The long road home
In the old days it was not uncommon for folks captured during war to be adopted into the families of their captors. The Cherokee in particular had a strong tradition of adoption, not just of persons captured during conflict but also of persons found wandering through the Cherokee country with nowhere else to go.
Dragging Canoe famously took this tradition to a whole new level during his time as leader of the Chickamauga Towns.
During the wars with the Shawnee and with the Iroquois Confederacy, many Cherokee were captured, and, due to their superior intellect and physical conditioning, were often offered positions of honor and leadership among their captors. Tradition tells us that the Cherokees thus honored never lost their intense desire to return to the Cherokee country.
One such instance I heard about: a Cherokee hunter was captured by a Seneca war party in the northern area of the Kentucky hunting grounds. Eventually they took him back their longhouse and presented him to their Chief. The Chief, impressed with his visage and presentation, offered to spare his life if he would agree to live with the Chief’s family and assist them in various ways. The Cherokee agreed and over time became an honored leader among the Seneca.
For some years things went well for this Cherokee, but after a time the Cherokee became very homesick from missing his family and the land of his ancestors. The Chief who adopted him began to notice that, when he was alone, the Cherokee could be found staring wistfully toward the south. Finally, the Chief relented and, seeing how much the Cherokee missed his people, gave him a blanket and some food and sent him home. Some say that was the beginning of the peace between the Cherokee and the Iroquois Confederacy.
One night at Rabbit’s place, Old Man Otter brought in a fellow who had a similar story to tell. It seems Otter found this fellow wandering along the trading path running south from the Wampum country. Otter called him The Wanderer, as the man could not remember his name, having been captured as a child. The man was hungry, so Rabbit prepared food and drink for him and the rest of us waited until he was satisfied before we inquired as to his story.
The Wanderer told us that he was captured by some enemies as a young child, and these people taught him a different language and different ways. As he grew into a young man he slowly forgot who his people were and where he was from, but he still knew he was not of these people. At some point an elder of these people, during a talk on their history, told of a time when they captured many Cherokee children and taught them to forget who they were.
Hearing this, The Wanderer sought out this elder to find out what else he knew. He learned enough to resolve to find his way home, hoping to find his family.
After a long journey, he returned to the town from whence he was captured. The homecoming was not pleasant. His family and clan had long since forgotten him. They were not welcoming at all, regarding him instead with suspicion and outright hostility in some cases. Finding himself unwelcome in his own town, he wandered further south along the trading path, not sure of where to go. It was along this path that Old Man Otter found him and brought him to Rabbit’s place.
It was indeed a sad tale. It reminded us to value each other. It reminded us to care for each other more intensely and not to so quickly forget those we have lost, those who have been taken from us. The Wanderer told us more of those who took him, they were a strange people it seemed. The Wanderer told us they did not value people, but only things, a strange people indeed.
Given that he had nowhere else to go, we kept The Wanderer among us. We were not his family but we were of the same people, as we were all Cherokee. Eventually he found his place in our town and we found he had much to teach us about the enemies of our people. We listened, and hopefully, we will remember the lessons we learned.
Today, as we travel to various places, we remind each other to remember how to find our own way along “The Long Road Home.”