Osiyo Members, Council, Friends and Tribes,

      I do not think anyone understands that the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution forbids the government from taking any property without just compensation and due process of law. This rule seems to apply to everyone in the country except Indian Tribes. We, the Indian Creek Tribe Chickamauga, Creek and Cherokee have been a victim of this faulty application of the law. The Indian Creek Tribe

Chickamauga, Creek and Cherokee Inc. ask you to join us in our march on Washington D.C. You, as a tribe, have also had your lands taken from you. To invalidate a recent act of Congress that confiscates a fund of money belonging in part to all the tribes is in violation of the Fifth Amendment.

     The Indian Creek Tribe Chickamauga Creek and Cherokee Inc. now ask you to join us in this March to historically and legally challenge the violation of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution by our government. This will be unlike any other case in Federal Indian law history.

Wado

Most recent update on 02/18/10.

Osiyo Members and Council,

      I am letting you know, that at this time of the year I am tied up with State and Federal reports, and with the I.R.S. taxes, plus I am working very hard on trying to close the land deal in north Florida.

     So please, if you will go through Mother No Moccasin Woman it will make it easier and faster for me to deal with all these matters so that I can get them done. She can send me one e-mail with everything each of you needs to know and I can send the answer back to her to tell you what you need to know.

      But keep in mind, all our people should be working on the March to Washington DC, everything else has been put on hold, this takes first place. All looking for old documents is on hold or anything else except for the work on the website which must be kept up at all cost; everyone else should be working on the march to Washington.

      I must count on you to do this, because at this time each year I am forced to deal with these government reports and taxes.

     We have a lot going on right now, our Clan Chief’s and Vice-Chief’s must see that their people are working on this, this will really show what kind of Chief you are and one day you will may just be able to take over my job.

      This will also show just how well our people will do when they move onto our own lands, about jumping in and getting the job done. I know you can do it, we have a lot riding on this, the life and future of our children are depending on what you do now, don't let them down. Mother No Moccasin will send me a daily report letting me no what you need to know and how you are doing with the job at hand.

 Always walk with Yowa!

Wado,

Principal Chief James Billy Chance

Osiyo Members, Council and Friends,

      I would like to talk with you for a short time about things that are being said about us, the Mixed Blood Tribes. Did you ever stop to think about where the people that run the B.I.A. come from? The United Stat’s Government appoints them from the Federal Recognized Tribes. Then the United States Government passes rules that say you must show a working relationship with the United States from before this country was formed in 1776 when they know that the tribes have no written records to show this. The American Indian Policy is set up to make sure that you cannot ever qualify to meet the rules.

     A few weeks ago the President of the United States went to the B.I.A. to meet with all the Federal Recognized Tribes and at the end of their meeting he came out and told all the News Reporters that he supports the Federal Recognized Tribe Bill of Rights. This is full of Discrimination against the Mixed Blood Native Americans. Here we have a President that has openly stated he supports Discrimination against other Mixed Native American’s of which many are Black also. We need to ask the NAACP how they can support a man in the White House who has openly said he supports Discrimination not only against the Black Native American’s but against all Mixed Breed Native Americans!

    Also, have you read the Constitution of the United States that says that land cannot be taken from anyone without payment for the lands, except for Native Americans? Well that is Discrimination! Well the United States Congress passed a BILL that said it is going to pay to the Federal Recognized Tribes billions of dollars for lands taken from them. How about the lands taken from the Mixed Breed Native Americans? Now do you understand why Chad Smith and the other Federal Recognized Tribes do not wish you to be Federally Recognized? They are trying to rip you off for the money that should go to all Native Peoples which includes you and me and everyone else that is Native American including the Cherokee Freedmen.

    Chief Chad ‘Corntassel’ Smith had his family history printed in a book that he has online for sale at around $45.00 telling all of his family members from the Goins, Garner, Green, Hicks and Smith families which goes on and on right down to Georgia, Alabama and North Carolina. Then he had made the statement that his Family was not from Georgia or Alabama on the news, well the book said otherwise.

    They made a video about many of the Mixed Blood Tribes and us. Also, in the video they talk about the Plains Indian Headdress I was using in a School Program in which I used the Creek and Cherokee Headdresses as well. What they did not tell you is that the Chickamauga Cherokee was at one time made up of many tribes which were the Creek, Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Shawnee and under the Shawnee were many Northern Tribes. They are very good at trying to send people off down the wrong path and take them away from the real reason that they are doing this, which is their greed for the White Man’s money. The fact is that in 1838 when they walked the Trail of Tears they lost more than just some of the people lives, they lost who they were. They died as Cherokee on the Trail of Tears; they forgot what made them Cherokee! Like Dragging Canoe said, “If you have one drop of Native American Blood then you are Chickamauga Cherokee.”

    We stayed in the East and carried on the fight for the homelands, we lost more warriors fighting the United States than they did on the Trail of Tears. In 1790, under Chief Little Turtle, the Chickamauga took on General Harmon in the North, killing over half of his 1800 soldiers, Less than a year later under Chief Little Turtle we took on General Clair’s 1400 soldiers, killing over half of them. It is true that we lost the fight against General Mad Wayne’s soldiers because Chief Little Turtle took his warriors out of the fight. But we moved South again, still fighting and then moved to the Chickamauga upper town in North Alabama where in time we sent warriors to aid Chief Red Eagle at Fort Mims where there were 498 soldiers killed by 2000 warriors. Part of the warriors went to Horseshoe Bend and the others went all over Alabama and southern Georgia. After the fall of Horseshoe Bend, many of our people moved into north Florida at what is today called Lake City which a long time ago was called ‘Alligator Town’ after our Chief Billy Bowleggs, Halpatter Micco, who changed his name to Chief Alligator when he got to Florida because of another Chief Billy Bowleggs of Florida whose actual name was Holato Micco (he was Seminole and our Chief Billy Bowleggs was Creek).

    We stayed and carried on the fight for the homelands, we earned the right to be who we are, our people gave their lives to be who they are, these were our family, we did not leave with our tail between our legs, our people stayed at all cost and many died. We earned the right as Chickamauga Cherokee to be who we are and I for one will not let anyone take that from me and my Family and Children. Today, Indian Creek, Alabama has been built up into a white man town, very little of what was once the lands of the Indian Creek Tribe remains there, the white man has changed it, no one would ever know it was the same place where I was born and my Father was Born and his Fathers. Always walk with Yowa.

Wado,

Principal Chief James Billy Chance

Osiyo Members, Council and Friends,

      I have been asked many times, who I think has more power in the tribe, the Mothers of the Roundhouse or the Men of the Sun Lodge. Well, in history when you look back you see that Benjamin Franklin saw how the tribal Government was setup, and they tailored the United States Government after it. He liked the way the Mothers of the Roundhouse were and the Men of the Sun Lodge, and then you had the Principal Chief and Vice Chief.

      Which brings us back to who has the real power, well stop and think about it, a long time ago the Mothers were the wives of the Chiefs and Vice Chiefs with all the women in the towns and village were part of the Roundhouse, they cooked the food, cared for the children and gave birth to them, and did many other things, should I have to say more?

      Well, it is true that all the men in the towns and village also belonged to the Sun Lodge, but much of the time they were away hunting or at war, off fishing on the river bank or some place and working at being the best warriors they could be.

      Also when you stop to think about it, when someone came to the towns or village, who did they see most of the time, the women. If a runner came to the town or village they would find the Headmother of the Roundhouse because all the Warriors and Headmen were gone fishing, hunting or to war, or just training to be the best they could be at being a warrior to protect the town from harm’s way.

     So who do you think got their way and had the power in the towns and villages, any one of the men who is married or have been married, no, if a woman wishes her way chances are she will get it in the end. Which was fine, we never had a problem with it, because we place our women very high on the list of being very important to us as native people. It was the way we lived when the men needed to be gone for days and weeks at a time. We found over time that this worked very well for our people. Getting meat was not like going to the corner store because the animals would move many miles at times from the Towns and Village. A Woods Buffalo would be 1500 to 2000 poundsafter it was cut up, it then had to be carried many miles back to the towns and Village. Also there was no way to keep it cold so  in most cases it would have to be dried on the spot, and that in itself would take days at a time. This is why they were gone for many weeks hunting and fishing.

  A town or village was 20 to 30 miles apart, a walking warrior could travel 20 miles in a day, and to go 30 mileswould take a day and a half. So do not believe the movies, there was not that many horses in the old days in the East for Indians to use, most every place we went was by foot, but walking is good for you.

      But this gives you and idea of why the women were there in the towns and Village for long times by themselves. Never think an Indian Woman could not take care of herself, only a fool would ever think she could not for they carried two knives, and knew how to use them very well.

    There are stories in the Storyfire’s books of how women lived and were able to take care of themselves, it’s part of our history.

Wado

Osiyo Members and Council,

      All our people should at all times be Ambassadors of Good Will, if they wish to talk with people of another Tribe, then they should speak only in good way. Never say or do anything to put someone in another Tribe down, and if you are talking to a Principal Chief, Vice Chief, Headmother or Headman of a Nation or even the United States Government you should never say anything to put them or their Nation down or their policy.

      Treaty and policy is set by the Principal Chief; once they reach an agreement then they bring it before the full council to be talked about and agreed upon.  At that time is when you can voice your idea for or against a treaty or policy, but you always show another Nation full honor and respect at all times.

      Under the Wampum Laws we have always conducted ourselves in an honorable way toward all other Tribes and Nations, and we ask all our Chiefs, Vice Chiefs, Mothers of the Roundhouse and Headman to follow the Wampum Laws. Anyone that will not follow the Wampum Laws and word to be a great Ambassador of Good Will can face being removed from his/her seat on this council.

 Always walk with Yowa.