NOTE TO USERS This reproduction is the best copy available. ® UMI Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with with permission permission of the of copyright the copyright owner. owner.Further reproductionFurther reproduction prohibited without prohibited permission. without permission. LIFE HISTORY OF SAMMY STILL, A TRADITIONAL WESTERN CHEROKEE IN MODERN AMERICA By Juliette E. Sligar Submitted to the Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of American University in PartialFulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts In Public Anthropology Chair: Richard J. Dent"'' (\ Cesare Marino Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Date 2005 American University Washington, D.C. 20016 AMERICAN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 1425664 Copyright 2005 by Sligar, Juliette E. All rights reserved. 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Sligar 2005 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIFE HISTORY OF SAMMY STILL, A TRADITIONAL WESTERN CHEROKEE IN MODERN AMERICA By Juliette E. Sligar ABSTRACT The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma faces an encroachment of mainstream American culture on its rich cultural heritage. The Cherokee of Oklahoma are struggling to preserve their language, customs and traditions. This thesis explores what it means, today, to be a traditional Cherokee in Oklahoma. As with most North American indigenous cultures, Cherokee traditions are predominantly oral. This study presents the narrated account of a contemporary, “ordinary” Western Cherokee, Sammy Still. This account is unique because, to my knowledge, no other life history has been written on a modem Cherokee individual who is not a public figure. Through this life history, where ancestral traditions and modem living interweave and cohabitate, one will discover that the Cherokee people continue to demonstrate their legendary ability to adapt, assimilate and appropriate what is useful for everyday life. Sammy Still’s way of life soundly echoes the contemporary Cherokee lifestyle as well as the ancient Cherokee traditions and language. ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This study cannot be attributed to the researcher’s work alone. I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the individuals who have made it possible. First, I wish to thank my advisor and mentor, Dr. Richard J. Dent. Throughout the academic years that have preceded this work, he has been an attentive listener, a caring professor, and an impartial critic. He helped me keep my head above waters in moments of doubt and inspired my academic and scholastic endeavors in times of wonder. Dr. Dent has been a guiding light to me. So many times, he has given shape to my chaotic ideas and interests. I would not have done it without him. I have immeasurable admiration and respect for Dr. Dent, both as an individual and as a professor, and I am forever in his debt. Dr. Dent has also enabled me to work with the second person to whom I would like to express gratitude, Dr. Cesare Marino. Dr. Marino is an amazing student of Indian cultures. He is the sweetest, yet toughest scholar I had the chance to work for. For almost a year, I strived to help him in his tasks at the Smithsonian Institution, Handbook of North American Indians, often feeling that I was slowing him down rather than helping him. No matter how busy Dr. Marino may have been, he always took the time to guide and instruct me in all Native American things. Never have I met such an industrious, intellectually curious, and iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. committed individual. I would be honored and feel privileged to be able to collaborate with Dr. Marino again. He is forever a beloved mentor. In all things, I want to show appreciation to my husband, Edwin J. Sligar Jr.. He encouraged me, financially and emotionally supported me, believed in me and stood by me throughout these most demanding years. Edwin never stopped surrounding me with love and kindness. He never complained, not even when he spent his birthday alone while I was conducting fieldwork in Oklahoma. There would have been no graduate school or research without his unconditionally giving devotion. I can only wish to be able to repay him with the same amazing support when the time comes. Other individuals of the academic world have been there for me in a way or another. The fact that they took the time to pause and listen to my complaints or questions means a lot to me. Our department chair, Dr. William L. Leap is a renowned expert in North American Indian linguistics. He gave me invaluable advice. Dr. Geoffrey Burkhart is an inspiring and patient teacher. He was always available and willing to take the time to provide me with guidance. I was incredibly lucky to have been his student. Additionally, anyone who has the chance to study or work with Dr. Naomi Baron should count his or her blessings. Her expertise in linguistics pairs with a genuine interest in her students. I have never met someone who can so elegantly turn the study of writing and technology into such interesting research. I also wish to acknowledge the members of the CAS Mellon committee of American University for awarding me with a research grant and Dr. Brett Williams for encouraging me to apply. The grant was a welcomed help during fieldwork. iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. To all my friends in Oklahoma, the talented artist and epicurean Ken Foster, the matchless comedian and radioman Dennis Six Killer, and the Elders, please accept my words of gratitude. You made me feel so very welcomed. Thank you for your warmth and for the time you spared to take me under your wing and to share with me. I also want to express thanks to my irreplaceable Cherokee language instructor, Ed Fields and his wife Rita, who invited me to sit on their front porch and enjoy the view. Diana Mouse, my dear and strong friend, thank you for your limitless hospitality and for your wisdom. You are the outstanding pillar of an amazing family. I also would like to thank Eduda (grandfather) Mouse who not only is a remarkable Korean War veteran but also became a grandfather to me. I wish to thank and acknowledge my friend Robert Smith who has been a formidable advisor and has never shied away from my constant babbling and incessant questions. Finally, and foremost, I wish to honor and express utmost gratitude to the hero of this study, Sammy Still. He is an incredible individual. I can never truly express in words how amazing it was to share his family’s everyday life. Mostly, I can never really convey how becoming part of his family made me feel. For his trust, his friendship, for all that Sammy is and stands for, I command him. Sammy touched my life in so many ways. He is a giving and beautiful person. I never expected that I would be welcomed with such openness and generosity. Sammy entrusted me with the most precious gift: the story of his life. I can only wish that this modest attempt to transmit the vibrancy and passion he conveyed to me be an inspiration for future Cherokee generations to follow in v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. his footsteps. I came back a richer person, and I am honored to call Sammy and his wife Dama, my friends. vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT. ................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. ................................................ iii LIST OF FIGURES............... ...ix Chapter I. THE WESTERN CHEROKEE ........ ..1 Statement of the Problem The Project Sammy Still Methods Subjectivity, Vulnerability, and Interpretation Relevance of a Single Life History as Ethnographic Tool Reliability of Oral Accounts Why Is This Work Important? Research Setting II. SAMMY STILL’S CHILDHOOD AND UPBRINGING...................35 Introduction Education Apprenticeship vii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. III. ADULTHOOD AND CHEROKEE LIFE IN MODERN AMERICA. ....60 Traditional Medicine and Spirituality Tolerance, Intertribal, and Native-Non-Native Relationship Cultural Heritage and Preservation Humor