Written by Victor Hugo Mendevil  

 

This May, DAILP had the pleasure of hosting three members of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians (UKB) on the Boston campus of Northeastern University in Massachusetts. Thanks to the sponsorship of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) grant from the National Archives, DAILP team members and UKB citizens visited together to discuss a variety of language- and community-based practices. Guests included UKB citizens Clara Proctor and Oletta Pritchett, UKB citizen and DAILP advisory board member Ernestine Berry, and DAILP advisory board member Lisa Conathan. Other core team members of DAILP were present for various parts of the visit to take notes and discuss with our guests. After a warm welcome on the first evening of their arrival, day two laid the foundation for the visit, which consisted of storytelling, a presentation from Berry, discussion about Cherokee language translation processes, and audio recordings. The collaborators also facilitated a conversation about Cherokees Writing the Keetoowah Way (CWKW), which was an opportunity to suggest and implement changes to DAILP’s website’s features and goals. The purpose of the visit was to further shape DAILP into an accessible resource for those with any level of experience with the Cherokee language. The meeting also elicited a sense of familial history, generational purpose, and collaborative relationships that may have never been possible if not for the sense of teamwork and cooperation among all members of those in attendance. 

Pritchett’s reading of Jennie Sawney’s translated letter during the visit was significantly memorable for Ernestine Berry. “Jennie was my grandfather’s mother. Jennie’s father, James Vann, was a Captain in the Union Army. He served with the Indian Home Guard out of Kansas during the American Civil War… In the letter, Jennie talks about her son, my grandpa, Tsan Wen, and his sister, my great-Aunt Susani.” As her great-grandmother’s words were spoken from the mouth of a fellow UKB citizen, in a shared space of revelation and discovery, collaborators all came to understand the importance of these translations for the sources of knowledge, family history, and voice as the translations are read aloud! To see Berry’s own family in the Sawney letters is exceptionally important to DAILP’s goal of revealing, retelling, and honoring the voices of ancestors that are still held dear to members of the Cherokee and Keetoowah communities. 

Clara Proctor remarked that, when translating, there is “often no way to translate the many layers of meaning into English.” The question became apparent: how do we convey the meaning or purpose of an archival document? All participants agreed that a focus on the author’s context (including their identity, circumstances of writing a piece, and where they lived) is the first source of understanding, and important in making stories like Sawney’s come to life in translation. Bringing these questions to the center stage allowed for members in attendance to further develop DAILP’s mission and understand the ethical dilemmas that come with picking various documents, such as original conversations, published or widely circulated works, and hand-selected texts. Additionally, Berry pointed out that knowledge of Cherokee syllabary has dwindled over time due to the ostracization of those who used the language. She related this to her grandmother, who was not allowed to speak her own language in public school as a child. The level of intimacy and value that translating a document entails made our team very conscious of the purpose of gathering together to discuss and interact with historical texts.

This notion also urged the team to discuss their thoughts on further learning materials for CWKW, with an emphasis on audio cues and repetition, to reinforce clear understanding that will bridge the generational gap between parents who begin teaching their children Cherokee. As stated by Mary Rae, a teacher and DAILP contributor who joined the discussion virtually, “DAILP gives beginning language learners the opportunity to interact directly with [the] source.” Between the audio recordings and the vast amount of conversations that took place between DAILP team and the UKB guests, their combined ideas invoked illumination on important issues regarding the inclusion of all learners of Cherokee while solidifying the true significance of their combined work. Lots of great things are in store for DAILP thanks to the brilliant collaboration of like-minded individuals!