Judge Charles Riley Cloud
Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma

As a mixed blood member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, I greet you in our Native tongue by saying "Oh See Yoh!" As a member of a Cherokee family assimilated into the White community of Oklahoma Indian Territory at the beginning of this Century, and whose family has now been assimilated into the Virginia community, I say: "Greetings to my Brothers and Sisters. I give thanks to the Great and Holy Spirit for this opportunity to talk and listen to one another."

Arriving here only a few hours ago, I sensed the spirit of this hallowed ground. I know that this hallowed ground you call "Weyanoke" is as sacred as any other historical area of Virginia and the Nation. It is overwhelming to know that many of your great grandparents' great grandparents lived on and roamed about this beautiful land long ago. You can touch this land and feel your roots. Much of your history has probably been handed down in the oral tradition by the older folks telling it to the children and to others. Unfortunately, it has long been fashionable to frown on and discredit a peoples' oral history, while treating a written history as though it was the Bible and infallible. But, we know that written histories are often not accurate. Too often they, cover up some of the embarrassing parts and tell only that part the writer wants to emphasize. And sometimes, it's simply not true.

I think our Nation would be better if we returned to some of our oral traditions. Long ago I'm certain that all of the Tribes of the World practiced the tradition of telling and retelling stories of important events so that the children would not forget, and so that they would be able to tell it to their children. Not so very long ago, most of us participated in remembering important events by the retelling of them. It was this oral tradition which kept patriotism alive for many of us. When we stopped telling about it, and reduced it merely to writing, the result was that the public began to forget about it.

Let me give you an example. Most of us knew about Davey Crockett, Sam Houston and The Alamo long before we might have read about it in the history books. During the Second World War, a favorite patriotic slogan included the words, "Remember the Alamo". We all knew that a handful of brave men volunteered to give up their lives so that the rest of us could have freedom. Maybe we didn't know that the Alamo was located in San Antonio, but most of us knew that it was in Texas. We knew it because we talked and sang about it. During the second world war, we older persons sang "Let's remember Pearl Harbor, as we did the Alamo."

To get to the point, last year a professional football game was held at a sports arena in San Antonio. It was televised, and I was watching it. I don't remember the teams, but the sportscaster was John Madden, the former coach of the Oakland Raiders. At one point, he began to tell of his sightseeing trip in San Antonio, which brought him to a place called, "The Alamo". He said he knew the name because of a sign that said, "The Alamo closes at 5: 00 P.M., and will reopen tomorrow morning at 9: 00 A.M." However, there was no sign telling what "The Alamo" was. He said he asked some of the camera crew with him if they knew what it was, and they said no. He said he found a store close by that was open. He went inside and asked the clerk about "The Alamo". The Clerk answered that all he knew, was that it was a place where a lot of tourists came to visit. Mr. Madden said he never found out what "The Alamo" was or why it was there. Well, I thought it was just a big joke he was playing. watched closely to see how he would spring it. But, it was never mentioned again. I finally realized that neither he, nor the producer, nor the camera crew had any idea that "The Alamo" was a shrine to Freedom in this Nation. I watched the papers, expecting to see the public's outrage and Mr. Madden's public apology. But it never came. Apparently most of the public, like Mr. Madden, had no idea that great Americans died there to preserve the Freedom we enjoy today.

Speaking of history, I want to play a game with you. I'm going to describe a historical event. You see if you can identify it in your mind before I tell you when and where it happened. In the past there were two separate and sovereign nations. one was much larger than the other, and much more powerful. The much more powerful nation had an extremely large Army and it was well equipped. The larger nation had previously claimed that legally the smaller nation was within its borders- and thus belonged to the larger nation. Beneath the smaller nation's land was buried a substance so valuable that nations and men have often fought and killed one another just to gain its possession- and this is still true even today. The larger Nation wanted the riches under the land as badly as it wanted the land and buildings on top. So, the much larger nation decided to just take the land and riches of the smaller nation by force. Believing that no one would stop them, they invaded the smaller nation. Along the way members of its Army indulged in the killing of men, women and children. Some of you may have already identified this historical event. Let me give you another clue. The invading soldiers made prisoners of the people, and marched them off to stockades to await their fate. The soldiers of the larger nation and many of its citizens took possession of the empty homes and the personal property within and about. Many of the women, young and old, were raped and beaten. Many had no pity for these freedom loving people who had become prisoners, calling them "savages". Through all of this you could often hear these "savages" singing the same song, which incidentally has today become an "unofficial" national anthem. See if you recognize it:

1. u ne la nv i we tsi (v=unh, e=a, i=ee)
i ga gu yv he 
hna quo tso sv wi Yu lo se
i ga gu yv ho nv

2. a se no i u ne tse i
i Yu du le (e) nv
ta ii ne dv tsi lu tsi ii
u dv ne u ne tsv

3. e lo ni gv ni li - s - qua di
ga lu tsv ha i (i) Yu
ni ga di da ye di go i
a ni e lo ni gv

4. u na da nv ti a ne hv
do da ya nv hi li
tso sv hna quo ni go hi lv
do hi wa ne he s i

Of course, you know that this doesn't sound like Middle East music. And, you're right--those "savages" were singing a Christian hymn! Sadly, I tell you that this was not Iraq invading Kuwait. It was the United States Government invading the Cherokee Nation of America. The riches under the ground were the Cherokee gold fields which were located in the areas which today may be identified as Dahlonega and Dalton, Georgia. To secure these riches for the State of Georgia, and to take the farms, homes, animals, personal property and buildings of the Cherokee people, it was our Federal Government and President Andrew Jackson breaking old treaties and fraudulently enforcing a new treaty upon the Cherokee people.

The approval of the false treaty was secured by only a single vote margin in the United States Senate in 1836. The forced removal and march of the Cherokee people in 1838 to a territory beyond the Mississippi, is remembered today as our "Trail of Tears". Of the 16,000 who started the forced removal, about four thousand died along the way under unbelievable tragedy, cruelty and reversed savagery.

Years before that, the Cherokee leaders had started to plan of ways to stop the whites from taking their land. They had welcomed in missionaries and easily assimilated Christianity. Long before Columbus, arrival, the Cherokee religion recognized a supreme creator and Great Spirit who was three in one--a trinity. Christianity came naturally to them. After all, when the "savages" at Jamestown were saving and feeding the European intruders, the Cherokee had in place a social program which provided food for orphans and widows. They were behaving like Christians even before they heard about Christ.

Seeing the written language of the whites, a Cherokee sat down and accomplished a task that even today seems impossible. He invented a written language for the Cherokee. His name was Sequoya, and I'm sure you've heard of him. What you might not know is that in about a year, this new written language was taught throughout the tribe and they became almost totally literate. Today, our brightest scholars search for the secret of how to educate the people of the United States so that they might be almost totally literate.

It's rather ironic. Most of the people of a nation who were called savages became literate, almost overnight, only to then be forced to join the civilized world where they would learn how to become illiterate again, like the civilized world whose percentage of illiterates is often over fifty percent. These "savage" Cherokees had public schools and a national newspaper called "The Phoenix". It printed both English and Cherokee translations. And, they had a written Constitution almost identical to that of the United States. But, when our government wanted to take their land and riches, it was better to cover-up and ignore their true status, and instead call them savages. What can not be covered up is that these "savages" fought in a civilized way by going to court; and they won their case in the United States Supreme Court. That case was Worcester v. Georgia. Chief Justice John Marshall ruled that the laws of Georgia were null and void in the sovereign territory of the Cherokee. But President Jackson refused to obey the order, saying "Let the Chief Justice try and enforce it". In this early contest between the judiciary and the executive branches, the President was the most powerful. The equal power of the judicial branch eroded--and the Cherokees were removed. This case is still the law and is cited in almost every case where Indian Nations of today file suit.

Back in the early 1800's it was clear evidence to Native Americans on both sides of the Mississippi that the whites intended to take their lands, one way or the other. Many chose to fight and die in defense of their homes. A literal translation of the Cherokee Christian hymn sung to the favorite tune of "Amazing Grace", is:

God's Son, paid for us,
Now, to heaven He went after paying for us,
Then he spoke when he rose, I'll come the second time,
He said when He spoke, all the world will end when He returns,
We will all see Him, here,
The world over the righteous who live, He will come after,
In Heaven now always in peace they will live.

These thoughts sung by "savages" are inspiring even today.

I think it's important to point out that these acts were not approved of by all the white Americans even at that time, Actually, President Jackson's actions evoked a storm of protest from citizens from all walks of life. John Q. Adams, a member of the House of Representatives said that it was "infamous... It brings with it eternal disgrace upon the country." On the floor of the United States Congress, Henry wise, a member from Virginia, compared the Chief of the Cherokee to Mr. Halsey, a member from Georgia; and Congressman Wise said, "the gentleman from Georgia will not gain greatly by the comparison, either in civilization or morals."

All over the United States, from the Freedom Hall in Pennsylvania to the mountains on the frontier, the American people spoke out against this great tragedy and national embarrassment, but to no avail. A young soldier, John Burnett, was an eyewitness. He wrote that, "I saw the helpless Cherokees arrested and dragged from their homes, and driven by bayonet into the stockades. And in the chill of a drizzling rain on an October morning, I saw them loaded like cattle or sheep...and started toward the West. Chief Ross led in prayer, and when the bugle sounded ... many of the children waved their little hands good-bye to their mountain homes." The Cherokees said that this was "The trail where they cried." Many of us forgive, but Cherokees will never forget this part of the hidden American Holocaust.

We believe this could never happen today, because the good people of America have multiplied. This is evident because more and more of our leaders are joining together with people of all colors to remove and eliminate even the perception of racial, ethnic and gender bias.

And, I want to impress upon you that Native American concepts of Democracy and individual freedom have greatly contributed to this. I equally believe that our Nation is great because of the contributions made by all her people.

I told you that I'm an assimilated Native American. I also confess that I'm still in shock over the realization that I'm walking in the twilight years of my life, fast approaching a reunion with my God and Creator, the Great Holy Spirit. only recently in this comfortable walk have I begun to discover my Native American roots. I've discovered that throughout Native America, "balance was a central thread of life. For instance, immediate needs were always balanced with the needs of future generations. Only recently have some environmentalists discovered their hidden Native American roots and the need for this balance.

Hopefully, our political leaders will rediscover this concept of balancing immediate needs with the needs of our children's children. As for me, I now see that all life, society and democracy should strive for balance. This is another way of saying that equality, freedom and justice are merely God's plans for balance in our lives and societies.

When our Nation was born, please understand that Native America was the mid-wife, and their concept of balancing interests was the umbilical cord. The constitution of the Iroquois Confederacy predated ours by over three hundred years. In the Iroquois Constitution, Benjamin Franklin found inspiration for the idea of an executive branch and legislative branch to check and balance one another. Since the arrival of the white Europeans, the numerous Indian Tribes and people provided them with the example that leaders must be servants of the people, who could be impeached by the people if they failed to follow this principle. This was explicit in the Iroquois Constitution where also was found the idea of individual sovereignty and freedom, along with the participation of women in government. Here also is the first example of constitutionally protected (free) speech and security in one's home from intrusion (searches).

Bad experiences with the English government's "dependent" judiciary helped our Founding Fathers to find the one thing which elevates our Bill of Rights from being merely rhetoric and unavailable to the lowest classes of the people. It was an independent judicial branch. We must guard against the example set by President Jackson where the Government ignored the order of the United States Supreme Court. The judicial branch must retain parity with the other branches and maintain its independence. So long as this judicial independence is not eroded and our government stays in balance, democracy will survive. The erosion of judicial independence which puts government out of balance is an important topic which should also be of concern to each of you.

By now I hope you anticipate that I deal with diversity as an issue of balancing. Our government continues to be out of balance when positions of leaders are considered to be positions of power, rather than service. Even more is this so when the power positions continue to be dominated by WASP males. Does anyone doubt that the laws of Nature and the Universe dictate that things out of balance will ultimately destroy themselves? Democracy lives by the breath of its people. In the systems of our government, the gender and racial mix needs to be balanced similar to the general mix of society. We should have already learned that when the public perceives the mix to be out of balance, they begin to lose faith in the system's ability to be fair and just.

Ethnic cleansing has covered up most of the Native American contributions. I want to tell you though, that wherever we look today in America we can see Native American roots if we are willing to look beneath the surface. With the hope that you will follow our oral tradition by telling and retelling these facts to your children and others, I tell you that:

	Indian farmers gave us crops of corn, cotton, potatoes, sunflowers, beans and tobacco.
	Approximately sixty percent of all the food crops grown today IN THE WORLD, originated with the Indian farmers of North and South America;
	The American Indian tomato made Italian pastas and pizzas come alive;<
	American Indian paprika added zest to the stews of central Europe;
	Chile peppers of America made Szechuan food an International cuisine.
	Together with cashews and peanuts, they helped make for livelier curries in India;
	The Swiss found a thousand ways to eat the Indian treat of chocolate; and
	The whole world found new taste sensations in American vanilla; and
	The first person to call for a union of the 13 colonies was an Indian, Chief Canassatego. He did this in 1744, while speaking to a Pennsylvania Assembly negotiating the Treaty of Lancaster. Benjamin Franklin took the words seriously and at the Albany Conference in 1754, he repeated this Native American's call for the Union of the colonies.

European colonists in America had so little experience with democratic representative institutions, that they had to use an Algonquin Indian word, "caucus", to designate this decision making procedure in a representative government.

By the way, do any of you remember the celebration in Jamestown just a few weeks ago to honor the first representative government in the New World? The celebration gave the credit to the English government against which our Founding Fathers fought and died to eliminate. Many must have turned over in their graves during this celebration. One of them would be James Madison, who in 1788 in The Federalist papers said that the English government could not be called a representative government. He said that this was an "extreme inaccuracy" when compared to a "genuine republic." Of course, the ever present examples for our Founding Fathers of genuine republics, were the Native American governments which had been here centuries before the arrival of Columbus to America. The example provided by the Native American "caucus" grew into a major organizing factor in the Congress, and even more importantly in the American convention system for nominating political candidates. It has spread to institutions as diverse as student councils, congregationalist churches, city/town/county governments and the annual stockholder meetings of public corporations.

As the United States moved toward its Civil War, it began to lose its pride in our Indian heritage. Politicians from the slave states recognized that the principles of Indian liberty were incompatible with the concept of a slave democracy, as practiced in ancient Greece. Rejecting notions of Indian liberty, the slaveholders emphasized instead a connection with Athens and ancient city-states of Greece, where democracy was practiced by an elite few, while the majority of the people worked in slavery. As a result, the original architecture of our Nation's Capitol was covered over with Greek columns, and the tobacco leaves were replaced with Greek acanthus leaves. If you look closely today, you will be able to see the covered over sandstone carvings of Indian images and plants showing through the overlay of classical marble. our Indian heritage has not been lost--it has just been covered over and ignored. It is democracy which will suffer if this is allowed to continue.

I am proud and honored to be a part of this important symposium. It is long overdue that we celebrate not only the contributions, but also "The Legacy of Native and African Peoples in Charles City County", in Virginia, in the United States, and yes, even throughout the World. To supplement the oral history of Native America, I donate to The Weyanoke Association a written history entitled "EXEMPLAR OF LIBERTY--Native America and the Evolution of Democracy"; and an article entitled "Iroquois Influence on the Founding of the American Nation". I urge each of you to explore and discover your roots. I'll finish today by quoting from this mentioned article. There also it may be found at the end.

"In a nation where one out of every five persons goes to bed hungry every night, 60 percent of the children born are under the poverty level, 65 percent of those in prison have yet to stand trial, whose government seems to come closer by day to the Will Rogers [an Oklahoma Cherokee] adage, "every time Congress makes a law, it's a joke, and when they make a joke, it becomes a law", one begins to wonder who are the American savages? In the closing years of the twentieth century, we must use the knowledge of the true history of this nation to bring us hope that American society can still grasp the dagger of savagery and barbarism of everyday life by the handle and reaffirm its societal roots of a once-powerful nation where the people's voice still counted..... while there is still time."