TRAIL  OF  TEARS

THE GREAT SEAL OF

THE

CHEROKEE NATION 

                     The Cherokee seal (above) was designed to embrace the early government structure, and the eternal endurance of the Cherokee Indians.  It was adopted by Act of the Cherokee National Council, and approved in 1871.  The seven-pointed star symbolizes: 
(1). the seven age old clans of the Cherokee:
(2). the seven characters of Sequoyah’s syllabary, meaning  " Cherokee Nation."  (The Cherokee characters are phonetically pronounced "Tsa-la-gi-hi A-yi-li") ..

 The wreath of oak leaves symbolizes the sacred fire which, from time immemorial, the Cherokees kept burning in their land.  Oak was the wood traditionally burned, different species of oak having ever been   indigenous to Cherokee country, both in North Carolina and Georgia as well as in the Indian Territory to which the Cherokees removed in the early 1800's... 

The margin wording proclaims the authority of the seal in both the English and the Cherokee languages, and records the date (1839) of the adoption of the Constitution of the Cherokee Nation West...

                        This seal was imprinted on all documents until the dissolution of the Cherokee Nation at Oklahoma Statehood.

                                                                              References: Muriel H. Wright, "Seal of The Cherokee Nation." The Chronicles of                                                                                Oklahoma, Volume XXXIV (Summer, 1956): original painting by Guy C. Reid.

             LEGEND OF THE CHEROKEE ROSE

 

  "When gold was found in Georgia, the government forgot its treaties and drove the Cherokees to  Oklahoma. One fourth of them died on the journey west. But the Great Spirit, looking down from heaven, decided to commemorate the brave Cherokees and so, as the blood of the braves and the tears of the maidens dropped to the ground, the Great Spirit turned them into stone in the shape of a Cherokee Rose.  This is why they are so plentiful in Oklahoma, the end of the Trail of Tears."

The State Flower of Georgia is also named "Cherokee Rose."

         The Official Flag of the Cherokee Nation

                   On September 9, 1989, the tribal council approved a resolution that standardized the size,
That being 3' x 5,’ and design.  

               To memorialize the Cherokees who died on the Trail of Tears, the council also approved the addition of a seven-pointed black star.

Cherokee Language
 The preservation and perpetuation of language is one of the most important aspects of cultural survival.  The Cherokee language is spoken today by some 10,000 Cherokees who reside in northeastern Oklahoma and by at least 1,000 Cherokees living in the vicinity of Cherokee, North Carolina.  Cherokee is related to the Northern Iroquoian language, which includes Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida and Seneca-Cayuga.  Many Cherokees speak their ancestral language in their homes, at churches and at Cherokee stomp grounds.  More than 150 years after the Trail of Tears, Cherokee remains one of the most widely spoken Native American languages. 
To ensure the preservation of the Cherokee language and culture, the Cherokee Nation supports and provides numerous bilingual education programs.

~The eagle represents courage and bravery.~

The native people believe that they are the ones
closest to the creator, The Great Spirit.
The feathers of the eagle are honored by Indians
as having powerful medicine, and that Eagle Medicine
is the power of The Great Spirit,
the spirit of tenacity.

A priest escorts the groom to one end of the open space in the council house.

Another priest escorts the bride to the opposite end.

The couple meet in the center of the council house, near the sacred fire.

The priest stands facing to the east - toward the door of the council house.

The groom's mother stands by the groom.

She holds his gifts of venison and a blanket

(sometime leather & fur were also offered) .

The brides mother stands beside the bride.

She holds the bride's gifts of corn and a blanket

(sometime leather & fur were also offered) .

The brides brother stands beside the mother.

The brother, by his presence, accepts his role in being

responsible for his sister and her children.

The bride and groom wear blue blankets representing

their old life and ways.

The officiating priests says a prayer blessing

the sacred fire and the union of the two.

As he prays he asks for a long and

happy life for the couple.

The bride gives the groom a red and black belt that

she has made herself, and he puts it on.

The mothers give the gifts to their children who

exchange gifts with each other.

They join together their blankets symbolizing

their mutual support within the marriage.

They each drink a corn drink from a

double-sided wedding vase.

They drink from east to west, then from

north to south giving their blessings to all the earth.

The vase is thrown down and broken to seal their

wedding vows as now being united as one .

The broken fragments are returned to mother earth.

A white blanket is placed around their shoulders

symbolizing their union.

A wedding feast is held by the entire town.

The couple walk silently and alone to their

dwelling place among the clan of the bride's mother.

"Cherokee Marriage Ceremony" is distilled from a variety of historical references. 
Copyright 1997
Cherokee Publications,
PO Box 430,
Cherokee  NC 28719 
(704) 488-8856 

Send for free catalog.  Prints of above "Cherokee Wedding Song"
and other Cherokee Paintings available from artist, Dorothy Sullivan at
MEMORY CIRCLE STUDIO,
PO Box 732,
Norman, Oklahoma 73070,
Phone (405) 360-0751.     

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