILDLIFE VIEWING AREA

    By late February, 4,000-5,000    summary of where we've been, where
Sandhill   Cranes   are    usually    we are now, and where we're going,
congregated in the cornfields and    by Rhea County historian Betty
shallows of the Blythe Ferry area.    Broyles.
    For years the creatures have       The Birchwood PTA sold hotdogs
used what is now the Blythe Ferry    and chili as fund-raisers.
Wildlife Refuge at the mouth of       Plans for the   Blythe Ferry
the Hiwassee River   as a stopover    Wildlife Refuge,   located   near
on their   annual treks between    Birchwood, Tennessee, include a
their northwest Indiana staging    two-story building with 14,000 to
area and their south Georgia and    15,000 square feet of floor space
central Florida wintering grounds.    housing a Trail of Tears exhibit
For centuries the area was also    area, an audiovisual area where
home to the Cherokee People, and    films can be shown, and a genea-
later played a significant part on    logical library for tracing one's
the Trail of Tears.                   Cherokee ancestry.
Last February 24 a special crane      "Currently, there is no central
viewing day, organized by retired    place where   Cherokee documents
National Park Service ranger Ken    are compiled," claim Chattanooga
Dubke, had more than 500 people    Free Press reporters.
flocking to the area to watch the       The proposed Cherokee Memorial
spectacular sight.                    Park / Wildlife Viewing Center's
   This year, Dubke combined the    second floor will be a wildlife
bird-watching expedition and slide    observation area with a 360 degree
presentation with Cherokee Indian    view.
Heritage Day comprised of on-site       Other plans for the area are
lectures on the history of the    establishing a roadway, trails and
Cherokees in the area, proposals    a parking lot; a granite monument,
to make the Blythe Ferry area a    engraved with the names of local
Cherokee   Indian   Genealogical /    Cherokee families listed on 1835
Wildlife   Viewing Center and a    census    records;    and   picnic
progress report from Max Ramsey on    facilities.
on the National Park Service's new       "We believe the memorial park
educational trail that will follow    will have an economic impact as a
the Trail of Tears from here to    tourist attraction,"   says Hale
Oklahoma.                             Booth, of the Southeast Tennessee
   Also presented at the event    Development District and Council
were the story   of two   early    of Governments, "not just for its
historic sites -- Fort Southeast    historical and genealogical sig-
Point in Kingston and the Hiwassee    nificance, but as an opportunity
Garrison -- by Sam Smith of the    to view some very unusual wildlife
Tennessee Division of Archeology;    in very dramatic concentrations."
a birds of prey demonstration by       Blythe Ferry lies   along the
J. Dale and Tony Liner, World of    northern land route of the Trail
Raptors; and a discussion by Nick    of Tears, and is the site where
Honerkamp, UTC Div. of Archeology    groups of Cherokees from Camp Ross
professor, of the archeology of    and Rattlesnake Springs crossed
the area.                             the Tennessee River en route to
   Wrapping up the program was a    Indian Territory in 1838.
                                      (See BLYTHE FERRY, page 4)

7 March SENAA Newsletter 4

BLYTHE FERRY (From page 3)
According to Alvin Cook, Silvia Inc., will design the $3-4 million
Basarrate, of Planning Associates, project. * * *

OUR NATIVE TONGUE

Syllabary     Tsa-La-Gi            Pronunciation            English
              U-ka-na-wi           Oo-kah-nah-wee
              A-tsv-s-do-di        Ah-suh-stow-dee          Candle

Tse-li Chay-lee Chili

U-yv-tla Oo-yuh-tla Cold

U-ga-ma Oo-gah-mah
U-di-le-ga Oo-dee-lay-gah Hot Soup

U-ne-s-da-la Oo-nay-stah-la Ice

U-nv-tsi (E.) Oo-nuh-see
(W.) Oo-nuh-chee Snow

Gu-ti-ha Goo-tee-ha It is snowing

Dv-ga-na-ni Duh-gah-nah-nee It is going to rain

I-no-lu-ga Ee-no-loo-gah You go hunting

CHEROKEE SONGBOOK
DI-KA-NO-GI-S-DI TSA-LA-GI

AMAZING GRACE

1.
U-ne-la-nv-hi u-we-tsi

I-ga-tsu-yv-he-i

Hna-quo tso-sv wi-u-lo-se

I-ga-gu-yv-ho-nv (or U-dv-ne yu-ne-sv).

2. A-si-no yi-u-ne-se-yi

I-yu-no du-le-nv

Ta-li-ne-dv se-lu-se-li

U-dv-ne yu-ne-sv.

7 March SENAA Newsletter 5

THE LITTLE PEOPLE**
by, Rachel Davis

     One day my friends and I were    sounded like people laughing.   We
walking through the village when    ignored it, thinking we were just
we came to the old storyteller,    hearing things. Then we heard foot
and we joined the crowd around    steps behind us. When we stopped,
him.                                  they stopped too. We looked around
He was telling the story of the    and saw two small men. They were
"Little People."   It was about    about two feet tall and looked
people who look like Cherokees but    like Cherokee people. They must be
are only about two feet tall.    the Little People, I thought.
They like to trick people and make      At first, we were just a little
them laugh.                           scared, but we talked to them for
He said that if we were ever out    hours.   Suddenly, I realized the
in   the woods   and   we   heard    sun was setting; and we had told
something   but    couldn't    see    our parents   we'd be back for
anything, it was just the Little    dinner.   We   thanked them   for
People and not to   be afraid,    talking   with   us, then turned
because they only want to play or    around and headed back down the
help us.                              path to our village.
My friends and I laughed and      When we got home, we all told
joked to hear of such things as    our parents.   They looked at each
Little People.   One of my friends    other and smiled.   My dad said we
laughed as she said that they were    were lucky that we were among the
only old people's stories.            few humans that the Little People
The next day we thought we would    have revealed themselves to. We
all go into the woods and check    went next-door   and   told   the
the story out for ourselves.   We    storyteller about our experience.
all told our moms that we would be    He told us he had many other
back in time for dinner.              stories to tell us.   Now that we
We were all telling ourselves it    had seen the Little People, we
wasn't true as we walked down the    agreed to never doubt the stories
old path that led us deep into the    of our people again.
woods. We all heard something that        *        *        *       *

McKEE FAMILY BUILDING NEW GIRLS' DORMITORY
AT INDIAN SCHOOL

Southern Tidings, Feb. '96 --       supported her husband in estab-
Meeting an urgent, critical need    lishing the family business.
of Holbrook Indian School, a new      The Ruth McKee Hall will be home
dormitory   will be built;   the    for 80 Native American girls, ages
result of a gift from the McKee    6 through 20. It will have 30
family in memory of their mother,    rooms, modest apartments for the
Anna Ruth King McKee.                 dean and her assistant, and a
In the later years before her    small computer/study room.
death, Ruth told family members      Together the McKees turned a
there was only one thing   she    Depression-days   cookie business
missed in her life, and that was    into the McKee Foods Corporation,
teaching young people. Her formal    the largest producer   of snack
education prepared her to teach    cakes in North America.
school. Instead of teaching, she        *       *       *       *

7 March SENAA Newsletter 6

SENAA PROGRESS REPORT

   In our six months of operation,    burial   mound   currently   being
SENAA can be proud of its progress    considered as a construction site;
in the community and elsewhere.       and other projects that are now
   First, thanks to member support    underway.
and other generous contributors,       Perhaps our best accomplishment
we were able   to help several    so far has been our demonstration
families have a more enjoyable    that a group of friends can work
Christmas. (With a full year to    together in harmony toward common
plan, next Christmas promises to    goals and stay focused on the real
be much better.)                      issues   without allowing   petty
   Secondly, SENAA members and the    politics and egos to interfere.
community alike were inspired by        As long as we have the Creator
the selflessness and generosity of    as our guide, and   His Spirit
one of its young people, whose    present at our meetings, we will
gift helped SENAA to help others.    be successful in all our efforts,
That in itself was worth all our    no matter how difficult the task
efforts.                              may seem, at times. The Creator
   Other   SENAA   accomplishments    tells us in Matthew 21:22 that
were:   obtaining   our nonprofit    "all things, whatsoever ye shall
status with the IRS; presenting    ask in prayer, believing, ye shall
the Tennessee Indian Commission    receive." As often as SENAA claims
with our   official desires for    that promise and does not doubt
and position on Moccasin Bend;    the   Creator's words,   it will
presenting our organization to the    succeed, no matter what the task.
TIC as a Native American cultural       May we, in the course of this
and    educational   organization;    year, continue to grow and develop
obtaining authorization from local    into a source of help for others,

TIC spokesperson Harley Grant to    and a protecting, preserving force
develop   a   Southeastern Native    for our cultures and heritages in
American cultural and historical    the Southeast; being ever mindful
program to present to local school    that it is only with our Creator's
children; location and protection    help   that we can achieve any
of two burial sites; cooperation    measure of success.
from the Cleveland City Planner      May Creator bless our efforts.
concerni ng the protection of a
Native American village site and        *       *       *       *

               NATIVE AMERICAN VILLAGE SITE, BURIAL MOUND
             AND POSSIBLE BURIALS SLATED FOR DEVELOPMENT --
                            STEPS BEING TAKEN

   A Cleveland development company    the property.
recently bought property that has          The developer's plans are to
long been known by local citizens    build access roads on the property
to be the site of a former Native    and divide it into lots for sale.
American village. People who have       Concerned that any burials on
walked the pastureland in the past    the property might suffer the same
have seen evidence of   burials    fate as those at the Collegedale
other than those contained in the    site, the SENAA Executive Council
burial mound on the east side of    (See NATIVE BURIALS, page 7)

7 March SENAA Newsletter 7

NATIVE BURIALS (from page 6)
contacted Cleveland City Planner    outside the burial mound,   the
Craig Bivens   in   mid-February,    developer plans to take necessary
voicing SENAA's concern for the    steps to prevent the graves from
burials.   Mr. Bivens   said   the    being desecrated.
preliminary plat   had not been        Conversations with Chuck Benz
filed and promised to notify SENAA    echoed the developer's statements.
as soon as they were presented to        Suggestions by the developer
him.   On 5 March, the plat was    for saving the burials include
filed and SENAA was notified as    attaching burial sites to adjacent
promised, with word that the plat    lots with a covenant attached to
would be reviewed by the Cleveland    the deeds prohibiting any "ground
City Council for approval at their    disturbing activities"   on   the
next meeting, scheduled for March    property.
26 at 6:00 p.m., on the second        The UTK archeological team, on
floor of the Municipal Building.      Monday, 11 March, will begin a
A copy of the plat was presented    two-week-long study of the area to
to SENAA by Craig Bivens, showing    to determine if there are burials
the   proposed   layout   of   the    on the property, and if so, how
property, which is being called    many and where they are located.
"Autumn Ridge."                           Negotiations are now underway
   The plat shows the east side of    for SENAA to obtain possession of
the property, which contains the    the burial mound   and a small
burial    mound,   as    remaining    section of land surrounding it, to
undeveloped, while the west half    prevent anyone from desecrating or
of the property, which fronts on    destroying the sacred area. Since
Freewill Road, will be divided    that area becomes flooded during
into lots and sold.                   heavy rains, and cannot be used
     A conversation   with State    for any practical purpose, SENAA
Archeologist Nick Fielder revealed    is trying to obtain the mound as a
that the developer has voluntarily    donation to the organization, with
hired University of Tennessee at    the stipulation that the mound
Knoxville (UTK) archeologist Chuck    will remain intact and the graves
Benz to conduct an archeological    undisturbed.
study of the proposed site.
    In a conversation with the        *       *       *       *
developer, SENAA Vice President
Al Swilling was told that, in the
event that burials are discovered