It's all about service

The Cherokee clans were very close. After your creator and immediate family, your allegiance was to your clan. You were a Wolf Clan member more than you were a Cherokee.

If we are to preserve the Cherokee ways, we need that mind set. In the old days,you were born into your clan. Everyone was literally family to some degree. While there is some family relationship in our clan, as a whole we were a group of strangers "patched together" to form a clan.

While most of us understand that we were adopted into the Overhill Nation, we may not all realize that that means that our clan is essentially an adoptive family.

Worldwide, laws and customs surrounding adoption make it clear that while there may not be a "blood" relationship, adoptive relationships are every bit as REAL. In fact, in many societies, parents can disown their biological children, but not their adopted children!

As warriors, you should always be ready and willing to aid any of your clan. You should also be ready to help anyone weaker, less able, or less fortunate than yourself. Above anything else, a warrior is a servant.

It's easy to lose sight of the forest for all the trees. We're more likely in our minds to associate warriors with fighting or hunting than we are with servanthood. But even in the extreme case of a war, why are the warriors fighting? They fight for the freedom, well being, or even the very survival of those back home! In the case of a hunt, it was again for those back home. Being a warrior is all about service.

(OR USE YOUR BROWSER'S BACK BUTTON TO RETURN TO PREVIOUS PAGE