Rain on the scarecrows (concluded)
Several weeks ago, I published an article that dealt with a trip to Tellico Plains with the Principal Chief of the Cherokees, John Crowe. This was back in 1976 and the Tennessee Valley Authority had announced their plans to flood the Tellico Plains.
Although the Cherokees did not occupy Tellico, the region was considered significant to the Cherokees since it had traditionally been their sacred burial ground.
Crowe voiced his opposition to the proposed flooding. Eventually, the TVA agreed to consider recompense to the Cherokees and ended by offering a strip of land on which they would build a museum in honor of Sequoyah. The museum would become the property of the Cherokees and they would be entitled to staff and operate the museum for profit. However, before construction could begin, the TVA discovered that the water of the new dam had already flooded the area where Sequoyah had lived. Plans were immediately developed to “rebuild” Sequoyah’s birth place and work began.
By the time the museum was complete, John Crowe was no longer principal chief, so once again I was fortunate to be the driver for the new Principal Chief, Robert Youngdeer.
So it was in 1986 that Chief Youngdeer and I drove to Tellico to meet with the archaeology team that had assembled approximately one hundred remains of the Cherokees that had been removed and placed in small containers that resembled shoe boxes. The archaeology team had an impressive list of legal forms that Chief Youngdeer was required to sign. Things ground to a halt when Chief Youngdeer refused to sign any document until he understood what it was.
One of the most important issues was in a document that gave the archaeology office the right to reclaim the remains if they were needed to further medical knowledge that concerned the health of Cherokees. I am not sure that I understood why this was an issue; however, Chief Youngdeer made it clear that the remains would never be returned, and that he intended to take steps to see that the remains were safe.
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He told the archeology staff that he intended to take some of the remains on the Appalachian Trail and bury them in obscure locations. He also stated that he intended to take the majority of the remains and bury them at the Sequoyah Museum under several tons of concrete. I do not know what Chief Youngdeer did with those remains that we brought back to Cherokee, but I am confident that they are beyond recall to the archaeology team.
The actual dedication of the Sequoyah Museum was an impressive affair. The entire Tribal Council was in attendance, as well as an impressive number of TVA officials and state officials. Robert Bushyhead, a well-known tribal personality and actor was the guest speaker, and the Museum invited some of the tribe’s most noted craftsmen and artists to assemble an impressive display of carvings, paintings and masks. All went well until Bushyhead was concluding his speech, and suddenly, the manager of the museum came rushing to the speaker’s stand to announce that they had a “bomb threat.” Yes, the Scarecrow called!
In 15 minutes, there was no one left at the site of the museum except the fellow who was the janitor and me. I decided not to go, but I visited the museum where the manager had removed the money form the cash register, but the display of arts and crafts were untouched, including a large statue of Sequoyah. A few cars returned eventually, but the dedication ceremony was over. I decided to leave, too, and as I passed through Vanore, I turned on my car radio.
“Rain on the scarecrow, blood on the plow! This land fed a nation; this land made me proud.”
(Gary Carden is one of Southern Appalachia’s most revered literary figures and has won a number of significant awards for his books and plays over the years, including the Book of the Year Award from the Appalachian Writers Association in 2001, the Brown Hudson Award for Folklore in 2006 and the North Carolina Arts Council Award for Literature in 2012. His most recent book, “Stories I lived to tell,” is available at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva, or online through uncpress.org.)
