Copyright by Bryan Edward Russell 2014
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Copyright by Bryan Edward Russell 2014 The Dissertation Committee for Bryan Edward Russell certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Writing a Way Home: Cherokee Narratives of Critical and Ethical Nationhood Committee: James Cox, Supervisor John M. González, Co-Supervisor Julie Minich Circe Sturm Martha Menchaca Writing a Way Home: Cherokee Narratives of Critical and Ethical Nationhood by Bryan Edward Russell, B.A.; M.A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin May 2014 Dedication To Cherokees – then, now and always. Acknowledgements In his farewell to the English language, Kikuyu writer and activist Ngugi wa- Thiongo attributes his work’s ultimate success to the contributions of others. He writes: “Over the years I have come to realise more and more that work, any work . is not the result of an individual genius but the result of a collective effort” (x). I, likewise, am grateful to and humbled by the countless people in my life who made this undertaking possible. Foremost, I owe immeasurable gratitude to the various indigenous nations and communities on whose lands this project was dreamed of and conceived over the years. Thank you to the Alabama-Coushattas; Coahuiltecans; Cherokees; Creeks; Catawbas; Waccimaws; Yamases; Gullahs; the Duwamish Nation; the Blackfeet Nation; the Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut; the Tonawanda Band of Seneca Indians; the Kainai Nation; the Siksika Nation; Mississaugas; Crees; the Odenak and Wolinak First Nations; the Stoney Tribe; Kahnawake First Nation; Cook Islands Maoris; Mo’orea Maohis; Caribs; Tainos; the Congos, Fulanis, Igbos, Wolofs, Yorubas and Bamilekes of Guadeloupe; Quechuas, Welsh, Chakmas, Marmas, Santals, Tripuras, Tanchangyas and the Mros. Thank you also to my committee whose insights challenged me and helped guide me through this project: James Cox, John M. González, Julie Minich, Martha Menchaca and Circe Sturm. Thank you, too, to Julia H. Lee for her input during this project’s early stages. Likewise, several of my colleagues provided useful feedback and ideas over the years that helped shape my work. Thank you to Kirby Brown, Colleen Eils, Katy Young Evans, Lydia French, Emily Lederman, Amanda Moulder, Andrew Uzendoski, Alberto v Varon and Amy Ware. Additionally, thank you to all my other indigenous colleagues with whom I’ve built a community and shared friendship over the years: Giovanni Batz, Shanya Cordis, Sierra Romero, Virginia Luehrsen, Kyle McGaa, Gabi Rios, Qwo-Li Driskill, Matthew Page, James Jenkins, May Blueotter, Kimberly Huyser, Leti Aparicio- Soriano, Camielle Compton, Hilaria Cruz and Tiara Na’puti. Many thanks to Patricia Schaub and Amy Stewart for their support by coordinating the teaching appointments that allowed me to undertake this project, and especially to Wayne Lesser, who pulled blood from a stone for me on more than one occasion. Wado/Sgi to the other Cherokees who have shared their knowledge and insights, both in person and online, and who have inspired me throughout this project. Much of my gratitude goes out to David Cornsilk, especially, for his tireless advocacy for Cherokees. Though I’ve yet to meet you in person, I’m in awe of your encyclopedic knowledge of all things Cherokee and the generosity with which you share it. Thank you to Walker Calhoun (tsigesv), Robert J. Conley (tsigesv), Durbin Feeling, Sequoyah Guess, Roy Hamilton, Ed Jumper, Choogie Kingfisher, J.C. Lowe, Ryan Mackey, Dawni Squirrel- Mackey, Al Mouse, Caledonia Rattlinggourd, Tsigeyu Sharp, Josh Webster and the Central Texas Cherokee Township. Many thanks as well to Jack Wright, Anthony Wilson, Tim Archuleta, Perry Flippin, Jack Cowan, Howard Taylor, Rita McDow, Diane Murray (tsigesv), Tom Harvey, Aaron Reed and Mike Cox for their mentorship and friendship. As well, I could not have gone this far without the guidance and support of my some of former teachers. Thank you to Rafaele, Alessia, Terry Dalrymple, Gloria Duarte, Chris Ellery, Mark Hama, Mary Ellen Hartje, Linda Kornasky, Jeffrey Schonberg and John Wegner. Thank vi you especially to Charlie McMurtry for setting an inspiring example both in study and in life. Thank you also to Gene Rose, Jim Mahar, Hiroshi Kato (tsigesv), John Riggs, Yasuhiro Sakahara, Randy Shupe, Brian Lee, Joe Rangel, Phet Phongsavane, Vong Vonphachanh, Robert Moore, Richard Lord, Jesus Chavez, Art Cardenas, Joe Vela, Adam Ganshirt, Linda Tenberg, Vince Rosuello, Jessica Chuoy, Sam Tawil, Jay Lindholm, Todd Kammerer, Ross Robertson, Steve McAdam, Dan Hamilton, Barbra Rodriguez, Brent Danninger, Elizabeth Tilman and Jeremy Cumbo for your friendship, camaraderie and for providing me with spaces where I can unwind and be fully myself. Each of you has influenced my development more than you know. And thanks especially to Evan Tanner (tsigesv) for reminding me to put kindness first and to never stop being a seeker. Likewise, I owe immense gratitude to Marywayne Koepsal for setting me on this path by introducing me to the beauty, power and potential of words. Finally, my deepest love and thanks to my family for their support and the sacrifices they made during this endeavor. To my wife, Dilshad, I love you and thank you for supporting me – and on several occasions humoring me – during this undertaking. To my sons, Dylan and Rehan – all of my endeavors begin and end with you. My most profound sacrifice in this effort has been the various moments away, however short, from being a father – time I unfortunately can never regain. Y’all are growing up and beginning to learn the stories of your past. As you continue to learn and grow throughout your lives, I hope one day y’all will encounter this project – and I hope one day you’ll understand. Sdigeyu. vii Writing a Way Home: Cherokee Narratives of Critical and Ethical Nationhood Bryan Edward Russell, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2014 Supervisors: James Cox and John M. González “Writing a Way Home” examines ways that Cherokees in the latter half of the 20th century who have been marginalized through the privileging of state narratives have deployed literature as a way to challenge narratives of state domination and to imagine and work toward more critical, ethical Cherokee nationhood. I examine the ways that Robert K. Thomas and Natachee Scott Momaday used literature during the federal Termination and Relocation programs to imagine functioning tribal nations against the United States’ assimilation narrative of the time. I further delve into how the Cherokee Nation’s state narrative of the Cherokee Freedmen has denationalized Freedmen descendants and how, by using the WPA narratives of former Cherokee slaves and Tom Holm and Thomas’ Peoplehood Matrix, we can re-narrate the Freedmen descendants into a more ethical Cherokee Nation. Finally, I close the study with an examination of Daniel Heath Justice’s Way of Thorn and Thunder trilogy that uses storytelling to re-imagine a place of reverence for gay and queer-identified Cherokees at a time when the Cherokee Nation passed a ban on same-sex marriage, claiming that such relationships defied what the Cherokee state narrates as tribal tradition. I aim to show in this study the danger of viii uncritically accepting the state model for tribal nations and the importance of periodically challenging tribal nations when leaders behave unethically. Likewise, this study demonstrates the power of story to not only check the excesses of state sovereignty that marginalize people based on their history, politics, race and sexuality, but also the power to re-imagine a nation – a home – that welcomes all its relations. ix “I have always believed that the Great Creator had a great design for my people, the Cherokees. I have been taught that from my childhood up, and now in my mature manhood I recognize it as a great truth. Our forces have been dissipated by the external forces, perhaps it has been just a training, but we must now get together as a race and render our contribution to mankind. We are endowed with intelligence, we are industrious, we are loyal and we are spiritual but we are overlooking the Cherokee mission on earth, for no man nor race is endowed with these qualifications without a designed purpose. “Our pride in our ancestral heritage is our great incentive for handing something worthwhile to our posterity. It is this pride in ancestry that makes men strong and loyal for their principal in life. It is this same pride that makes men give up their all for their Government.” – Redbird Smith, 1910 speech to Council of Nighthawk Keetoowahs “[T]he native intellectual who takes up arms to defend his nation’s legitimacy and who wants to bring proofs to bear out that legitimacy . is obliged to dissect the heart of his people.” – Franz Fanon, Wretched of the Earth x Table of Contents Introduction………………………………………………………………………1 "We must not surrender . until we fall to the ground united": Robert Thomas, Redbird Smith and Writing Cultural Nationhood during the Termination and Relocation Era ...............................................................................................64 "Faith in ourselves in necessary": Functional Integration as Resistance and Critical Nationhood in Natachee Momaday's Owl in the Cedar Tree .....................131 "This nation look[s] like home to me": Cherokee Freedmen and Writing Ethical Nationhood through the Peoplehood Matrix