Cherokee Creator

The calendar date for the first day of fall is Sept. 22, but to the Indians of Cherokee, with their relationship to the land and the Creator, there seems to be an earlier start to the fall. No one really knows the exact day, but on a night late in August, the Creator sends down the magical smoky mist to touch the ground. A chill fills the air that's different from the mild summer chills felt. This chill has not been felt since the beginning of the last harvest moon.

There's a hint in the air that harvest is on the way. It's a smoky-mist chill where the Creator seems to be pleased with the work of the land and the production of crops. It would not be fair to mention the days of autumn in Cherokee without including the prelude of summer and the beginning of agriculture. Before the fall, beginning in spring and into summer, was a busy time for the Cherokee tribe. The men labored very hard to clear the land for crops.

Once the land was cleared enough for suitable planting, the women would take control of the nuturing of crops. The Creator gave the women of Cherokee the gift of nurturing the crops as they had nurtured the children of the tribe. They would cultivate with the same care as they had taught their children. Cherokees preserved the fruits and vegetables primarily by drying.

The men would be busy fishing the sparkling streams given by the Creator with cane poles, fishing nets and fishing lines. Then came a rapid change in the weather that foresaw autumn as crops began to peak. And an amazing beauty was bestowed on Cherokee. The once-green leaves began to take on colors painted only by the Creator. The most prized gift of the Cherokee men was given, the hunt of game to sustain the life that the Creator intended.

The young had already prepared such necessary tools as arrow shafts, bows from hickory wood and blowguns from cane. They had been taught and were ready from the time they were able to walk. They would become marksmen. The hunt brought the tasty meat of deer and the other game from the wild.

The campfires of autumn had a different meaning that those of summer. The taste of the hunt and the autumn chill of night campfires drew many to the sweet meat and the warmth of the fire. That was what made this campfire different from those in the recent past. This campfire brought warmth from a cold that seemed to be eased by only the fires. This campfire brought stories from the hunters of the past to the old men of the tribe. The young ones who had never hunted had dreams of the adventures that lay ahead.

The Indians gave thanks to their Creator who had joined them and for the game provided them from which nothing was to go to waste. The Cherokee would always take care of their land chosen for them.

Frank Goss
9/13/2009