Thank you for visiting my page at Angelfire.
ABOUT MYSELF.
I am a member of the Western Cherokee Nation. My mother, Gladys (GLOW) Pauline Pliler, was born in 1904 in the Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). My father, James Russell (RUSS) Baugh, was born in 1901 near Baxter Springs, Kansas, about 1/2 mile north of the Indian Territory. I was born in Ferndale, Michigan in 1930 and was raised with only a hint of my Indian Heritage.
I served in the U S Navy before and during the Korean Police Action (felt like a war to me). I was a Surveyor in the SeaBees and in Korea I was stationed with Construction Battalion Detachment 1804 (later Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit # 1[CBMU1]), attached to Marine Air Group 33 of the First Marine Air Wing at Pohang-dong.
I spent most of my civilian life working as a Road Service Forklift Mechanic, Shop Foreman and Service Manager for various Forklift Companys (including my own) in Michigan, Georgia and Florida, until I retired.
Since retiring, I have become a Clockmaker and repairman. I wish I had done it 40 years ago. It's not heavy, it's not dirty, and the potential is there for a good income. I have also learned more about my Indian background. I have learned I am 5/8ths Cherokee (tsalagi), have joined a tribe and am learning to read, write and speak the Cherokee language.
The first money I ever earned was by winning a letter writing contest at Packers Outlet in Ypsilanti, Michigan when I was eight years old. I have since then, considered myself a writer and although I've never persued a career writing, my talents have proven useful in the career I did follow. I still intend to write something of quality but so far have only a few poems to my credit.
------------------------------------------------------- -
EDITORIAL
Centuries before the europeans came, our cousins, the Kayuga, Mohawk, Onandaga, Oneida and Seneca tribes faught among themselves, stole from, and raided one another, to the detriment of all.
They were brought together by a Huron called the Peacemaker, who convinced them to stop fighting each other and join together to form a strong confederation for the mutual advantage of all. He gave them the Great Law:
"IN ALL YOUR ACTS, SELF INTEREST SHALL BE CAST AWAY. LOOK AND LISTEN FOR THE WELFARE OF THE WHOLE PEOPLE, AND HAVE ALWAYS IN VIEW, NOT ONLY THE PRESENT, BUT ALSO THE COMING GENERATIONS, THE UNBORN OF THE FUTURE NATION."
They called this union the Haudenosaunee, and were known as the Iroquois. This confederation had its problems, but still exists and flourishes to this day. At its largest, it extended across the finger lakes and what is now Northern New York State.
The Cherokee have been described as relatives of the Iroquois. Certainly we were very similar, with the various clans, the women owning the houses and many other similarities. We covered a much larger area than the Iroquois so I would presume we were also a confederation, but of many tribes.
But our confederation has been broken. We have the Eastern Cherokee, The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, The United Keetowah Band and miriad small Western Cherokee Nations with many different appendages.
Timothy Jones has suggested we form a new (or re-form an old) confederation. It is time to do so. We need at least, to bring all of the small Western Cherokee Groups into a confederation of fully independant Tribes. Form a council, develop a mutually agreed upon Constitution and government. This should give us a membership with sufficient clout to bring us recognition by State and Local Governments and hopefully, one day, the U S Government.
We must invite all tribes to participate, for we must represent all non recognized Cherokees in this new expanded nation.
When we have accomplished this, we may look to forming a union of all Cherokees, but right NOW we have to work on bringing ourselves out of the shadows and into the light. Without Violence, we must let the world know we are here and shall no longer be denied.
THIS PAGE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Please come back and visit this page again!
My Favorite Things
My Favorite Web Sites
Western Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma
Blue Panthers Cherokee Spirit Page
Free Web Building Help
Angelfire HTML Library
htmlGEAR - free polls, guestbook and more!ks
