I'm visiting my grandparents near Tulsa in Oklahoma. The country is beautiful, I've adored it every time I come. "Cherokee country" they call it - our ancestors lived here long ago, and many of the direct descendants still dwell in this vacinity. Though they've meandered all over the midwest, both my grandma and grandpa were born here and have family surrounding. I've got approximately one-sixth Cherokee blood in me - heritage I'm proud of! Though I don't personally have tribal enrollment yet, all of my dad's family do and continually urge my two sisters and I to get on the boat. Aside from honorably carrying on the stamp our lineage, there are many benefits to making it official.
I went to quite a few pow-wows and community/school events, ceremonies and sweats growing up. There isn't a large population of Cherokee in Tucson, but many southwestern tribes make up a smorgasbord of American Indians who share such events together. It's very nice to see the community come together and offer welcome to everyone. Albeit small at times, this is an important part of my life that will continue and I'd like to further develop.
My dad has always called me a "city girl," a dubbing I agree with given my love of most big cities I've been to, and my raising in a medium-sized (and growing) city. However, looking out over the horizon here, I could see myself living or retiring somewhere like this. It might not look like a whole lot from the outside, but it feels nice. Grandma let me borrow her camera for our visit, so assuming I'm able to upload the pictures before we leave, I'll soon have some of the things I'm seeing up in another post.
Being a Ross, I liked seeing this wall hanging of Chief John Ross, 1828-1866. He doesn't look too unlike my Grandpa:
