Nations Remembered An Oral History of the Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Creeks, and Seminoles in Oklahoma

This book became my introduction to a disagreement with the common label of “Five Civilized Tribes”. His research through interviews led the author to indicate the adaptation or culture changes of these groups was “neither rapid nor as complete as earlier observes had thought”.
This book contains excerpts from those interviews.This explains the “Oral History” noted in the book’s title.
He does not include political events and controversies. Because his subjects were usually elderly and had confused memories at times, his historical sources with corrections are noted.
Here is a sample:
“Our household furniture was all homemade by father. He earned some of our living by making chairs for other Indians less crafty. They paid father by laboring on our farm or paying him in meat of some kind or skins of wild fur-bearing animals, such as wolf or fox. My father would not accept poultry, eggs, and pork because such things had no market value. Eggs sold for five cents a dozen, large hogs for two dollars and a half apiece.” Cherokee. page 50
Another quote:
“The Indians usually wore moccasins… made from hides and furs.Later they would make shoes. We had no shoe tacks, and we would have to whittle shoe pegs usually out of ash or maple. We would take a cowhide and tan it with bark. If the hair did not come off easily…we would take ashes and grease and make a kind of soap or lye and throw it on the hide and let it stay there overnight. Then the hair would scrape off easily in the morning. We used hog bristles and squirrel skins cut into threads to sew the shoes.” Cherokee. page 51

This book is interesting and informative, helpful for my research for writing. Nine pages of Bibliography and eleven Index pages are beneficial also. Black and white illustrations include maps and photos.

 

MyraSaidIt

The Cherokees a Population History

This 239 page paperback book is filled with historical information and stories about the Cherokee people. Twelve pages of illustrations – photos and maps are provided. Seven pages of chapter notes are included as well as eighteen pages of references for evidence of completed research and opportunity for further reading. Seven Index pages add to the value of this fine book. There is also a helpful list of books titled “In the Indians of the Southeast series”.

I purchased this book for research and found it to be very useful. I recommend this book for those with similar interests. It is not a complicated text, presented in an interesting, easy-to-read format.

 

MyraSaidIt

BOOK REVIEW: No One Can Take Your Place

Sheri Dew is the author.

This book is filled with uplifting messages, stories, scriptures. They target women and her purpose is to encourage women to stand up and be counted. She says women have a divine mission and purpose alongside men.

“The Lord knows who we are, where we are, what our mission is, and what we need in order to accomplish that mission,” she wrote.

She teaches that each person has an individual purpose for being on earth. When a person dies, another person may fill in for that person’s responsibilities, but can never do it the same way.

Sheri told one story about when she was younger and had an opportunity to fill a certain roll. Fear kept her from stepping forward. Years later, she learned that that position was never filled and the group suffered for months with the vacancy.

We may not always know how important it is for us to accept and faithfully accept opportunities that come our way.

BOOK REVIEW: Third 3rd Alternative

This is a Stephen R. Covey book. He is the #1 Bestselling author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.  He died in July 2012 after this book was published in October 2011. It is our last chance to read his works unless he had an unpublished manuscript that will later be shared by his family.

I wish all our government leaders would read this book. If used it would eliminate all the talk about giving and taking on major issues. Leaders might stop negotiating and start looking for a third option as he teaches.

Covey shares many examples of people who have learned his methods. That makes it a very interesting book to read, all 439 pages, plus an extensive index.

BOOK REVIEW: As I Have Loved You

Author: Kitty De Ruyter Bon.

This is a heartwarming and heartbreaking true story set amidst the horrors of war. The front cover of the paper-back book I checked out at the public library is the photo of a young child holding her rag doll with a barged wire fence behind her.

The doll comes to have more value to this little girl than just the comfort of a much-loved toy.

Her mother is her support through terrible months of torture and deaths of friends and family members. She taught Kitty to have faith in God and never give up, nor to give in to horrible things happening to her and around her.

Before she was eight years old, she lived a life of luxury. Plenty of money. Plenty of food. A beautiful home. Servants watched over the family’s every need.

That all changed abruptly when her father and all other men were captured by the Japanese on Java. They were placed in prison camps.

Then Kitty’s mother and two sisters and baby brother were taken to a prison camp. Kitty’s brothers were sent to another.

Incidents in this book testify of the importance of having faith in Christ. It gave this family “power in the presence of hatred, evil, pain, and suffering.”

BOOK REVIEW: Beyond the Cabin

Do you think you know what a cult is? Think again. Before you point a crooked finger read this novel by Jared Nathan Garrett. He knows.  He was born and grew up in a cult, a splinter off Scientology. He left when he was seventeen after a childhood of living with “upwards of twenty kids”. He had two brothers with one mother.

He said he wanted his story to be about “love, family, hope, and the power of choice – a positive story.” That must have been a challenge when none of those existed for him. Discipline and the resulting punishments were harsh, even abusive.

In his novel, the children were told they must show respect for the adults. It really meant respecting the power they held over them.

Some of the adults were labeled “beggars”. They begged in the cities under the pretense the money was for animal protection efforts. There were pets, but nothing more.

The group made the neighbors and legal community believe they were upright and honest, lovingly caring for the children, the youngest being four-year-olds. They had weekly trips to the library. The children were able to check out up to ten books. This led the outsiders to believe all was well.

Josh, the main character, always took home his quota. He became a fast reader. He was always ready for more books when he went again.

He and an older brother, Malachi, questioned the differences between what they read about families and what they lived with in the cult. They were clothed well enough and had plenty of food, but no love and affection. Adults never gave the children smiles nor hugs.

They had “home school” with teachers who often didn’t know their subject well enough to teach it. The children had extreme cleanliness and “spiritual” instructions. They were  brain-washed into believing the outside world, including the government, was evil. They were not allowed to have friends outside the cult.

Atmosphere inside the very large home didn’t encourage friendships, not even among siblings. The parents weren’t called mother or father. The kids didn’t even know who both parents their were. They were being reared by the group of adults who seemed to have equal authority.

Josh and Malachi planned their escape while building a log cabin far into the wilderness. It was too far for anyone to notice the noise of their work. The adults weren’t paying attention anyway. The brothers used old and rusty tools found in a dilapidated building near the house.

Malachi got anxious and left without him. He promised to return and get Josh. It didn’t happen. Mal died in a bad drug deal.

Josh learned his oldest brother, Aaron, had known about the cabin. The first time Josh became aware of it was when Aaron showed up and surprised him. Josh was frightened. Aaron began helping him with the window Josh was trying to cut out. As they worked and cried together, they developed a relationship as brothers that was new and strange. The cabin was their secret.

Josh learned the hard way that escape required much preparation. He tried without food, water, extra clothes, everything. When he was caught, he suffered physical and mental punishment. He came to realize he had the ability to help the other children and  refused to be afraid of the power-driven adults. Josh became their protector. Life changed somewhat for him as he gained independence and freedom of thought.

He finally had to decide if he should escape or stay for their benefit.

MyraSaidIt

 

BOOK REVIEW: The Mist of Quarry Harbor

This is a novel by Liz Adair.

She tells the story of a thirty-two year-old unmarried woman. Cassie Van Cleeve has a successful career and no interest in romance. It finds her and leaves her in confusion. Which man should she choose? The one she has known her whole life or a stranger who has appeared and refuses to let go. He sent her roses when she had not given him her address. How did he find her? Was her lost barrette involved?

Marriage leads her to many questions about her husband. Why did there seem to be so many secrets? Where did he go when he left town for days at a time. And, then why did he buy a boat without telling her?

There are surprising events and puzzling characters turning a romantic adventure into a mystery.

This is a fast-paced story, keeping you up past bedtime. The reader must know the answers to the questions. About the time you think you’ve figured it out, you discover you were wrong, wrong, wrong.

Read and you’ll enjoy the trip all the way to Quarry Harbor and back again.

I met the author at the Kanab Writers Conference on October 12th. I enjoyed my visit with her. She signed my copy of her book.

MyraSaidIt

BOOK REVIEW: I Can do Hard Things with God by Ganel-lyn Condie

Essays of strength from Mormon Women (members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)

We all experience circumstances that are difficult. Some may seem less challenging when seen through the lens of time. Some never go away. We just learn to deal with them.

The author shares a number of stories like that. The contents page sorts the stories into seven categories, including health, financial, family, mental illness, and more. Each category presents two or more stories of people.

It would be well for any of us who struggle to read this book. It is like the old game of tossing shoes in a circle. We would choose our own because they fit us. Other people sharing their experiences can help if we have the same problem.

They also uplift in general when we see that others can handle difficulties and, just maybe, we can learn a thing or two about handling our own.

Many of the people tell how their problems were made easier with the support of others. It’s called ministering. People become God’s helpers.

MyraSaidIt

 

 

BOOK REVIEW:My God hath been my Support by David T. Morgan, Phd published by Covenant

This is a paperback book. I don’t mind that, but I do not like the cover image. Christ appears to be under water reaching out to receive help. It feels like a contradiction of the title.

The author presents “seven keys to understanding and enduring personal trials”. That statement alone would lead me to read the book.

Some of the chapters end with “Questions for Self-reflection”. The book does not include a contents page which would have assisted the reader in choosing desired topics.

He presents the ways God offers support to mankind by using scriptural characters. A few modern-day stories of people overcoming challenges with God’s help, sometimes through the intervention of family and friends.

It is a book worth reading. I’ll keep for another reading.

MyraSaidIt

BOOK REVIEW: Jim Bridger Mountain Man

This is his biography written by Stanley Vestal. The photo above appears on Wikipedia and inside this book. It contains a bibliography, chapter notes and index, filling 33 pages in the paperback I read from the public library.

His parents died young leaving him and little sister. She went to live with an uncle and aunt. He was 18 and felt responsible for providing for her expenses.

He became a mountain-man man and explorer. It was a dangerous profession, constantly facing waring Indians from several tribes. As a beaver hunter he also met with opposing groups of tough men doing the same work. He became so successful when he created his own group of beaver hunters that his competitors followed him around to learn what he knew.

He had grown a  lot from his experiences as a shy and cautious youngster while learning the trade from his superiors. “He had learned the hardest way that a man’s wisest plan is to follow duty, not selfish interest; for every man knows where his duty lies.”

All his life he looked out for the men who depended on him, as well as his young sister. His nickname, “Old Gabe”, came to symbolize courage, unselfishness and generosity. This was the result of his guilt over his failure to watch out for a fellow worker when he was injured by a grizzly bear.

He loved the earth and its creatures, including respect for the “pesky Injun” because they lived so close to it.

As an explorer, he discovered the South Pass and opened an easy road over the Continental Divide. This trail was well-used by hosts of immigrants who made their way west.

After a few years of beaver harvesting, the interest in their hides diminished and were replaced by silk for hats. He had to find another way to earn a living and provide for his sister’s future college needs.

He built Fort Bridger and a ferry to accommodate immigrants.

The ideals of Bridger and Brigham were at odds. The Mormons had developed a distrust of others after their life-taking experiences. Brigham was teaching his people to be self-sufficient and Jim shared what he had with one and all. Brigham was suspicious.

While Jim and other mountain men flaunted their wealth, Brigham taught his followers to beware of wealth.

They both tried to befriend the Indians. Rumors started that Jim was leading the Indians to attack the Mormons. It was all-round confusion.

It seems like the author wanted to present an unbiased description of their conflicts. On the one hand he claims Brigham wanted to be the “big buck at the lick”. At the same time he reports “The Missourians had run them out – and Bridger was a Missourian and had a farm than might well have been Mormon Land.”

After being in the wilderness all his life, he became handicapped by rheumatism and then the loss of sight. He said, “I wish I war back thar among the mountains agin. A man kin see so much farther in that country.” By 1875 he was totally blind. He had to be led around by his daughter, Virginia.

She often saddled his horse Ruff so he could ride around the farm.  His faithful dog, Sultan, went along. Sometimes Bridger would give the wrong signal to Ruff and they would get lost. Sultan raced home to sound the alarm and the family would go looking for Jim and his horse.

Jim left this world in 1881, about 77 years old, after enjoying most of it in his loved mountains.

MyraSaidIt