A Seven-Pointed Star

The Cherokee people use the seven-pointed star on their flag to represent the seven directions and the seven clans of the nation. For the Cherokee, north, south, east, and west are compass directions. Cherokees also include up, down, and center (where you are) as essential directions.

I decided to name my blog after this star as I believe it is also analogous to the current Cherokee way of life. Many people in the US will state that Oklahoma is the home of Cherokees, but this tie to land is problematic. In actuality, the US contains three officially recognized Cherokee tribes – two in Oklahoma and one in North Carolina. The Cherokee identity as tied to land and native property is fractured. They do not have a star that simply points to one central location that holds supreme cultural significance.The Cherokee lack a Jerusalem to huddle around. Instead, the Cherokee have been shaken from their cultural land ties and scattered about the US. Their forced removal has resulted in a star that must point to all corners of this nation.

Before the Trail of Tears, Cherokees lived across a wide swath of the southeastern United States from Alabama to the Carolinas and into Tennessee. With their forced eviction from their native homelands, the Cherokees became tied to a new land – a foreign land in the Midwest. Oklahoma soon laid claim to the Cherokees. Today, commercials and pamphlets urge us to see ‘Native America,’ which is being properly preserved within the bounds of Oklahoma. However, if traced back properly, it is easy to call into question what is ‘Native America’ for the Cherokee? And an even larger question – what does ‘Native America’ generally mean?

These concept are quite large and require extensive research, but no definite answer exits. I want to explore what land ties the Cherokee have had in the past and how they now view their territory. I am sure I will find some representatives who maintain that they live in exile within a land they did not want to inhabit while others will proclaim a history for their current residence. While looking at the more organic jurisdiction of the Cherokee is important, I also want to look at a few legal property cases they have been involved in. I can imagine that several claims have been made against the US for unlawful seizure of property and unnecessary removal. I want to know how many Cherokee tried to win or won back their lands.The reassignment of the Cherokee to better fit into the government’s perception of synthetic jurisdiction remains a taint on American history. The Trail of Tears is well known and now commemorated throughout the South. Many Southerners claim to have Cherokee blood running in their families. This tribe has impacted the region and the nation with its struggles in finding a land to finally call its own.