Sing a Song of Survival: The Politics of Identity and Cultural Performance on the Qualla Boundary (2013)

Undergraduate: Amber Giffin

Faculty Advisor: Daniel Cobb
Department: American Studies

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As the official cultural ambassadors of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), the Warriors of AniKituhwa deploy performance as a means of combating debilitating stereotypes about Cherokees. At first glance, it might appear that the Warriors reinforce them by ¿playing Indian.¿ They wear traditional regalia, perform historical dances, sing in the Cherokee language, use hand drums, and often paint their bodies red, thereby attracting tourists that come to Cherokee expecting to find ¿authentic Indians.¿ However, this paper contends that once the crowds assemble, the Warriors actually dismantle the preconceived notions that led the observers to them in the first place. And yet, another layer of complexity exists when the Warriors¿ performances are viewed from within the EBCI community itself. Some Cherokees contend that the Warriors find themselves in a Catch-22, in which they unwittingly perpetuate stereotypes by focusing on the romantic elements of Cherokee history and culture. In fact, the Warriors use these colonial dichotomies while simultaneously rejecting them. These performances declare the political and cultural survival of a people that have continued in spite of attempted genocide while also raising money to fund future EBCI endeavors. The Warriors are reenacting the past in order to improve their future.