Cherokee Stories of the Past

The Cherokee Indians have lived in Western North Carolina for centuries. They have endured both hard times and good in a world that changed dramatically around them. Author Roy Cantrell lived and worked among these Native Americans, collecting stories of the people he knew and loved and ways of life that may not survive the onslaught of technology, casinos, and tourism. The Cherokee people have managed to cling to parts of their heritage like weaving baskets, carving Indian dolls, and making bows and arrows, tomahawks, and blowguns, skills handed down from past generations to artisans like Katie Welch and Hayes Lossiah. Cantrell also documents colorful characters like Sara Bradley, a feisty elderly lady who survived attacks by dogs, bears, and rattlesnakes. Amoneeta Sequoyah, one of the few remaining medicine men, found that white people sought his help as often as did the Cherokees. Chief Tom Jumper sported an outfit of leather, beads, and richly feathered headdress not because that's what Cherokees really wore but because tourists expected it. Cantrell writes of the time before the casino came to town, when his subjects frequently struggled to stay alive but never lost sight of nature's gifts.