Understanding the Cherokee People (Maryville, TN)

By:  Cherylynn Finklin & Angela Yao

Trip:  Once Upon A Time: Exploring the Stories of the Cherokee People

Today we finally were able to work with the Cherokees. We met a man named Gilliam who was a Cherokee Indian himself. We split up into three teams, all to work on separate trails along the Smokie Mountains in Gillian's family territory. Each person was given either a maddock, a clopper, or a rake and we used those tools to clear out a path in the woods. This was really fun and we were able to really work together to cut through the forest and clear out a path in the woods. This was really fun and we were able to really work together to cut through the forest and clear the path. During our lunch, we sat around Gillian who told us a little about life as Cherokee. He talked about the general organization of Cherokee government  a structure and his role in advocating at Standing Rock. This was really interesting and exactly what a lot of us were waiting to learn about throughout the week. After lunch, we walked through the other two groups' work to see the process that they had made. It was really amazing to see just how much we finished in the short hour and a half that we worked. Throughout the day, Gillian kept emphasizing the importance of touching the earth in order to destress and relax from the everyday life. After working, it was easy to understand exactly what that meant and how we could move forward with that in mind.

Following our time at Gill's, we went to go see Shortie Kirkland, another Cherokee Native American. At our time at Shortie's property, we played a fun outdoor game of "The Fish game." The Fish game is a traditional game used by Native Americans to determine if a couple is able to get married. There are two teams, men versus women and the objective of the game is to hit a fish that is on the top of a tall pole with a ball. During our experience of playing this game, all the universities that attended the service trip joined us and it made for a fun and awesome time! Through these activities, we had to step outside of our comfort zone and not only learn to trust and communicate with the Rutgers students, but also students from other universities.