In a Nation of Immigrants, Cherokee are Bringing Back

Rick Kalindo, member of the Eastern Band of Cherokees. Photo by Cathryn Shaffer.

THE STRENGTH OF OUR PEOPLE

By Elena Howells

Who has the right to live on this land? With all the current discussion about immigration policy, it\’s a question that\’s becoming more and more important. But nobody asked the original peoples of America. Nobody asked the Cherokee.

Most Cherokees\’ main concern is economic. “Unemployment rates, when they are high, create a competition between the Native people and the Hispanic population. Lower-wage employment becomes saturated and the Native people experience the competitive market for jobs,” said Patty Grant, social worker and member of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation.

Historically, economic competition between the Cherokee and the immigrant populations has been minimal, but this may be changing as the immigrant population begins to expand into job markets other than farming, such as food service and domestic work. “Cherokee people are not interested in the jobs that the immigrants are willing to work, such as farming, but some jobs are being taken that the Cherokee would consider,” said Evangeline Barnett, a Creek/Seminole from Oklahoma.

This is particularly true for non-Hispanic immigrants. “The attitude toward Polish, Russian, and Swedish immigrants is that they are taking over,” Grant said. Several Cherokees also expressed concern that jobs they would be interested in were being taken by foreign exchange students here legally with student visas.

Photo by Cathryn Shaffer

Another interesting aspect of the changing economic landscape of Cherokee, NC, is the addition of Harrah\’s Cherokee Casino. The economic growth that the Casino has sparked is one of the major draws for immigrants. “(Lower) socioeconomic levels in other areas attract these immigrants seeking a better quality of life to this area,” said Patty Grant. “The paradigm of interest in Native Peoples has shifted from non-existence to existence via gaming.”

In addition to worrying about economic factors, the Cherokee are also concerned that a large influx of immigrants might change the nature and identity of their community. “The Cherokee are very vigilant of outsiders in regard to affairs, economics, and religion,” said Amy Walker, a Cherokee elder. “(This) could be regarded culturally as a trait since the removal in 1838.”

In 1838, the majority of the Cherokee nation was forcibly removed from its territory in Georgia, North and South Carolina, and Tennessee and marched to Oklahoma. Their journey is referred to as the Trail of Tears. As many as 4,000 Cherokee died of starvation, shock, and exposure to the elements along the way. The descendants of the small number of Cherokee who were able to evade US troops and avoid removal make up the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation, centered in Cherokee.

Because of this history, the Cherokee maintain a close watch on all people who are not a part of their community. “The norm is to watch and monitor outsiders, including immigrants, and be vigilant of their actions,” said Barnett.

Vigilance seems to be key in describing the Cherokee attitude toward outsiders. As long as strangers behave according to the values of the community, the Cherokee do not object to their presence. “Historically, outsiders or immigrants were viewed as tourists. As long as they do not intrude or infringe, no problem exists,” said one resident of Cherokee.

One area where immigration has caused some tension in the Cherokee community is marriage between Cherokee women and immigrant, particularly Hispanic, men. Intermarriage began in the late 1980s and enrollment figures indicate that it is fairly common today. “The Cherokee men do not like the intermarrying of Hispanic men and Cherokee women. This has theoretically been true for most outsiders,” said Walker, referring to the fact that it is the women who usually bridge cultural gaps through marriage.

The children of Cherokee and Hispanic parents tend to identify more with their Cherokee than their Hispanic lineage. One Cherokee man estimated that as many as ninety percent of mixed children choose to embrace their Cherokee identity. “They grew up here. That\’s all they know,” he said. The Cherokee are also traditionally a matrilineal people, which may help to explain why children born to a Cherokee woman and a Hispanic man are usually raised according to Cherokee conventions.

Perhaps the most charged issue for the Cherokee regarding immigration is that of language. The general consensus among the Cherokee is that it is the individual responsibility of each immigrant to learn to speak English. “It is imperative that they learn the English language for economic, political, social, and individual well-being,” said Evangeline Barnett.

“If you are going to live here, you must know the English language. (I) myself, as a full-blooded Cherokee, was forced to learn English,” said one resident, referring to the boarding schools run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs between 1879 and the 1930s. For over fifty years, thousands of indigenous peoples of all tribal affiliations were forced to enter federally funded boarding schools where they were taught the customs and traditions of the white majority, including the English language. During this time, much of the culture of many indigenous peoples was suppressed.

Today, some Cherokee are expressing anger that a large portion of illegal immigrants may be granted citizenship without first learning English when they, indigenous people of the land, were forced down such a hard road of cultural loss. However, because they have lost so much, the Cherokee are also aware of how much language affects the health of the culture in general.

“Language promotes an identity within a group of people that empowers the community to maintain on its own,” said Amy Walker. She suggested that immigrant groups “maintain (their) own native language, but use it in conjunction with English.” This approach seems to combine the need to function in the larger society with the need to preserve the different elements of the immigrants\’ cultures.

Many Cherokee also identify with immigrant groups in terms of perceived social rank. “Seventy to eighty percent of the European community recognizes the native (and immigrant) peoples as lower class,” said Walker. “Educationally, economically, and socially (we) are recognized as inferior by general society.”

While it is impossible to measure how accurate this perception is, the Cherokee believe that they, as well as various other minority groups, including immigrants, will always be regarded as second-class citizens. As one Cherokee man put it, “Anyone who is not white will always be (seen as) a lower class of people. They have no great expectations for non-whites.”

This feeling of displacement within the larger society helps to create a certain level of understanding between the Cherokee and immigrant groups. Despite tension regarding specific issues, the common fact of living as part of a minority group allows the Cherokee to sympathize with immigrants about their position in society.

Today, as the Cherokee work to maintain and strengthen their society, they must also tackle the tough questions that immigration brings up. Who is an immigrant? Who has the right to live here? Who decides these questions? The Cherokee, as one of the original peoples that inhabited America, are in a special position to analyze and answer these questions. 

“The Europeans were the intruders; (they decided that) everyone around them were immigrants. The “get out of my way\’ attitude has always been here,” said one Cherokee man. In fact, the Cherokee living in North Carolina may be one of the few peoples living in this country who are not and have never been immigrants.

Who is an immigrant? The short answer, according to one Cherokee, is that “everybody that\’s not of this country originally is an immigrant. Ask any Indian and they\’ll tell you who\’s an immigrant. I\’m looking at one,” he said, indicating this reporter.

Do immigrants have the right to live here? The Cherokee believe that if final legislation (passed by the Senate but yet to be reconciled with a more stringent approach in the House of Representatives) grants illegal immigrants a path to citizenship, it will be a tremendously unfair to the indigenous peoples from whom so much was taken. “Indians had to go through assimilation, annihilation, and integration. Much was lost. The immigrants are going to get free admission,” one Cherokee said.

Every Cherokee is aware of all that they the Cherokee nation lost in their struggle to maintain their society, their culture, and their land. The Cherokee are not opposed to immigration, per se, but the questions associated with immigration inspire an acute consciousness of the injustices that were committed against them on their path.

Under the late afternoon sun, with drums and dancing in the background, a Cherokee man described the state of his people. “We get so caught up in the sorrows, but we\’re bringing back the strength of our people. We still have our dances and songs because of the strength of our people. Our tribe is finally getting our identity back — not through the powwow — through the people.” It is unlikely that any new immigration policy will alter the strength of the tribe.

Surrounded by the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina, hundreds of Cherokee and other Native Americans gather for the Memorial Day Powwow in Cherokee, NC to celebrate their culture and their history. It is a Powwow to honor the elders, and the question of United States immigration policy is far away in the minds of participants. Once the topic of immigration is brought up, however, it seems that everyone has something to say about it.