Confronting the unknown in absolute darkness is a universal human trial, yet unwavering support is often present long before our eyes are opened to see it.
“Do you know the legend of the Cherokee Indian youth’s rite of passage?
His father takes him into the forest…blindfolded…and leaves him….alone.
He is required to sit on a stump the whole night…and not take off the blindfold until the rays of Sun shine through it. He is all by himself. He cannot cry out for help to anyone.
Once he survives the night…he is a MAN. He cannot tell the other boys of this experience. Each boy must come into his own manhood.
The boy was terrified…could hear all kinds of noise…Beasts were all around him. Maybe even some human would hurt him. The wind blew the grass and earth… and it shook his stump. But he sat stoically…never removing the blindfold. It would be the only way he could be a man.
Finally, after a horrific night…the Sun appeared and he removed his blindfold. It was then that he saw his father…sitting on the stump next to him…at watch…the entire night.
We are never truly alone. Even when we do not know it, our family and friends are watching out for us…sitting on a stump beside us.”
Source: http://www.rogerdarlington.me.uk
Roger Darlington is a British author, trade union official, and public policy specialist who writes short stories, film reviews, and commentary on workplace dynamics, communication and technology.
Note: The Cherokee people have deep ancestral ties to the Southeastern woodlands of North America, with traditional homelands spanning parts of present-day Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, Alabama and neighboring states. Historically, Cherokee society was organised around towns and matrilineal clans, with children traditionally belonging to their mother’s clan. Agriculture, hunting, gathering, sophisticated systems of local governance, and rich oral traditions sustained communities and transmitted cultural knowledge across generations.
In the early 19th century, a visionary polymath named Sequoyah accomplished a remarkable intellectual feat by independently developing a writing system for the Cherokee language. Working over a period of years and completing the syllabary around 1821, he created a system commonly described today as having 85 characters, although earlier versions included 86. The Cherokee Nation formally adopted the syllabary in 1825, and it spread rapidly, enabling widespread written communication in Cherokee. Sequoyah’s achievement demonstrates how an innovative writing system can strengthen a language and help sustain a community through profound change.
The forced removal of the Cherokee people in 1838–1839, remembered as the Trail of Tears, caused immense suffering and loss of life. The Cherokee Nation rebuilt its governmental institutions in present-day Oklahoma, while other Cherokee communities maintained their presence in the East. Today, the Cherokee Nation is a sovereign, federally recognised tribal government headquartered in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, with more than 470,000 citizens worldwide according to its official website. It operates extensive governmental, healthcare, educational and cultural programmes, including initiatives to preserve and revitalise the Cherokee language. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, headquartered in North Carolina, is a separate federally recognised Cherokee tribe. Together with the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma, these governments reflect the continuing presence, diversity and resilience of Cherokee communities.
Image: A US postage stamp issued in May 2023 to honour Chief Standing Bear (ca. 1829-1908), who won a landmark court ruling in 1879 that determined that Native Americans were persons under the law with inherent rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Courtesy: https://indianaffairs.state.ne.us/