Look Forward. Turn What Has Been Done

One Of The Things My Parents Taught Me, And I'll Always Be Grateful As A Gift, Is To Not Ever Let Anybody Else Define Me; That For Me To Define Myself. And I Think That Helped Me A Lot In Assuming A Leadership Position.

Negative Thoughts Were Treated By Cherokee Healers With The Same Medicines As Wounds, Headaches, Or Physical Illness. It Was Believed That Unchecked Negative Thoughts Can Permeate The Being And Manifest Themselves In Negative Actions.

Western Movies Always Seemed To Show Indian Women Washing Clothes At The Creek And Men With A Tomahawk Or Spear In Their Hands, Adorned With Lots Of Feathers. That Image Has Stayed In Some People's Minds. Many Think We're Either Visionaries, `noble Savages,' Squaw Drudges Or Tragic Alcoholics. We're Very Rarely Depicted As Real People Who Have Greater Tenacity In Terms Of Trying To Hang On To Our Culture And Values System Than Most People.

We Are A Revitalized Tribe. After Every Major Upheaval, We Have Been Able To Gather Together As A People To Rebuild A Community And A Government. Individually And Collectively, Cherokee People Possess An Extraordinary Ability To Face Down Adversity And Continue Moving Forward. We Are Able To Do That Because Our Culture, Though Certainly Diminished, Has Sustained Us Since Time Inmemorial. This Cherokee Culture Is A Well-kept Secret.

We Must Trust Our Own Thinking. Trust Where We're Going. And Get The Job Done.