A glimpse inside the journey

I come from the free band Cherokee, descendants of those who remained in the Appalachian Mountains before and after the Trail of Tears.

We are not federally recognized, and our names are absent from the tribal rolls - an absence born of distrust in a government that once sought to erase us.

Yet our identity, our spirit, and our connection to the land remain strong.

Growing up multiracial in a society that demanded boxes to check, I learned to carry my complexities with pride.

I am Cherokee - and I am more.