Welcome Fall & Thanksgiving
We've now begun the holiday season and, in turn, the coming close of a very unpredictable yet completely unforgettable year. While we've all been deeply affected by the various events of 2020, there is always a way to find a positive in any situation and idle in gratitude. To highlight this, we've chosen a very special title that touches on the connection of the Indigenous peoples of the Cherokee Nation and the emphasis of "Thanks" in Thanksgiving.
Not traditionally a solely "Thanksgiving" book, We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell instead focuses on gratitude through all of the seasons. Written by a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, this look at one group of Native Americans is appended with a glossary and the complete Cherokee syllabary, originally created by Sequoyah. The word otsaliheliga (oh-jah-LEE-hay-lee-gah) is used by members of the Cherokee Nation to express gratitude. Beginning in the fall with the new year and ending in summer, follow a full Cherokee year of celebrations and experiences.
The author Sorell states, "Cherokee culture places a strong emphasis on expressing gratitude to unelanvhi (oo-NEH-la-nuh-hee), literally “the one who provides all,” or God. We also show gratitude for one another, animals, birds, plants, fish, the cosmos, water, and land. Cherokee people believe that recognizing and honoring the ways that the sacred and the duties of daily life are interwoven requires effort, ritual, and awareness, but above all, gratitude. I am grateful for the opportunity to provide a contemporary view of Cherokee culture in this book...
Many of us still observe the ancestral and ceremonial ways of life. We also live and work in the modern non-Cherokee world. Cherokee people are citizens of our tribal nation and of the United States. There are many distinct laws and responsibilities applied to us because of that dual status. We work to maintain a balance between these two worlds. Otsaliheliga for all who came before us, those here now, and those yet to come."
From our Hippocampus Clubhouse family to yours, we wish you and yours a beautiful and blessed holiday filled with love, joy, and Otsaliheliga.