Keetoowahs

I know there was something of a consensus of feelings after speaking with the Chief and Deputy Chief. I agree. Factually, a lot of these guys' argument was ridiculous. Mostly, the incredibly defensive/aggressive nature of everything Chief Wickliffe and Locust said showed some obvious insecurities. However, I will say that this presentation was incredible for me in terms of me seeing the big picture in terms of education (false teachings and educ. as credibility), history applying to today, politics and culture clash.

I've always thought about how strange it must have been/ must be now for all American Indians to be forced to assimilate into a culture that took over, and to have to be forced to change and adapt to this new culture so fast. Seeing these two Cherokee tribes, which are both obviously very similar, pitted against each other in this fashion made me realize something. Two of the largest differences between the two are money and numbers, which CN has a hell of a lot more of both. With more people and money (aka power), CN is able to make much more progress and achieve more goals than UKB. UKB can boast blood, and "tradition," but because of it they have much less money and numbers and little besides their pride to work with. I see this as a strange anthropological conundrum, but I definitely see CN as the most successful Indian nation (not that I have studied others, but being the biggest it cant be too far fetched an assumption) in terms of playing our (USA! govt.) game, working politically and ADAPTING to a forced situation in the better manner. Unfortunately, desertion of certain cultural aspects has been necessary to achieve these means, but I guess clinging to the past just isn't the practical approach in this situation. That last sentence was my way of avoiding exploring plenty of other complicated paths of thought to that very intricate and controversial issue which now faces Amer-Indian cultures.

As a history major it was really awesome to see history being so relevant to a current situation in front of my face with the CN-UKB battle. Historical events and bitterness towards them/clinging on to them/ trying to move on - really spurns people to action.
Seeing these multiple re-interpretations of history has taught me to question spoon-fed history and any other information I come across in the future. Also, politics rule the world. That and money. Mainly money. Power in numbers is crucial too.