Native American bone breastplate

[Battara]

Originally Posted by aiontay

Battera, here in Oklahoma that is pretty much the rap on the Cherokees, but I’ll have to tell you it actually is rather unfair. I can assure you that I have been in plenty of Indian gatherings, but the only ones I’ve been in where everybody was speaking the native language were over in Cherokee country. I was at a stomp dance at Rocky Ford a couple of summers ago that was pretty Cherokee. Modern day powwows aren’t exactly the best place to go for tribally specific culture anyway.

Don't get me wrong, they have gone back to earlier garb in some cases and modernized it in others. I am not saying they don't have any at all. And yes some still speak Cherokee in both the Eastern and Western bands. Like you I too have been to events. Some kept elements of their older culture when others modernized before the Trail of Tears. A lot was lost though.

By the way, I am part Cherokee (as well as Filipino and Scots-Irish).

I agree that powwows are not the place to experience pure tribal cultures, especially since they are "Pan-Indian".