Cherokee SouthWest Township

Activities

Regular meetings, are held the second Saturday of each month from noon to 3:00 p.m., followed by a Council meeting.  Members bring favorite dishes to share and we have a potluck meal.  We can affirm that Cherokees like to cook and they like to eat.  There is a long tradition of various types of foods that we can draw on, from Cherokees, from other Native Americans and from favorite family recipes.  The meeting starts with a prayer circle.  Thanks are given.  Friends are remembered who may be sick or suffering.  Special announcements are make.  The community then breaks bread together in congenial fellowship and enjoys all the good Cherokee foods.  Afterwards there is a program of general interest which may be put on by members or by guest speakers.  We visit old friends and meet new people.  We get caught up on family and community information from local Cherokees and from the Cherokee Nation.  We discuss and exchange views on a wide variety of topics.

There is a drawing for door prizes at each meeting.  Generally there may be between four to eight door prizes which are donated by CSWT members.  We have a custom that those who win door prizes at one meeting might want to donate a door prize from home at a subsequent meeting.  The value of a door prize should not exceed about ten dollars.

We have a Christmas Party each December.  A gift exchange takes place by means of a "white elephant auction" unega kamama.

Special meetings, are held from time to time to coincide with a special event or to meet with visitors from the Cherokee Nation such as the Principal Chief, Deputy Chief, Tribal Council members, the current Miss Cherokee and others.  For each of the past nine years the Principal Chief and First Lady Bobbie Smith have visited us in Albuquerque, New Mexico in November.  We receive "state of the nation" information and other news from home.  We ask questions and engage in dialogue with the visiting officials on matters of importance to Cherokees.

CSWT newsletter, The Cherokee Compass, tsalagi uyukdv kanohesgi, is published monthly.  It has drawn lots of praise for its content and for its layout and presentation.  It seeks to provide interesting and informational articles on Cherokee news, history, culture, traditions, family stories and other matters of general interest.  Each issue generally runs between 14 to 18 pages in length and includes:

      Information on the current month and what it signifies in Cherokee culture;

      Cherokee words and phrases, tsalagi dikaneisdi;

      Cherokee herbology, suli ugidahli;

      Food talk, alsdayhdi digosisohdi;

      Humor, uwotlvdi;

      Family and traditional stories, uweti uninohetlvnv (old stories that were told);

      News from the Cherokee Nation;

      Musings and poetry;

      Information on Cherokee history, arts, crafts, traditions and others;

      Members' doings.

 
Workshops, demonstrations, classes and other special activities are held from time to time.  Past programs including presentations on the Gourd Society and the Gourd Dance, Flintknapping, Firemaking, Eggs and Wild Onion Dinner, Musical Instruments and many more.

Yearly Picnic, an outdoor meeting and picnic is held each May at Holly Ice-Gates and Merle Gates place near Peralta, south of Albuquerque.  Over the years, Merle has grilled a goat, roasted a pig in a pit, and, in 2008, fried whole turkeys.  Members bring their favorite pot luck dishes.  There are always lots of beans, cornbread, greens, many desserts and other traditional and modern dishes.  In 2008 several people brought old fashioned ice cream made in electric or hand cranked freezers (and was it ever good!)

Fund raising:

Raffles, are held twice a year.  Artistic members may donate an important handcrafted item they have made.  Other members may contribute a significant Cherokee craft item or other art object that they have collected.  

The Fall 2008 raffle drawing will be in November 2008.  CSWT member Susan Lundy has crafted and donated This Gourd Story Teller for this next raffle.

 Tickets are $1.00 each.  Holder of winning ticket does not need to be present to win.  Tickets can be obtained from the Treasurer at regular meetings.  They can be ordered by mail, accompanied by check or money order made out to CSWT.  See contact page.

Below are some of the past raffle prizes.

    

 

Double Ceremonial Pipe with Deer Bones        

 

 

Painting, Shadows of Long Ago

Beaded Wolf Medicine Bag

 

 

    Quilt

Wall Hanging, Cherokee Syllabary on Leather

 

Carved Bone Eagle Head Necklace

 

Quilted Wall Hanging

 

Cherokee Throw

 

Necklace of Bone, Turquoise and Buffalo Teeth

 

Silent auctions, are held twice a year.  Members donate craft, art or other collectable items which are on display at the meeting.  Other members make written bids on items they would like to have. 

 

CSWT T-Shirts, are available for purchase at meetings or by mail. 

Youth size is $12.00.

XX-large size is $16.50.

XXX-large - kamama * - size is $17.50.

(* "elephant" in Cherokee, also "butterfly", which resembles the elephant's ears)

 

 

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Exploring Cherokee Heritage

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