Following in My Cherokee Great-Grandfather’s Footsteps
I Work With Tribes Across the Country to Honor Our Ancestors—And Ensure Our Survival
I started working in repatriation efforts before I even knew what the term meant.
But repatriation—bringing our ancestors home—is in my blood. I grew up in a Cherokee community in Chewey, Oklahoma, in the foothills of the Ozarks. Sometimes I’ve wondered how my extended family could be as fortunate as we were, remaining isolated from the nearby towns, with a river running in front of us and a small creek behind. My relatives would tell me how much it was like our ancestors’ original home in the East, with mountainous terrain, …
