Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1354891
WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM MARCH 24-30, 2021 UCW 17 DAN DEBRULER, General Manager, WCLN. Comments? Editor@upandcomingweekly. com. 910-484-6200. FAITH D.G. MARTIN, Host of UNC's Book Watch. COMMENTS? Editor@upand- comingweekly.com. 910-484-6200. Big news about the Cherokee by D.G. MARTIN Are you ready? Spring is officially here, and good news is everywhere! For those of the Christian faith, Easter is a time for renewal and re- freshing, and that is exactly what's happening all around us. e news recently reported Fay- etteville's signature Dogwood Festi- val is back in action after an un- fortunate hiatus brought on by the pandemic. e organizers promise it to be smaller and safer, but just as fun as we've come to expect of the hometown festival rooted right here in Fayetteville, North Carolina. After a year of virtual everything, I've pretty much reached 'Zoom Fatigue' and have recently met with local church and civic leaders excited about everything from fun family activities like egg hunts and days in the park to what one local pastor called the "... super bowl of Easters." One thing is certain, over the past year we've learned we need each other. A recent survey cited a surprising 52% of Americans who volunteered to do things for oth- ers for the first time in their lives. Donating blood, caring for elderly neighbors, working with and donat- ing to food pantries – the first time! at's a trend we can all hope will catch on. is is a great time to be alive, and while we blame the virus for so many of the bad things that came our way, we can even find plenty to be thankful for on its heels. While masks and other precau- tions may be the norm for now, it's still exciting to see the country – and our local communities – spring to life once again. I can honestly say I was never before happy to get stuck behind a school bus on the two-lane cut-through to get to work, but I almost clapped my hands when it happened a couple of weeks ago. NOTE: I didn't actu- ally clap my hands; I was on a mo- torcycle, and that would have been a little irresponsible. If there is a central point to any of this, it's that we can find rea- sons to rejoice regardless of the circumstances surrounding us. ere is much more to this life than what we may see as the interrup- tions. e blessings we long for – family, friends and celebrations of both – are the very things we learned to chase and find when they were dangled six feet away, or held captive behind the walls of a senior care facility over the past 12 months. If you haven't yet, thank God for allowing you to see and experience what you have. We are living in a historical moment as we create memories no one can take away. And while I wouldn't wish the bad parts of the pandemic on anyone, I will certainly rejoice in the good that has come through the experi- ence. I hope you will too. Spring brings new possiblities by DAN DEBRULER Cherokee is in the news again this month. For North Carolinians, the Cherokee term brings up a whole special set of complex thoughts, es- pecially ones regarding the Cherokee people living in far western North Carolina. e big news about this group of Cherokees is "Even As We Breathe," the debut novel of Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle. It is the first novel ever published by an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Appropriately, the book deals with the special challenges Cherokee people face dealing with the non-Indian people who surround them. Set in 1942, during World War II, the lead character, 19-year-old Cowney Sequoyah, lives a hardscrabble life with his grand- mother Lishie, whom he loves deeply. His Uncle Bud lives near- by. Bud works Cowney hard and treats him badly. Bud's brother, Cowney's father, died overseas at the end of World War I. Now it is 1942 and World War II is raging, but Cowney's deformed leg means he will not fight. When a groundskeeping job at Asheville's Grove Park Inn opens up, Cowney takes it. e Army is using the Grove Park to confine quar- antined enemy officials and their families. Joining him in his family's Model T for the two-hour drive from Chero- kee to Asheville is Essie, a beautiful young Cherokee woman who is anx- ious to break away from the Cherokee community. Cowney and Essie become good friends. He wishes for more, but she develops interest in one of the foreign detainees. On this situation Clapsaddle builds a poignant part of the book's plot. When Lishie dies, Cowney's world collapses. Clapsaddle describes the scents he notices as the Cherokee family and friends gather to grieve: Grease Lilies Tobacco Vanilla Fresh dirt Pine sap She repeats this refrain over and over again to bring the reader into Cowney's sadness. A white man drops by to pay re- spects. He had served with Bud and Cowney's dad in World War I. Bud pushes him away, but not before the man gives Cowney his card and tells him to call if he ever needs help. Later, back at the Grove Park, when Cowney is accused in connection with the disappearance of the young daughter of one of the foreign intern- ees, that card and its owner become keys to finding the truth. Other characters and places fill the novel and enrich Cowney's story. An ancient Cherokee man, Tsa Tsi, owns a monkey that wanders freely through the forests. Preacherman appears at funerals to blend Cherokee culture with the religion of the white man. Lishie wakes Cowney by sing- ing "Amazing Grace" in Cherokee: "U ne la nv i u we tsi." Forest fires break out near Lishie's cabin, and the smoke provides an ee- rie cover for the gloomy parts of the story. e region's lovely waterfalls give Cowney places to find peace. Clapsaddle brings all these, and much more, together for a lovely story that engages its readers and gives them a vivid experience in Cherokee culture. Of course, there are reminders of the unfair and discriminatory treat- ment suffered by the Cherokee at the hands of the whites who populate historic Cherokee lands. Near the book's end, Cowney's grounds crew boss takes him to dinner and a mov- ie. At the movie box office the clerk initially refused to sell a ticket. "Don't serve Indians here," she snarled. Cowney and his boss quietly go to the balcony and see Charlie Chap- lin's "e Great Dictator." Cowney is moved by Chaplin's final speech against intolerance and hatred, an underlying theme of Clapsaddle's book. Citing the Bible's book of Luke, Chaplin said, "e Kingdom of God is within man, not one man, nor a group of men, but in all men, in you." LITERATURE