CHEROKEE HOMECOMING FESTIVAL NEW ECHOTA

[Okwes]

CHEROKEE HOMECOMING FESTIVAL NEW ECHOTA

I ask of those of you who support bringing the Cherokee back to
Georgia for the 170 year commemoration to please contact those listed
below. No way should Chad Smith have the last say in this at all.
He has yet to serve the people well, but of his own agendas.

Larry Mindler has worked hard for the benefit of all people.

Sincerely,

Jean Moyer


To whom it may concern

A couple of days ago, I had hope that this letter to you would be
full of good news.

Monday January 14, 2008 I was in a meeting with the Chief of
Operations, John Thompson, Asst. Chief of Operations, Steve Saunders,
Historic Region Manager, Frankie Mewborn, and New Echota Park
Manager, David Gomez. I had asked for Director Becky Kelley to meet
with me. I was led to believe that I had to wait almost 2 months so
that she could be in attendance. She was not.

This meeting was about getting the State Parks to allow a Welcoming
Home to the 3 Cherokee Nations in the New Echota Historic Park on
November 6, 2008, the last Capital of the Cherokee Nation before the
removal in 1838-39.

We came to an agreement that if the Cherokee Nations were represented
by members of their tribes to accept the welcoming, the Park would
allow it, and even help in preparations for it. That was good news to
me after trying 11 months to get to this answer.

I came home and wrote a letter to the Chief of each Cherokee tribe
trying to explain what was happening. (see attached; Cherokee Nations
Homecoming Festival) I also called them but had to leave messages.

What happened as a result still leaves me in surprise.

I received the attached letter from Dr. Allen, which is a copy of his
letter to Becky Kelley refusing to come

Becky Kelley, Director

2 Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. SE

Suite 1352

Atlanta, Ga. 30334

Dear Ms. Kelley,

Chadwick Smith, Principal Chief, Cherokee Nation asked that I respond
to the attached proposal stating that we do not support the
endeavor. The Cherokee Nation was forcibly removed from Georgia over
what is known as the trail of tears in 1838-39. Obviously, this
year, 2008, is the 170th anniversary of the forced removal of the
Cherokee Nation from Georgia and other southeastern states.

For the past few years, the Cherokee Nation has worked closely with
Mr. Eric Duff, Georgia Department of Transportation, and Mr. David
Gomez, Park Manager, regarding the preservation of the New Echota
site as the last capitol of the Cherokee Nation prior to the forced
removal. The Cherokee Nation continues to consult with Mr. Duff and
Mr. Gomez and last met with them in August 2007 regarding proposed
improvements to SR 225 over New Town Creek and the Coosawattee River
at New Echota. Mr. Gomez and Mr. Duff were very supportive of
establishing New Echota as a Traditional Cultural Property of the
Cherokee Nation. New Echota has a particular significance to the
Cherokee Nation as a sacred site. Therefore, the Cherokee Nation
does not support activities in or near this traditional cultural
property that we find not to be relevant or significant to the
history, traditions and culture of the Cherokee people. Although we
do not oppose powwow dancing, it is not a traditional activity of the
Cherokee people and certainly not an activity that would have
occurred at New Echota 170 years ago. Therefore, we would find that
an inappropriate activity.

The Cherokee Nation continues to have a presence in Georgia through
NAGPRA/Section 106 consultations with federal and state agencies that
include the GFHWA, GDOT, FCC, FERC, military installations and the
Georgia National Guard. In addition to New Echota, we consult or
have consulted at the following sites: Etowah, Okmulgee National Park
and other sites associated with the Cherokee Nation. In addition, we
have Cherokee Nation council members and other tribal representatives
who are associated with the Trail of Tears Association that meets at
times at historic sites in Georgia.

The activity being proposed by Mr. Mindler (who at times has assumed
the sobriquet of Yellow Otter or Wisdom Bear), would lend a
celebratory atmosphere to an event we consider sacred. Mr. Mindler
has announced an event to "bring back the Cherokee Nations" to
Georgia without having discussed this notion with the Cherokee
Nation. Regardless, we would not and do not support his proposed
activity.

Sincerely,

Richard Allen

Dr. Richard L. Allen (NAGPRA/Section 106 Contact)

Policy Analyst

Cherokee Nation

POB 948

Tahlequah, Oklahoma 74465

[phone]

I responded with this;

Dr. Allen

I was very sorry to receive your response to my proposed event via a
copy of a letter to Becky Kelley.

I believe that, without even talking to me about our plans, you have
arrived at negative and erroneous conclusions.

I have NEVER proposed a POW WOW on the New Echota grounds. Nor is it
the event at the Gordon County Fairgrounds described as a pow wow. It
is
a Festival, a Celebration of LIFE.

I have never intended any kind of dancing at the ceremony on the New
Echota Grounds. The event planned for that site was not even to be a
Festival or a Celebration. It was simply to be an official welcome
home. An acknowledgement that your people were driven away, but that
this place remained your homeplace. If elders from the nations
request
dancing, and if the state officials approved of it, we would, of
course
welcome any dance deemed appropriate and proper in the historical or
spiritual sense, would not be publicized, and would almost certainly
take place privately, after the public had left the area.

I am very much aware of this being 170 years since the trail of tears
removal began. That was, in fact, what I intended the event to
recognize. Note, that I did not say "celebrate," but "recognize."
Perhaps you do not realize how many Georgia adults and children have
almost no knowledge of this event, and very few have any idea where
New
Echota is, let alone its significance. This event was intended to
change that.

And I am at a loss to understand what you mean by "would lend a
celebratory atmosphere to an event we consider sacred"? You consider
it
"sacred" that your ancestors were forcibly removed, but not "sacred"
that you now have the right to come back and be officially and
publicly
welcomed to this site?

I am not sure what you are saying except that you seem to think I am
trying to hurt or take advantage of the Cherokee nation in some way.
I am trying to be of help to you and to all the Cherokee people by
making the history of Cherokee Nation in Georgia, the Trail of Tears,
and the still-living people more widely accessible to the state's
population! We are not under the impression that your contributions
and
participation in this state are nonexistent, but we do note that they
are largely invisible to the public at large.

Perhaps I should have consulted with people in all three federally
recognized Tribes first, but please understand that until very
recently,
the relationship between the Indian people (in any Tribe) in Georgia
and
the State Parks department was not the best. We have had trouble
getting
approval to even display or acknowledge our culture in state parks
except in a blatantly commercial sense. I would not have wanted to
bring any of the tribes into a situation where it was possibly an
event
you had an interest in but was dismissed out of hand or worse,
trivialized
into a carnival -- and up until one day ago, that was very much a
possibility.

My approach to the CNO was intended to be a request for participation
and dialogue. The event plans have not been formalized or
publicized.
Certainly we hoped you or others within the CNO, the Eastern Band and
the UKB who have expertise and experience in these matters might
suggest
any desirable activities (or advise about undesirable ones).

However, by directly sending a letter of opposition to the event to
Becky Kelley before any attempt to discover whether your impressions
of
what we might be considering were correct, whether our plans were
made
and firm, or simply first steps toward a final plan, you have
effectively put a stop to any possibility that the Cherokee Removal's
170 anniversary will be honored in any meaningful way in this state.
The
people of Georgia will pass the year (and pass the New Echota exit)
blissfully unaware of the gravity of what happened there or that such
a
site even exists. Please do look at the attendance figures at this
park
you are so proud of having "improved" and compare it to other parks
in
the state.

Is that the effect you truly wished to have?

As for my name - that was given to me by an elder of another tribe.
Do
you think it appropriate to ridicule (to non-tribal people, no less)
what might be a tradition of a tribe not your own? I realize you are
a
policy expert, but just because you don't recognize a tradition, that
doesn't make it less genuine, or less respectable.

Larry Mindler
Wisdom Bear

I have now slept on the disappointment of the letter that Dr. Allen
sent out.

I realize now that I / We were likely set up for this one.

He mentions things in his letter that were not in my letter to Chief
Smith.

So where did he hear these things?

Why did he not try to talk to me about what was intended before his
rash statements?

If the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma doesn't want to be Honored by us
lowly mixed-bloods here in the state of Georgia, I wish them well. I
don't believe that the people of the Cherokee Nation feel this way,
but at least one of their government bureaucrats feels too important
to be involved with non-enrolled people.

Either way, they haven't stopped our event.

The Cherokee Nations Homecoming Festival at Gordon County Fairgrounds
can and will still happen. And it will proceed pretty much the same
as intended.

The Arts and Craft vendors will still come, the people will still
come.

The event that has most likely been lost is only a stage and a
welcoming of the 3 Cherokee Nations by the Government of Georgia, the
full-blood and mixed-bloods from the Cherokee and other nations, and
the non-Indian spectators that wished to attend.

That is the Cherokee Nations loss. But then it is them that has
caused that loss.

I still have hopes that the Eastern Band of Cherokee and the UKB will
still want to come to the welcoming.

But since the Cherokee Nation Band seems to have appointed itself
the leaders of the Cherokee, they may also choose not to support it.

It is a crying shame that there are so many people in the background
working so hard to keep good things from happen.

We have an event that will help so many through the teaching that we
can bring.

I believe that to be a good thing. And will continue to work for the
good of the group.

I don't know if your voice in this will matter but if you would like
to respond to the powers that seem to be, I will add their contact
here also.

If this seems important to you, feel free to pass it on to your
friends.

Thank you for your time.

Larry Mindler

Wisdom Bear

Cherokee Nation

Chad Smith, Chief Email [e-mail]

918-453-5000 ext. 5204

Jack Baker Email [e-mail]

Julia Coates Email [e-mail]

Richard Allen Email [e-mail]

Georgia State Parks

Director, Becky Kelley, Email [e-mail]

404-656-9448