Swimmer (1835-March, 1899), Cherokee traditionalist and storyteller, was born in the Cherokee country of southwestern North Carolina. His Cherokee name, Ayunini, meaning “swimmer”, was trained by the masters of his tribe to be a medicine man, a doctor, and the keeper of tradition, he never learned to speak English but instead maintained his Native culture and heritage throughout his life. In fact, as it was intended he should be, he became the conservator of the history and traditions of his people.
As a youth he learned the Cherokee Syllabary from the elders of his tribe and began early to keep a notebook in which he recorded the sacred rights as well as the facts and stories of his people. He also made note of their ways of doing things and identified plants, roots, and barks whose use had proven useful or effective in one way or another.
During the Civil War Swimmer enlisted on 9 Apr. 1862 and served as second sergeant of the Cherokee Company A, Sixty-ninth North Carolina Confederate Regiment in Colonel William Thomas’s legion.
Cherokee Medicine Man, Ayunini (Swimmer) Didanvwisgi (He Heals Them) 1888
Old Fashioned 4 cups flour 2 tbsp. baking powder 1 tsp. salt 1/2 cup shortening 1 cup warm water Mix flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add in the shortening and water. Add only enough water to make dough stick together. Knead dough until smooth, make into fist-sized balls. Cover them with a towel for 10 minutes then pat them out into circles about the size of a pancake. Fry in hot cooking oil in cast iron skillet until brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels, serve with jam.
Traditional 1 pkg. dry yeast 3 cups warm water 1 tbsp. salt 1 tbsp. sugar 6 cups flour 2 tbsp. oil 1/2 cup cornmeal Dissolve yeast in warm water then add salt and sugar. Let stand for 5 minutes covered with a towel. Add flour and oil to liquid mixture. Mix and put on floured bread board and knead until mixture is smooth. Put dough in a greased bowl, cover with towel and let it rise for 1 1/2 hours. Remove from bowl and put on bread board, knead in the 1/2 cornmeal. Make dough into 2 balls rolling each into 12 inch circles 1/2 inch thick. Cut into 2 inch squares and drop into hot cooking oil. (Works best with cast iron skillet.) Fry 5 to 6 pieces at a time for only a few moments. Drain on paper towel and sprinkle with white powdered sugar.
Blackfeet 4 cups flour 1 Tbsp. powdered milk 1 Tbsp. baking powder 1 tsp. salt 11/2 cups warm water Oil for frying Mix all dry ingredients thoroughly. Add water. Knead until soft, then set aside for one hour. Shape into small balls. Flatten each ball into a circle with or rolling pin or by hand. Fry in a skillet half-full of oil until golden brown on both sides.
Cherokee 1 cup flour 1/2 tsp. salt 2 tsp. baking powder 3/4 cup milk Mix ingredients adding more flour if necessary to make a stiff dough. Roll out the dough on a floured board till very thin. Cut into strips 2 X 3 inches and drop in hot cooking oil. Brown on both sides. Serve hot with honey.
Chickasaw 2 cups sifted flour 1/2 tsp. salt 4 tsp. baking powder 1 egg 1/2 cup warm milk Stir first three ingredients then stir in the beaten egg. Add milk to make the dough soft. Roll it out on floured bread board, knead lightly. Roll dough out to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into strips 2 X 3 inches and slit the center. Drop into hot cooking oil and brown on both sides. Serve hot.
Pumpkin Fry Bread Add the following to the ingredients shown above to make Pumpkin Fry Bread 2 cups fresh pumpkin or 1-16oz. can pumpkin 1 tbsp. milk or water 3/4 cups brown sugar 1/4 tsp. cinnamon 1/4 tsp. nutmeg 1/4 tsp. vanilla Drop into hot cooking oil and brown on both sides. Serve hot with butter or powdered sugar.
Creek 2 cups flour 1 cup buttermilk 1 tbsp. baking powder 1/4 tsp. salt Sift flour,salt and baking powder then add milk and more flour to make dough stiff. Roll out onto floured bread board and cut into 4 X 4 squares with a slit in the center. Fry in hot cooking oil until golden brown. Drain on plate with paper towels.
Navajo #1 1 C flour 1 t baking powder 1/4 C powdered milk 1/4 t salt warm water Combine the ingredients and slowly add enough warm water to form dough. On a lightly floured surface, knead dough until it is smooth soft and not sticky. Cover and let rest 1 hour. Shape into small balls and pat into flat circles about 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Set aside. In skillet, heat 1/2 inch vegetable oil. Brown dough circles on each side and drain on paper towels. Serve with chile beans and your favorite taco toppings for “Navajo Tacos.”
Navajo #2 3 cups unbleached flour, sifted 1/2 cup dry powdered milk 1 Tbs. baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 cup warm water or milk 2 quarts oil for deep frying Combine the first 5 ingredients in a large mixing bowl and knead until smooth and soft, but not sticky. Depending on the altitude and humidity, you may need to adjust the liquid or the flour, so go slowly and balance accordingly. Be careful not to overwork the dough, or it will become tough and chewy. Brush a tablespoon of oil over the finished dough and allow it to rest 20 minutes to 2 hours in a bowl covered with a damp cloth. After the dough has rested, heat the oil in a broad, deep frying pan or kettle until it reaches a low boil (375º). Pull off egg-sized balls of dough and quickly roll, pull, and path them out into large, plate-sized rounds. They should be thin in the middle and about 1/4 inch thick at the edges. Carefully ease each piece of flattened dough into the hot, boiling oil, one at a time. Using a long-handled cooking fork or tongs, turn the dough one time. Allow about 2 minutes cooking time per side. When golden brown, lift from oil, shake gently to remove bulk of oil, and place on layered brown paper or paper towels to finish draining. Serve hot with honey, jelly, fine powdered sugar, wojape, or various meat toppings. Hint: The magic is in frying the bread quickly! The hotter the oil, the less time it takes to cook. The less time it takes to cook, the lighter the texture and lower the fat content.
Osage 4 cups all purpose flour 2 tsp salt 1 tbsp and a half baking powder 1 tablespoon melted shortening 2 cups warm milk Shortening for deep frying Sift flour, salt and baking powder into bowl. Stir in shortening and milk. Knead the dough into a ball. Roll out dough on lightly floured board. Cut into diamond shapes and slice a slit in the center. Heat shortening in deep fryer to 370 degrees. Fry 2 or 3 at a time until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels.
Seminole 2 cups flour 3 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. salt 1 cup milk Mix flour, baking powder and salt. Add milk gradually making sure the dough is stiff. Put on floured bread board and pat it out with your hands until it is 1/2 inch thick. Cut into strips with a slit in the center. Fry in hot oil until both sides are golden brown.
American moonshiners were in desperate need of avoiding cops during the Prohibition era (1920-1933), and thus, these heifer-heels were born. They’d use these puppies to look like cows when traipsing through fields or across other terrain that might leave footprints for the authorities to track.
These shoes bring a whole new perspective to “hoofin’ it.”
Women in the Cherokee society were equal to men. They could earn the title of War Women and sit in councils as equals. This privilege led an Irishman named Adair who traded with the Cherokee from 1736-1743 to accuse the Cherokee of having a “petticoat government”.
Clan kinship followed the mother’s side of the family. The children grew up in the mother’s house, and it was the duty of an uncle on the mother’s side to teach the boys how to hunt, fish, and perform certain tribal duties.
The women owned the houses and their furnishings. Marriages were carefully negotiated, but if a woman decided to divorce her spouse, she simply placed his belongings outside the house.
Cherokee women also worked hard. They cared for the children, cooked, tended the house, tanned skins, wove baskets, and cultivated the fields. Men helped with some household chores like sewing, but they spent most of their time hunting.
Cherokee girls learned by example how to be warriors and healers. They learned to weave baskets, tell stories, trade, and dance. They became mothers and wives, and learned their heritage.
The Cherokee learned to adapt, and the women were the core of the Cherokee.
Photo : ~ Cherokee mixed Native American actress, Faye Warren.
A child who wasn’t able to emotionally develop, becomes the adult who: takes everything personally, is highly defensive, & struggles to voice what they actually feel.
HERE’S WHY
Our emotional development happens beginning at birth & through childhood, where we learn: how to identify and regulate our emotions.
Emotional maturity comes from this process.
In order to learn this, we need to be modeled it by a parent figure.
If we’re raised in a home where we are parentified (made to be the emotional caretaker for a parent), where a parent is too busy or overworked, or where a parents rage or emotional instability runs the climate of the home— we don’t get to emotionally develop.
The sole focus becomes staying safe in the environment.
So, we cope with hypervigilance.
Hypervigilance is the attunement to the environment. Meaning, we sense everyone else’s emotions or shift in facial expressions or behavior.
We know when a parents mood is going to shift & how that will impact us, when we might be blamed or shamed, or when a parent might withdraw from us completely (ie: the silent treatment.)
We learn & adapt quickly to caretaking the emotions of those around us. Or managing those emotions the best we can as children.
Sometimes this is mistaken as empathy— it’s not.
It’s a survival mechanism.
Long term hypervigilance creates nervous system dysregulation.
We become high reactive to those around us because we’ve learned that people are not safe & we must defend ourselves.
Everything feels personal, because at one time in our lives: it was.
With our awareness on the external, this leaves little time for self awareness, self reflection, or emotional regulation.
The result: we are emotionally immature.
Unable to know what we feel, how to express it, or if it’s even ok to feel what we feel (many of us have been shamed for our emotions: “stop being dramatic,” “don’t be so sensitive” “man up.”)
In earliest years we were made responsible for adult emotions.
Does she feel younger than me? As you’re lying in your bed Does she feel younger than me? Or is that in my head?
Does she feel younger than me? New and shiny Does she feel younger than me? But most importantly
Do you call her bright eyes too? Too
Too
Too
I know she’s younger than me As I’m lying in our bed I know she’s younger than me Can’t get it out of my head I know she’s younger than me Less pain to carry I know she’s younger than me Darling tell me
Do you call her bright eyes too?
Too
Too
Too
Now are you haunted by me? That age old marital trip What’s gotten old about me? Serpent in my bed Now, is that your pain you see? Replenished, strung ahead I don’t know how to stay me But repetition lies ahead for you For you
Long ago Coyote opened a bag of darkness and it spread over the world. Creatures of the night loved it. But birds and little animals longed for day. The little animals played a game to win back the light. They won, but one night monster remained. After the game, the first human, White Painted Woman, gave birth to a son. She hid him from the monster. When the boy was grown, he faced the monster and killed it. He was then called Apache.
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