Wisdom from My Grandmothers

My fifth great-grandmother on my father’s side was Rosanna Blue. She was a full-blood Cherokee woman of the Sonicooie clan, which means wild potato. I first learned of her from a family history book written by my great-grandfather, James Eugene Hall. While working on this project, I did further research on Ancestry.com and confirmed the connection. I’ve always been fascinated that I have such heritage. For a long time, I wanted to know more about this grandmother and her culture. Several years ago, while participating in trance meditation—and before I thought about writing this book—she was one of my grandmothers who came to me. I knew that at some point in the future, I needed to communicate with her. Now I understand why.

She was born in 1764 in Cherokee County, Georgia. She told me that the Cherokee Nation included areas of western North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. She lived in an area of dense forest and had little contact with other tribes. She grew up not dealing with many white people.

She recalled that the land where she grew up was rich. They always had enough food. One could walk from the eastern coast to Tennessee through the forest, never seeing the sky. Her people were masters at gathering wild potatoes, mushrooms, nuts, and fruits. They hunted in co-ed teams for deer, selecting the older males or females. The meat was divided among the tribe.

Before the whites arrived, hers had been a stable culture for thousands of years. Everyone was taught to survive in the wilderness. The people moved around the area seasonally to hunt and gather food. Resources were always plentiful. Chestnuts were especially bountiful, full of fiber and protein. Her people were taught that they were always part of the land and were excellent caretakers of Mother Earth. As they moved to new areas, they showed their gratitude by leaving offerings of food for the next clan’s arrival.

The Cherokee culture was based on community rather than being hierarchical. The crones were the spiritual leaders, and they chose the medicine man. The head male led the warriors in defense of the tribe, but mostly they communicated with other chiefs. With plentiful resources, there was little need for fighting each other.