Post by blackcrowheart on Mar 28, 2007 21:01:17 GMT -5
Southern California's descendants of the Cherokee Nation
RIVERSIDE - For Southern California's descendants of the Cherokee
Nation, life on the West Coast has often meant being disconnected from
tribal history and culture.
"One of the biggest complaints has been that there's nowhere to go to
find out information,
" Darlene Dukelow-Burton, a Pedley resident, said. "There's nothing out
there."
On Sunday evening, Dukelow-Burton and about 250 others gathered at
Arlington Avenue Church of the Nazarene in Riverside for the first
public meeting of the Cherokee Community of the Inland Empire, a group
intended to link Cherokees who live across the United States.
The organization is one of four such Southern California groups formed
under the aegis of the Oklahoma-based Cherokee Nation. Britt Porter,
chairman of the Inland Empire group, grew up in Southern California and
said the 3,500 or so Cherokees here have had a hard time maintaining a
sense of community with Oklahoma's Cherokee population.
"We all felt displaced from this process. We weren't involved," Porter
said.
A diverse group of black, white and brown faces crowded the church's
meeting hall Sunday to learn more about the new organization. Some of
those who attended the potluck meeting identified themselves as Cherokee
citizens. Others simply trace their family ancestry to the tribe.
"I feel that all families should know their heritage," Thelma Wilburn,
50, of San Bernardino said at the gathering. "You'd be surprised. A lot
of people don't know what Indian blood they have in them, and I'm proud
to be Cherokee."
The Cherokee Nation's Principal Chief Chad Smith, said the tribe's
effort to create Cherokee communities across the United States is part
of a 100-year plan to protect tribal culture.
"We have a decision to pass on this great legacy or allow it to lapse,"
Smith said.
As the organization matures, Porter said members will be able to join a
variety of smaller groups to study topics like Cherokee culture,
clothing and genealogy.
"That was one of the first questions I was asked. `Can you help me prove
that I'm Cherokee?"' Porter said.
Lloyd Thompson, 56, attended Sunday's meeting. The Ontario resident
lamented that American Indians are often "the invisible people in this
country," but said he was encouraged by the new group.
"I think that it's a good beginning. We're trying to get people proud of
being Cherokee," Thompson said.
The group's next scheduled public meeting is in March.
For more information about the Cherokee Community of the Inland Empire,
call Kimberly Dotson at (909) 820-4828.
RIVERSIDE - For Southern California's descendants of the Cherokee
Nation, life on the West Coast has often meant being disconnected from
tribal history and culture.
"One of the biggest complaints has been that there's nowhere to go to
find out information,
" Darlene Dukelow-Burton, a Pedley resident, said. "There's nothing out
there."
On Sunday evening, Dukelow-Burton and about 250 others gathered at
Arlington Avenue Church of the Nazarene in Riverside for the first
public meeting of the Cherokee Community of the Inland Empire, a group
intended to link Cherokees who live across the United States.
The organization is one of four such Southern California groups formed
under the aegis of the Oklahoma-based Cherokee Nation. Britt Porter,
chairman of the Inland Empire group, grew up in Southern California and
said the 3,500 or so Cherokees here have had a hard time maintaining a
sense of community with Oklahoma's Cherokee population.
"We all felt displaced from this process. We weren't involved," Porter
said.
A diverse group of black, white and brown faces crowded the church's
meeting hall Sunday to learn more about the new organization. Some of
those who attended the potluck meeting identified themselves as Cherokee
citizens. Others simply trace their family ancestry to the tribe.
"I feel that all families should know their heritage," Thelma Wilburn,
50, of San Bernardino said at the gathering. "You'd be surprised. A lot
of people don't know what Indian blood they have in them, and I'm proud
to be Cherokee."
The Cherokee Nation's Principal Chief Chad Smith, said the tribe's
effort to create Cherokee communities across the United States is part
of a 100-year plan to protect tribal culture.
"We have a decision to pass on this great legacy or allow it to lapse,"
Smith said.
As the organization matures, Porter said members will be able to join a
variety of smaller groups to study topics like Cherokee culture,
clothing and genealogy.
"That was one of the first questions I was asked. `Can you help me prove
that I'm Cherokee?"' Porter said.
Lloyd Thompson, 56, attended Sunday's meeting. The Ontario resident
lamented that American Indians are often "the invisible people in this
country," but said he was encouraged by the new group.
"I think that it's a good beginning. We're trying to get people proud of
being Cherokee," Thompson said.
The group's next scheduled public meeting is in March.
For more information about the Cherokee Community of the Inland Empire,
call Kimberly Dotson at (909) 820-4828.