bttbjournal

Day · Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 6:46 pm Post subject: Daylight: April/May/June 2007

Daylight:

Osiyo my family! I'd originally planned for this issue to be devoted to families, but I decided to give you all a little more time to send in your stories, poems and memories, about your families, whethere traditional or non-traditionaly, families by blood or by choice, past or present. Please take the time to send something, I'd like to see if theme issues are a good idea, but I do need the family's help. Smile

One of the topics many readers have responded to is the issue of the Cherokee Freedmen being removed from the rolls of the Oklahoma Cherokee Rolls. (Remember, most of the Cherokee on the Freedman Rolls DO have Native blood along with Black.)

This attack on the Freedmen (and women) of the Native American nations has been brewing in current times, since at least the year 2000 withe the challenges against the Seminole Freedmen. It was particularly tragic since the Black Seminoles were historically an integral part of the Seminole Nation, brothers and sisters in arms, as well as blood relatives and spouses in many cases.

Chief Osceola was married ot Che-cho-la or Morning Dew, who had an Seminole Indian father and a Black mother. She also spoke English and helped serve as interpreter for Osceola, but was kidnapped by slave traders and sold into slavery. Osceola was never able to find her again. They had two children, who were with him when he died.

For three years, Evergreen and I ran the first Green Party office in New York City, but commercial rents here in Flushing Queens was just too high to maintain. We moved our SIX file cabinets back to our apartment where they now take up a sizable portion of our livingroom. We first took the files from the cabinet and put them into cardboard boxes to make the metal cabinets lighter to carry. The files became jumbled, and ended up out of order in the cabinets. I've been resorting them since then, but in a lackadaisical way..a few files here a few there usually after a frantic search for an important paper. A couple of nights ago I started again in earnest, when we couldn't find the application for Little Horse's working papers for his first job, on staff at a summer camp. I eventually found his file, but I also found two files that brought back a lot of memories.

One was a file of letters and momentos from the late Elder, Grandmother Raven Hail, and another was a file of information, stories and poetry sent to me from various Native people I'd met online during the years of 1995 to 2000. i will be sharing much of the information in future issues. As I sat and read, my heart became very full. I am out of touch with most of those who generously shared their knowledge, and others have walked on to the Spirit World, leaving their words and memories to live on in me ---and in you.