VILLAGE REMINDS CHEROKEE OF HERITAGE

TRAIL OF TEARS STATE PARK -- Dave Davis remembers hearing as a boy that his great-grandmother, Amanda Nunnelly, was Indian though he sensed other members of his family were reluctant to talk about it.

But Davis found himself drawn to the culture, to making pipes and flutes.

"I always felt in my heart how the Indians were treated badly," he says.

Now Davis, who also is known as David Red Hawk, is one of about 3,000 people who are applying for membership in the Northern Cherokee Nation.

The Fruitland sheetmetal worker is one of about 30 members and prospective members participating this weekend in the Intertribal Living Indian Village at Trail of Tears State Park. The village has four teepees in addition to other shelters. People are drumming, dancing, making moccasins, cradle boards, arrows and arrowheads and answering questions from the public.

The encampment continues today beginning at 10 a.m. and continuing until 3 p.m. Last weekend the village was set up at Old Greenville campground on Lake Wappapello.

The purpose of the village is to educate local people about their American Indian heritage, especially those who may be part Cherokee and have not yet applied for membership in the tribe.

Some Northern Cherokee are descendants of a group of 600 Cherokee who arrived in this region in 1721. More Cherokee moved here over the next century, including those who escaped from the infamous march along the Trail of Tears to Oklahoma.

The Cherokee who remained had to hide their heritage because the state passed a law making it illegal for Indians to own land. These Indians didn't live in the dwellings erected at the Trail of Tears village.

"They were civilized and lived in log homes," said Glinda Seabaugh, the tribe's council woman from the Southeast Missouri district. "Most were literate in both languages."

Now many of their descendants want the federal government to re-recognize them as a tribe separate from the other Cherokee nations. The state of Missouri already has done so, making the Northern Cherokee the state's only recognized tribe.

Today there are 7,000 members of the nation, which some refer to as "The Lost Tribe."

The tribal rolls, previously closed, have been reopened so those who have not yet signed up can do so before Chief Beverly Baker Northup returns to Washington with the tribe's paperwork.

"When she does that the rolls will close. We encourage all people who have been told their lineage is Cherokee to enroll," said Mike Seabaugh, a tribal council member and Glinda's husband.

He also says Cape Girardeau is being considered as the nation's capital if recognition comes.

Federal recognition could help the members of the tribe acquire health care, Seabaugh said. But some members oppose recognition because they don't want the government involved in their business.

The Seabaughs' three sons are participating in the village. Jonathan, who will be in the seventh grade next year, also has the name Brave Hawk and was wearing a breastplate he had made.

Some friends think his pursuit of his Indian heritage is "funny," some don't, but he says, "I'm proud of it."

His 11-year-old brother Daniel, known as Running Runt, was drumming and singing Saturday and their brother Ransom, at 3 months, was being admired.

Ransom is called Little Panther.

Davis said his purpose in becoming involved in the Northern Cherokee Nation is to help the people. "A lot of this is for the children," he said.

He said he doesn't see discrimination against Indians anymore but adds, "There's so much discrimination everywhere it's hard to put a finger on it."