Respect and honor for the creator

Diamond Brown stands in authentic Cherokee garb astride a bearskin in front of a 20-foot tall teepee.

The Stone Mountain resident looks the part, but presents quite a different image from the “native people,” as he calls them, that have been portrayed in Hollywood and elsewhere in popular American culture.

“People are always trying to explain where we came from,” said Brown, a full-blooded Cherokee who grew up in Cherokee, N.C. “The textbooks say we came across a land bridge, the Bering Strait. Some people read the Bible and say we’re the lost tribe of Israel, but we are not lost. We believe the one Creator created all things and put people all over the Earth to take care of it.”

Brown made a repeat visit to the Whitfield Career Academy last week, presenting his educational message in hopes of keeping alive the culture and tradition of the Cherokee. The visit was a project of the American literature classes of Ryan Reece and the U.S. history classes of Jennifer Gee.

“Our goal is to help keep this living history,” Reece said. “These are not dead stories from dusty old books.”

In his three-part presentation, Brown sought to dispel common myths, discussed oral traditions and demonstrated native dance. One of the myths he discussed was why the Cherokee wear their hair long.

“It’s not because we don’t have something to use to cut it. I could use my knife to cut it,” Brown said. “It’s not because we’re ‘savages.’ It’s because we were created that way, and we respect and honor the Creator. It’s like grass, which will grow only so tall and then stop. But I see people mow their yards, and I think they go against what the Creator intended.”

Brown, who has been teaching at schools across the country since 1992, speaks often of the virtues of the one “Creator” and the Cherokee respect for nature and their ability to live in harmony with it. He said many of those religious observations were misconstrued by settlers from Europe and continue to be misunderstood today.

“Different cultures often see things differently. When Cherokee dance, it is never around a fire, it’s just another way to pray,” Brown said. “The Cherokee never did a rain dance, and there was no ‘rain god.’ There is one Creator, one God, and every dance has a purpose and a meaning. They are not just for fun.”

Other common misconceptions are the “war cry,” “war paint” and the “peace pipe,” Brown said. He said the “war cry” — the stereotypical “woo woo woo” sound depicted in the movies by clapping the palm to the mouth — is based on a female gesture of honor and respect for a man and is created by a flick of the tongue, sounding more like “lululu” in practice.

Cherokee pipes never contained marijuana, Brown reminded a student, and they were, again, part of a prayer ceremony. The standard “Indian” drum beat heard in the movies is inaccurate, Brown said, and there is no such thing as sitting “Indian style.”

“That’s something else that came from Hollywood. We actually sit all different ways, just like anyone would,” Brown said. “Teachers used to tell children to sit ‘Indian style’ when I would come to speak, but they don’t use that phrase today. You wouldn’t sit ‘Jewish style,’ or ‘Catholic style.’ Today teachers say, ‘Let’s sit criss-cross applesauce.’”

After his presentation, Brown weighed-in on the use of native tribes as school and mascot names.

“You can look at it two ways. First, you choose a name that you’re proud of, and that’s good. But then you’ve got to show your support,” Brown said. “How do you do that? You wear ‘war paint,’ tailgate, drink and beat on your drum. You’re having fun, but do you honor those traditions?”

Brown said Cherokee drums were used in prayer songs and alcohol would never be involved. Additionally, “war paint,” which he said is better termed “face paint,” is involved in a spiritual ceremony and each design is specific to an individual.

“The painting of our faces for dancing is a tradition. It is one’s identification between oneself and the Creator,” said Brown, whose own design is half white, half black, with two red stripes under each eye.

“Why copy that? You shouldn’t steal that identity,” he said.

Brown said the Cherokees’ identity was taken from them when they were conquered by 18th-century settlers. Some children were taken from their parents and given Westernized hair cuts, names and clothes. He said continuing the tradition of oral storytelling was the means by which they kept their culture alive, yet verbal agreements meant little to the English settlers.

“We never had textbooks. People would sit around the fire and listen to their elders,” Brown said. “To the English, paper agreements meant more than word of mouth. My people would sign treaties they couldn’t read. They should have known when their word wasn’t good enough.”

Brown relayed a story about the woodpecker, a tale of warning against selfishness. And he related the story of the bear and the hunter, which he said could serve as an allegory for the overly trusting attitude of the Cherokee toward the people who would one day push them from their sacred land on a Trail of Tears to land west of the Mississippi.

Reece said he sees a similarity between the struggle of the Cherokee and Hispanic immigrants in Dalton today. Hispanic students made up about half of Brown’s audience.

“Like the Cherokee, they are living in two worlds,” Reece said. “They want to maintain their Hispanic traditions, but they also want to integrate into our culture.”

Brown, who once posed for a 6-foot bronze statue that sits on the courthouse square in Dahlonega, said he felt a sort of simpatico.

“Some people could care less about other cultures, and some middle and high school students can be unruly,” he said. “It’s my second time here. These students have been remarkable and very respectful.”

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