Life history of Sammy Still, a traditional western Cherokee in modern America

The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma faces an encroachment of mainstream American culture on its rich cultural heritage. The Cherokee of Oklahoma are struggling to preserve their language, customs and traditions. This thesis explores what it means, today, to be a traditional Cherokee in Oklahoma. As with most North American indigenous cultures, Cherokee traditions are predominantly oral. This study presents the narrated account of a contemporary, "ordinary" Western Cherokee, Sammy Still. This account is unique because, to my knowledge, no other life history has been written on a modern Cherokee individual who is not a public figure. Through this life history, where ancestral traditions and modern living interweave and cohabitate, one will discover that the Cherokee people continue to demonstrate their legendary ability to adapt, assimilate and appropriate what is useful for everyday life. Sammy Still's way of life soundly echoes the contemporary Cherokee lifestyle as well as the ancient Cherokee traditions and language.