currentactivities

Upcoming Events

July 26 - Jefferson County Historical Society Bus Tour to Cherokee, NC (email us if you are interested in going with us!)
August 2- Cherokee Heritage Day, James White's Fort, Knoxville, TN

July, 2008

The July 11th teacher workshop was a great success! Indian Creek Productions, Inc., teamed up with the Tennessee Council for the Social Studies, the Tennessee Geographic Alliance, the East Tennessee Historical Society, and the Frank H. McClung Museum to host 19 teachers for a workshop on American Indian topics.

The day began at the McClung Museum on the UT campus with Debbie Woodiel, the museum's education director, leading the group on a tour of the "Archaeology and the Native Peoples of Tennessee" exhibit. Next Dr. Jefferson Chapman, well-known for his work on the Tellico archaeology project, discussee current ideas in research. The group was then treated to a "behind the scenes" tour of the lab, led by Dr. Gary Crites.

Lunch was delivered from the Tomato Head restaurant in Market Square to the auditorium at the East Tennessee Historical Society. As lunch was served, Lowery Begay provided beautiful background flute music. He then presented a program of music, life lessons, and the hoop dance. Lowery's presentation was so well-received that he got a standing ovation!

After lunch, Mark and Sherry presented the "Walking in Balance" presentation regarding the roles of men and women in Cherokee society during the late 18th century. Then Lisa Oakley, curator of education for the ETHS, gave her "Everyday Expressions" presentation.

After that, it was time for Mark and Sherry to go next door to help set up for the next day's Spirit of Nations powwow. Others there to help included Dan Standley, Keri and Bear Brooks, Gordon Sisk, Margie Detring, Nikki and Anthony Crisp, and Bob and Lynne Eldridge. The two large Camel tents were set up, as were the smaller tents for the vendors.

The final set-up took place beginning about 6:30 am on Saturday. As vendors arrived, they were shown to their spots. Anthony delivered bales of straw and with a little help got the arena set up. Nikki, Sherry, and Lynne concentrated on getting the food booth set up. Keri worked on the Coke booth and the silent auction. Gordon spent a lot of time complaining that Mark wasn't doing anything!

The day was a great success! Attendance was good and many people expressed their desire to see the powwow grow to what is once was many years ago.

June, 2008

On June 21st, Mark and Sherry participated in the Trail of Tears Walk in the Snowbird community. The walk started at Tratham Gap and continued for seven miles down the mountainside and along the highway to the Junaluska Museum. Believe it or not, they both made it all the way, electing not to take advantage of the van that followed along behind. After the walk, lunch was served at the museum. Dr. Tom Belt of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma gave a very moving talk about his experience on the trail that day and encouraged all of those in attendance to keep the history of what happened alive.

Later that afternoon, Mark and Sherry went on to Cherokee, NC, and visited with Driver and Hope Pheasant, and then drove on to Boone, NC. There they were guests of the "Horn in the West" outdoor drama. This play, which tells the story of westward expansion, has scenes with Nancy Ward, Dragging Canoe, and Little Carpenter. Mark and Sherry have been asked to help make those scenes more accurate.

The Native American Festival (6/7-8) at Sycamore Shoals State Park in Elizabethon was lots of fun. Even though the temperature was in the 90s, the shade and the breeze made it rather comfortable. Mark and Sherry set up their campsite and Sherry demonstrated Cherokee cooking, much to the delight of those who had a chance to sample! It did not take long to pass out the peach cobbler!

On Saturday Mark and Sherry gave a presentation on "East vs. West," describing some of the differences between Native culture in the Plains area and among the Cherokee east of the Mississippi River. That evening about 60 people gathered around the campfire as Mark and Sherry shared many old stories.

Also at the event were Bob and Lynne Eldridge who set up their campsite as well. Bob told some stories and shared Indian heritage, while Lynne made bath salts and helped Sherry with the cooking.

Scott Crisp was there, selling snow cones - genuine Cherokee snow cones, none the less. He also had Cherokee pickles for sale too. If none of that makes any sense to you, just check with Scott and he'll fill you in.

Several cast members of "Liberty!," the outdoor drama at Sycamore Shoals, came up to ask about costuming those who play Cherokee parts in the play. Hopefully, the historical and cultural accuracy will improve.

May, 2008

More fun in Duffield. The Siege at the Blockhouse took place May 31 - June 1st. This time the new visitor center was open. The air conditioning and restroom facilities were much appreciated!

Saturday began with a horse race that turned ugly. One of the Cherokee men was beaten and then shot in the back as he was being taken away by his comrades. As you might imagine, things went downhill fast at that point. Some children and one young lady (park ranger Megan Krager) went berry picking, only to find themselves under siege by the warriors. The children escaped, but the young lady was taken captive.

In an effort to get the young lady back, some of the settlers raided the Indian camp and kidnapped Sherry to use in an exchange. When the two sides met and Sherry was returned, the audience enjoyed hearing Megan say that she was treated better by the Cherokee and would not be returning to her family.

Later that evening, Mark and Sherry acted out the story of the first man and first woman as they discovered strawberries. Later, as the Natives left the campfire to begin a ceremony back at their camp, the settlers were unnerved by the firing of guns in the woods. What was really part of the ceremony was mistaken to be an attack on the blockhouse, so the settlers began firing toward the woods. The Indians returned fire and rushed the settlers, taking over the blockhouse in the process. What a great ending to the day!

The Fading Voices Festival was once again an enjoyable day for Mark and Sherry. They first went into Robbinsville on Friday evening, May 23rd, and spent the night. Then on Saturday morning, they headed over to Snowbird for the festival. As always, there was lots of activity going on: fire starting, wood carving, basket making, pottery making, blowgun shooting, Cherokee singing, and of course, the stickball game and fish game.

Mark's favorite part of the day was the Cherokee dinner - fried chicken, fried potatoes, beans and hominy, bean bread, and some fat back. Sherry enjoyed an Indian taco. Shirley Oswalt was there demonstrating pottery making, while other friends, Mark and Nan Brown offered samples of traditional Cherokee herbal medicines.

Sherry gave the lid tossing contest a try, but was not able to unseat last year's champion who won again.

Mark and Sherry headed down to Russell Cave near Bridgeport, Alabama, for the weekend of May 3rd and 4th to participate in the park's Native American Weekend. Mark gave his presentation on "The Trail Where We Cried" both days. Sherry presented on tracing Cherokee geneaology both days as well. She was especially excited to learn that her geneaology presentation last year had helped a woman get enrolled! This year a family visited with Sherry after her presentation and believe they came away with enough information that they too will be able to enroll!

In addition, Mark and Sherry got to visit with several long-time friends, including Mark Eaton, a Cherokee living history presenter, Bo Taylor, a member of the Anikituwah dancers, and Alva and Nancy Crowe, who were there selling jewelry, art, and blowguns.

Sherry had the opportunity to learn how to fingerweave the arrow design from master weaver Susan Wilson. Susan's husband Jerry was there to demonstrate his talent for natural dyes and carving. It was also a pleasure to meet Robin Scott, an unbelievable artist who uses rivercane to make many functional and historical pieces.

April, 2008

Monday, April 21st, was a fun day at Belle Morris Elementary School in Knoxville. Mark and Sherry began the day with presentations about Cherokee culture for the kindergarten through second grade students. After lunch, they were joined by Nikki Crisp, Johnathan Crisp, Beaver Grant, Andy Grant, and John John Grant for a dance program performed in front of the entire student body. The children and teachers also enjoyed actively participating in the friendship dance.

After lunch the fourth and fifth grade classes rotated through five stations: men's roles, women's roles, Cherokee language, crafts, and working with tools. Shirley Oswalt again taught the language, while Heather Welborn from UT showed the students how to grind corn and drill with old style tools.

March, 2008

On Friday, March 7th, Mark gave a presentation entitled, "Teaching the Five Themes of Geography Using the Trail of Tears," at the spring conference co-hosted by the Tennessee Council for the Social Studies and the Tennessee Geographic Alliance at the Hilton Hotel in Knoxville. Sherry took time away from her job to join him at the conference.

February, 2008

<>On February 22nd, Mark and Sherry drove to Elizabethton, TN, and had dinner with members of the "Friends of Sycamore Shoals" group that supports the activities of Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area. After a very enjoyable meal, the "Friends" made arrangements for Mark and Sherry to spend the night at the Doe River Inn bed and breakfast.
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<>On Saturday morning, Mark presented a PowerPoint program designed to help the men who volunteer their time to portray Cherokee people for the outdoor drama, "Liberty," hosted by the park each summer. The first act of the drama tells the story of the Transylvania Purchase of land from the Cherokee people. After a short break, Sherry presented a PowerPoint program designed to help the women volunteers.
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<>In the afternoon, Mark and Sherry presented a third program designed to help those who might be interested in Cherokee living history presentations. The entire day was enjoyable and hopefully worthwhile to those who attended.

January, 2008

In January, Indian Creek Productions was again inactive - just recovering from too many Christmas cookies!

December, 2007

For the month of December, Indian Creek Productions wasn't active in any presentations, just Christmas shopping, cookie baking parties, etc!

November, 2007

Mark went to the National Council for the Social Studies annual conference in San Diego at the end of December. The city is certainly beautiful with the Seaport Village, wonderful convention center, historic Gas Lamp District, etc. Among the many meetings he attended, was the "Teaching American Indian History, Culture and Current Events" community. Lots of work by community members is currently being conducted.

On Saturday, November 10th, Mark and Sherry drove to Frakes, Kentucky, to take part in the Appalachian Festival held at Frakes Center School. The original plan was to set up camp outside the school, but with the cold weather, the decision was made to set up in a hallway of the school. Hundreds of students, teachers, administrators, parents, and members of the community enjoyed the food, talent show, games, music, and (hopefully!) the display of Cherokee material culture.

The next day, Mark and Sherry drove to Crossville to be ready for several programs the following morning at Martin Elementary School. The day began with several classes coming into the theater for two sessions of the "Walking in Balance" presentations, along with some storytelling.

After lunch, two groups of students came outside for games. Sherry first showed each group how to play the basket game and explained to the teachers how the game can be done in the classroom with very minimal expense. Then Mark led the students in some relay races. Lots of fun!

If that wasn't enough for one week, the Leadership Sevier team invited Mark and Sherry to help them conclude their yearlong program on Wednesday evening. The day ended at Norton Creek Estates just outside Gatlinburg. Mark and Sherry put together a new PowerPoint to serve as background as they told stories of the creation of the Smoky Mountains, and how the first man and woman were placed in those mountains. It was a fitting ending to the day and to the program.

October, 2007

The Tennessee History Festival at the Bicentennial Mall Capitol State Park on October 12th and 13th was once again fun time. Mark and Sherry set up the late 18th century camp to show Cherokee life of that time period. Sherry did her usual job of demonstrating outstanding culinary skill while Mark showed some prowess with the blowgun. More than a thousand elementary school students visited on Friday. On Saturday, Bill Carey from the Tennessee History For Kids website was on hand to film a video segment. Check it out at http://www.tnhistoryforkids.org/ and see what you think!

This year Indian Creek Productions helped the park add a new demonstration to its great line-up. Nikki Crisp and Bob Eldridge helped the public understand more about the Removal, better known as the Trail of Tears, which passed through the Nashville area. A photograph of Bob at the festival made the cover of the TEAch magazine published by the Tennessee Education Association.

September, 2007

The Crockett Fest at the Crockett Tavern in Morristown was a wonderful and enjoyable day. The weather cooperated and the crowds showed up. Bob Eldridge did his usual entertaining job as a storyteller. His wife Lynne did some leatherwork demonstrations as well. Danny Bigay was on hand to present some excellent flute music while his wife Kay Littlejohn demonstrated basketmaking.

Sherry did open fire cooking and stitched two deerhides together in preparation for having them smoked. Mark did some blowgun demonstrations and shared Cherokee history and culture with the visitors.

Ernest "Beaver" Grant came over from Cherokee, NC, to participate in the Cherokee traditional dancing demonstrations. Beaver can be seen this fall in a PBS special called, "Emmisarries of Peace," about the visit of Lt. Henry Timberlake among the Cherokee in the 18th century. Joining him in the dancing was Nikki Crisp, her son Johnathan and his girlfriend Ashlea Plummer, along with Mark and Sherry, and Bob and Lynne. Johnathan also spent some time practicing his new hobby, throwing tomahawks.

Native American Day at Natural Tunnel State Park in Duffield, Virginia, was once again an enjoyable day. Mark did a presentation about the 400th anniversary this year of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America. Sherry presented a session on tracing geneaology and another on the evolving styles of Cherokee clothing.

Together, Mark and Sherry shared the "Walking in Balance" presentation that involves showing the artifacts associated with daily life in the late 18th century. The final session of the day was a "Q&A" time where the audience was invited to ask any question they might have.

In between the presentations were some demonstrations of flintknapping and the use of an atlatl.

The event took place in a picnic pavilion at the park and was attended by a good crowd all day long.

Friday, September 7th was a fun, educational, but exhausting day. The fourth graders from the Greeneville city school sytem, almost 200 of them, converged on Tusculum View Elementary School for "Cherokee Day." The morning began with students from two schools rotating between five stations.

Mark did one on the role of Cherokee men; Sherry shared about the role of Cherokee women; Elizabeth Cahill from the University of Tennessee gave the children a chance to practice drilling and corn grinding; Shirley Oswalt showed pottery and taught the Cherokee language; and the final station was one where the children got a snack and made crafts to take home. In the afternoon, the students from the other two schools made the rounds of the stations.

Between the morning and afternoon sessions was a dance demonstration for all four schools. John John Grant from Cherokee, NC, emceed the program. He introduced himself in the Cherokee language, then told stories and played the flute. Then it was time for the dancing, with Nikki Crisp, Johnathan Crisp, Emerson Begay, and Ernest (Beaver) Grant entertaining the crowd.

Representatives from two other schools came to see the presentation and to make plans for having a similar program at their schools later in the school year.

August, 2007

The annual Cherokee Heritage Day was held on August 4th at James White's Fort in Knoxville. Sherry was unable to participate this year due to having to take a Praxis test that day. However, Nikki Crisp was a trooper and filled in for Sherry to do the role of Cherokee women. Mark pointed out to the audience that having Nikki there did not mean he and Sherry had broken up! Nikki did a good job speaking to the crowd.

Also on hand was Elizabeth Cahill from the University of Tennessee who gave children a chance to practice drilling and corn grinding. This was Elizabeth's second year and she continues to be popular. New to the event was Justin Burke from Morristown who showed how hides are tanned.

Nikki, along with her daughter Kele and son Johnathan, joined John John Grant and Paula Nelson from Cherokee, NC, in demonstrating powwow dancing and traditional Cherokee dancing. Paula also entertained with her educational music. She helped those in attendance learn some of the Cherokee language through song. This was Paula's first appearance at James White's Fort, and she became an instant fan of the historic site. She had to leave rather quickly to return to Cherokee for the evening's performance of the outdoor drams, "Unto These Hills." John John and Johnathan have roles this year as well.

July, 2007

On July 23rd, Mark had the opportunity to speak to a summer enrichment program for a group of ESL students in Knoxville. As a theme for the summer, the students have read Little House on the Prairie, a story that includes encounters between the settlers and the Indians. To coincide with the book, Mark showed a PowerPoint focusing on the Plains Indian culture. To compare with this area, he also showed photos of Cherokee culture and explained about the Trail of Tears. The students enjoyed seeing some artifacts and participating in a friendship dance and a tipi race.

On July 14th and 15th, the annual "Raid on the Watauga," was held at Rocky Mount Museum, Johnson City, Tennessee. The event, once a favorite on everyone's list, dropped off considerably this year in participation. Only a few Native re-enactors were there, not enough to have running of the gauntlet. It was still an enjoyable weekend, though. Especially for Sherry who used the time to do some fingerweaving and repair some moccasins. Mark got a kick out of seeing his photo on the cover of the Rocky Mount newsletter. (Maybe that's what hurt attendance!)

June, 2007

The "Siege at the Blockhouse" event at Natural Tunnel State Park in Duffield, Virginia, was held on Saturday and Sunday, June 9th and 10th. This year's siege had more Native reenactors than ever. A serious rainstorm hit on Friday evening and cooled the temperatures down to a comfortable level for the weekend. A brochure for events in Scott County, VA, was available and of course included the "Siege" and the Native American Day in September at the park. The nice, colorful brochure included two photos of Mark from previous events there. Ned Jilton with the Kingsport Times News made some wonderful photographs of the event. Follow the link to see how the day went. There are three separate photo stories, so please enjoy looking at each of them. http://www.timesnews.net/bloggerpage.php?blog=NedJilton

May, 2007

The Fading Voices Festival in Robbinsville (Saturday, May 26) was fun once again. Mark and Sherry took some good ole Tennessee dirt to be included in the mound building ceremony. The day's activities also included a stickball game, traditional dancing, storytelling, crafts, and much more, including Mark's favorite - Indian dinners!

Saturday, May 19th, was the first Spring Festival in Strawberry Plains, Tennessee. Mark and Sherry put up the lean-to in someone's front yard along the main street through town. Sherry demonstrated open fire cooking - three sisters in the pot, potatoes and onions slow cooking in the pottery, and venison hanging over the fire. Mark talked (of course) with a number of visitors and demonstrated the blowgun for the children.

Thursday, May 17th, was the Pack 77 Cub Scouts' end-of -the-year meeting. Mark and Sherry told stories, then demonstrated the blowgun and fire starting with flint and steel.

On May 5th and 6th, Mark and Sherry participated in the "Native American Festival" at Russell Cave National Park in Bridgeport, Alabama. Sherry did her presentation on tracing Cherokee ancestry. Mark's topic was the "Trail of Tears." Several demonstrators outside showing the public how hides were tanned, food prepared, wool was woven into belts, etc. Guests had the opportunity to test their skills with blowguns and atlatls. Bo Taylor, with the Museum of the Cherokee Indian in Cherokee, North Carolina, educated and entertained with his dances and lectures on Cherokee culture.

March, 2007

On Saturday, March 31st, the state finals for the Tennessee History Day competition took place at the University of Memphis. Again, Indian Creek Productions, Inc., was on hand to provide a cash prize for the best project with an American Indian theme. The award went to a middle school girl who did a performance based on the Battle of the Little Bighorn and the Massacre at Wounded Knee.

Mark and Sherry had the honor of flying to Minnesota to do some presentations for Winona State University, March 19th and 20th. Winona had received 30 inches of snow three weeks earlier and another 14 inches a week after that! Although the roads and parking areas had all been cleared, there was considerable snow still piled along the roadsides. Even Winona Lake had frozen over, allowing ice fishing. Something you never see in Tennessee!

Dr. Ann Rethlefsen, who had met Mark through NCSS activities, made the arrangements for the visit. Mark and Sherry spoke to an elementary education class and to two diversity classes. They also presented an evening program on the Trail of Tears for students, faculty, and the public. The auditorium, with a seating capacity of 200, was almost full.

One stop on the schedule was the fourth graders at Jefferson Elementary School in Winona where Mark and Sherry shared about the American Indian culture areas with the wonderful students, who later wrote some outstanding "thank you" letters.

Some photos of the trip can be seen at "Native Voices" .

On Monday, March 5th, the regional competition for Tennessee History Day took place on the University of Tennessee campus in Knoxville. Indian Creek Productions, Inc., has begun sponsoring the "Sequoyah Award" for the best project with an American Indian theme. This year's winners, two middle school girls, did an outstanding job with an exhibit about the Trail of Tears. They were very happy to get the cash prize!

February, 2007

Mark and Sherry participated in the "Celebrity Waiters' Dinner" to benefit the local chapter of the American Cancer Socity on Friday evening, February 16th. They dressed in early 1800s attire and delivered a wonderful chicken dinner, dessert and drinks to the ten people who agreed to set at their table. The fundraiser is designed so that the "tips" given to the waiters are their contributions to the ACS. Mark and Sherry's table collected almost $3,000 for the most worthy cause.

As a benediction for the evening, Mark told the story of how animals brought disease into the world and how each plant holds a key to curing one of those diseases. Sherry then asked the cancer survivors in the audience to stand and be recognized as she sang "Amazing Grace" in Cherokee.

January, 2007

The last weekend of January was once again the date of the annual Native American Weekend at Lake Cumberland State Resort Park in Jamestown, Kentucky. This year marks the fifth time that Mark and Sherry have been responsible for organizing the program.

Robert RedHawk Eldredge entertained and educated the audience on Friday night with his stories and comments on life today as a Native American. On Saturday, Sherry shared a new PowerPoint presentation about Cherokee clothing from the old days until the present. Jonathan Feather, a champion dancer from Cherokee, North Carolina, explained about music and dance in his "Pow wow 101" presentation. Jonathan had some audience members join him to learn a pow wow song. Debbie Woodiel, museum educator for the Frank H. McClung Museum on the UT campus in Knoxville, talked about foods and nutrition in pre-contact times. Debbie illustrated her talk with photos and concluded with an audience activity that drove home the point of how difficult it would have been to find proper nutrition 1,000 or more years ago. The last presentation of the day was Mark's "Invasion of Virginia" PowerPoint that highlighted the "other side of the story" regarding the 400th anniversary of the English settlers arriving in Jamestown.

Due to the popularity of the buffalo dinner buffet, the restaurant opened at 4 pm, an hour earlier than in previous years. Of course there was a line of presenters and dancers ready before 4 pm! Later that evening, a huge crowd enjoyed the Lone Wolf Singers and Dancers as they presented various pow wow dances and involved the audience in some dances as well.

The weekend event was dedicated to the memory of Berdie Crowe, who had passed away on Thursday. Sherry projected an image of Berdie on the wall during the Saturday evening program. Several people took a few moments to share with the audience what Berdie had meant to them.

December, 2006

At the National Council for the Social Studies annual conference in Washington, D.C., Mark chaired the "Teaching American Indian History, Culture, and Current Events" special interest group. Preliminary plans were discussed about a clinic and other sessions at the 2007 conference in San Diego. Also discussed was the need to develop a position paper for NCSS on teaching Native topics. A brochure is being developed that will be sent to members to encourage their involvement in the group.

Also at the conference, Mark participated in the meeting of the ad hoc committee on underrepresented groups and will be helping to work toward increasing the number of Native people in the organization and who attend the annual conference.

A highlight of the meeting was listening to Chief Joseph Medicine Crow, 93 years old and a traditional chief of the Crow people. His talk was informative and humorous. One comment was that he had endured "93 years of enculturation." Th audience laughed whe he noted that the enculturation was not 100%.

November, 2006

It was a very special occasion on November 19th in Oak Ridge. The annual Native American Day program took place on the campus of ORAU (Oak Ridge Associated Universities). Activities included storytelling, videos, dance demonstrations, and children's crafts. Mark was honored to be invited as the keynote speaker. His topic was that of the theme of the event, "A Warrior's Tradition: Contributing to Our Nation's Freedom." He shared stories and details about the participation of Native soldiers in various wars throughout American history, and how that developed out of the tradition of warrior societies. His talk was illustrated with Powerpoint slides. After the talk, the mayor of Oak Ridge presented Mark with a certificate as an honorary citizen of Oak Ridge and a beautiful key to the city.

On November 16th, Mark and Sherry spent the evening at Jefferson Elementary School, sharing Cherokee stories with a large group of fifth graders and their families. The school's library was packed for the presentation, which was a part of a "family night," sponsored by the PTO and featuring storytellers for each of the various grade levels.

November 11th and 12th was an interesting experience! Mark and Sherry spent the weekend with the Lewis and Clark troupe at Cumberland Gap National Historical Park in Middlesboro, KY. The "Lewis and Clark: Coming Home" weekend was an effort to connect the "opening of the west" time of Cumberland Gap with its counterpart beyond the Mississippi.

A traveling group of re-enactors, many of them having been away from home for the better part of three years, arrived at the park on Saturday afternoon. Earlier in the day, Mark and Sherry had set up their lean-to, giving the visitors an idea of what Native life was like in this area during the time of Lewis and Clark. Renowned Cherokee storyteller Fred Bradley shared his "I have spoken" presentation with a large audience and also enthralled his listeners with Native tales from many cultures.

Accomplished artist David Wright was also on hand, displaying many of his outstanding paintings of historical times. The Lone Wolf Singers and Dancers performed some Cherokee dances and pow wow dances for the audience.

The only downside was the weather, temperatures in the 40s, a cold wind, and some occassional drizzle.

November 4th was the International Festival at the Children's Museum in Oak Ridge, put together by the very capable hands of longtime friend Carol Welch. With Sherry at a DNA conference in Houston, Mark made the trip solo. The morning began with stories in the gym, surrounded by numerous craftspeople displaying their wares. Next was an interview on WDVX radio. Later in the day, Mark spoke about the role of women in Cherokee society to a group of Brownies and Girl Scouts. He first was sure to make the point that normally Sherry would be the one speaking on that topic!

On November 2nd, Mark spoke about the Trail of Tears at a diversity luncheon for the FDIC office in Knoxville. The meal had a Native touch (maybe a Native flavor? - pun intended), with venison, sweet potato casserole, greens, corn, and blackberry cobbler, along with other dishes. About 40 employees were there for the luncheon and program, organized by Kathy Anderson.

October, 2006

On October 28th, Mark presented "Native Games" at the Tennessee Council for the Social Studies Fall Retreat held on the University of Tennessee campus in Knoxville. The participants enjoyed (hopefully) getting up and participating in a number of games that can be played in the classroom for little or no expense.

Later in the evening, Mark and Sherry told Cherokee stories at Glenmore Victorian Mansion in Jefferson City, as a part of their fall harvest event. The audience was large and quite attentive.

October 13th and 14th was the Tennessee History Festival at Bicentennial Mall State Park in Nashville. Mark and Sherry went down on Thursday and spent the night with Bill Carey, the man behind "Tennessee History for Kids" website. As was true last year, hundreds of local school students visited the site on Friday. Many of them mobbed Sherry, trying to get a taste of the berry bread she was cooking. Althought the evening turned very cool, the dinner served by the staff of Montgomery Bell State Park was enjoyable, as was the opportunity to spend time with "Andrew Jackson" and "Abraham Lincoln," among many others. On Saturday, many people visited the site and spent time asking questions and learning about Cherokee culture.

Mark spent October 5th - 7th in Williamsburg, Virginia, at the "Virginia Indians: 400 Years of Survival" symposium held at Colonial Williamsburg's convention center. Numerous speakers made presentations on the first day of the event.

On the second day, a bus tour visited the reservations of the Pamunkey, Mattoponi, Upper Mattoponi, Rappahannock, and Chickahominy. On the way to the Pamunkey reservation, a bald eagle circled above a nearby field; a good omen that did not go unnoticed by those on the tour. The group visited the Pamunkey museum and heard a message from the chief. The next stop was at the Mattaponi reservation, including a tour of their fish hatchery.

Afterwards, the group had lunch with the Upper Mattoponi and toured their church and historic school. Next came a stop at the Rhappohannock tribal center and a message from the chief. The day concluded with dinner at the Chickahominy tribal center, followed by a dance presentation. Included in the dance group were many who earlier in the summer had traveled to England, recognizing the 400th anniversary (in 2007) of the establishment of Jamestown.

On Saturday, the group traveled across the state to participate in the Monacan Homecoming. The visit included a big lunch, tour of the tribal center, church and old log school house, as well as dancing and an auction to benefit the tribe's students who will be attending college. Meanwhile back in Jefferson City, Sherry told stories and read to the children as a part of Old Time Saturday.

September, 2006

Saturday, September 30th, was StoryFest at Henry's Station, the site where the Treaty of the Dumplin was signed between representatives of the State of Franklin and the Cherokee nation. Mark is a part of the group who are trying to reconstruct the station, which was located along the Great Indian Warpath. Storytellers for the event included Janice Brooks-Headrick, president of the Smoky Mountain Storytellers Association; Freeman Owle, elder-in-residence at Western Carolina University; Dr. Joseph Sobol, professor of storytelling at East Tennessee State University; Mary Grace Walrath, with the Jonesborough Storytelling Guild, and well-known area storyteller Robert "Red Hawk" Eldredge.

On Thursday, September 14th, Mark and Sherry went to Greeneville to meet Mac and Shirley Oswalt and Fred Bradley, and to work on the final details of the "Come Walk with Me; A Day with the Cherokee" program at Tusculum View Elementary Schoool. After visiting the school and confirming that all the preparations were in order, everyone went out to dinner at the Butcher Block restaurant. The food was great and so was the conversation. Both Mac and Fred had all they could handle with the big ribeye steaks!

On Friday, the program for the fourth graders began with Fred doing a storytelling session. The children then rotated between six stations: The role of men (Mark), musical instruments (Danny Bigay), Cherokee language and pottery (Shirley), the role of women (Sherry), crafts (teacher assistants), and tools (Elizabeth Cahill). After a short lunch break, the students enjoyed a program of music and dance featuring Nikki Crisp, Jonathan Crisp, Scott Crisp, and Little Wing. Danny played the flute and Sherry sang Amazing Grace in the Cherokee language.

Fred had to leave, and so did Nikki and Jonathan, but everyone else went out for a late lunch and had a good time teasing the server! Afterwards, Mark and Sherry and Mac and Shirley went on to Duffield, Virginia to spend the night in preparation for Native American Day at Natural Tunnel State Park. Saturday was a very good day with pretty weather and a good crowd on hand. Those who visited had the opportunity to enjoy presentations on the Cherokee language, the Trail of Tears, the cultural regions of the country, and more.

August, 2006

Davy Crockett's 220th birthday and 200th wedding anniversaries were celebrated in Dandridge on Saturday, August 19th. Mark and Sherry set up the lean-to, with Sherry cooking over an open fire. Mark led a presentation on weapons of the period. Scott and Melanie Koenig from Hampton, TN, came down to share period music. Tom and Jan Turner shared history and wool spinning too. Carson Newman College professor Dr. John Welton put together a play about Davy's wedding that was a rousing success. The East Tennessee Historical Society handled the celebration of Davy's Birthday, complete with a big cake. Bill Landry of the WBIR-TV Heartland Series was a special guest.

The August 5th Cherokee Heritage Day at James White's Fort in Knoxville was a great success. The fort arranged for the blacksmith shop to be in operation as well as for pioneer cooking to be taking place in the kitchen. Mark and Sherry did two presentations during the day on the roles of men and women in 18th century Cherokee society. Driver Pheasant thrilled the crowd not only with storytelling but also by demonstrating the art of making blowgun darts. Those in attendance were especially amazed with his ability to shoot long distances.

Shirley Oswalt demonstrated pottery making and shared some of the Cherokee language with an appreciative audience. Emma Garrett, well-known for her extraordinary rivercane baskets was also on hand. Mark and Nan Brown shared Cherokee medicine and demonstrated beadwork. They also sang gospel music in the Cherokee language.

Nikki Crisp was very busy all day long. She spent time preparing fry bread and Indian tacos between dance demonstrations. Other dancers included Nikk's son and daughter, Jonathan and Kele, and John John Grant and Jonathan Feather. In addition to powwow dancing, two presentations of Cherokee traditional dances were held.

Elizabeth Cahill, a graduate student in anthropology at the University of Tennessee, spent the day giving the children the opportunity to learn and practice grinding corn and using a bow drill.

Attendance was high this year, thanks in great part to the Baptist Senior Health program, which promoted the day as an opportunity for grandparents to spend time with their grandchildren.

July, 2006

The "Raid on the Watuaga" took place on July 15th and 16th at Rocky Mount Museum in Piney Flats near Johnson City. Mark set up the lean-to on Friday afternoon and then did the grocery shopping while waiting on Sherry to get off work and drive in. Some rain came after Mark got back to the site from the shopping trip, but he was able to pull the big sheet of black plastic over the lean-to and protect everything.

The next day was warm, but not unbearably so. Rob Rambo, back from serving a stint in Iraq, did his excellent protrayal of Little Carpenter for the weekend. Lots of other friends were there too. The afternoon battle scene included a "burning at the stake" scene that was quite good. Attendance was not great for the event, especially on Sunday, but hopefully that will improve next year.

June, 2006

Mark went to Unicoi County to spend the day (June 27) with the students in summer school enrichment programs going on there. He did a presentation about the roles of men and women in Cherokee society, shared a powerpoint about the Trail of Tears, and had the younger students involved in games and dances.

This year's "Siege at the Blockhouse" was held on June 10 and 11 at the Natural Tunnel State Park in Duffield, VA. Sherry was not able to attend due to a family reunion obligation in middle Tennessee, so Mark set up the lean-to on his own, what turned out to be the only camp in the "Native Village." Mark Ledford participated on Saturday, giving us a grand total of TWO Indians, but with a little help from a British agent, we managed.

On Sunday, the attendance was minimal, but the show went on - including a frontier Scottish style wedding.

April, 2006

On the 20th, Mark and Sherry attended a planning meeting in Dandridge in preparation for the re-enactment of Davy Crockett's wedding. The event is planned for Saturday, August 19th, 2006, and will feature craft displays, horses, a play, music, and, of course, the wedding.

On Friday, April 28th, Mark set up the lean-to at the Henry's Station site in the Kodak community of Sevier County in preparation for a weekend of scout camping. The Sequoyah District held its Spring Camporee at the site. In addition to their leaders and some visiting cub scouts, 156 boy scouts camped for the weekend and helped clean up the site. Tim Kelly, Don French, and Charlie Towle joined Mark and Sherry on Saturday to help the scouts learn about the late 1700s time period.

In the early evening, Helen, Mark, Sherry, Sam, and Tink Starkey (who was there to sell leather bags, etc) were invited to be the judges in a dutch oven cooking contest. They sampled a variety of dishes - from rice to chicken, from venison to bear - and loved every minute of it, except for the part about having to choose a winner. Not an easy task!

Later in the evening, Sam Maner and Helen Allen joined Tim, Don, Mark and Sherry for a brief skit to help the scouts understand a little about the history of the site. The scouts gave a round of applause when they were told that an area of the site has been set aside for their use for camping at anytime.

March, 2006

On Friday, March 3rd, Sherry spent the day at Talbott Elementary School as part of the "Read Across America" event. She set up a table displaying many artifacts and American Indian books. During the closing ceremony, she sang "Amazing Grace" in the Cherokee language.

During their spring break, Mark and Sherry went to Bell County, Kentucky, to do programs on Cherokee culture for Frakes Elementary and Bell County Middle School. They spent the night at the Henderson Settlement next door to the elementary school, wondering if the weather would take a turn for the worse. Snow flurries had begun. However, all went as planned. The students in both schools were very well behaved and seemed to have a good time on their last day before starting their own spring break.

Mark and Sherry together did a presentation for the children of the "Mission Friends" class at New Market Baptist Church on Wednesday evening, March 29th. The children enjoyed tasting some food, feeling of the fox and deer hides, learning some Cherokee words, and practicing the friendship dance (yes, actually dancing in a Baptist church!).