Friday, January 1, 2016

Closing one year, opening another

I didn't do a year end post like I usually do because my focus has been on what is to come in 2016. Before I go into that, I would like to share a few of the 2015 year end "winners".

Most popular post/s - The Forgotten Descendants of Sequoyah series that focused on the descendants of Sequoyah through his son, George "Big Dollar/Money" Guess, Jr., as a whole, included the most popular posts.  The top post, from both the series and the blog for the year 2015, was Big Dollar and Tianna. It was truly an honor to be asked to research the descendants of Sequoyah and to be given the opportunity to learn about his family and then share that information with my readers.

The most popular page in 2015 was Fraudulent Organizations. I received well over 100 emails this year concerning the issue of fraudulent/fake organizations that claim to be Cherokee tribes. The American public is becoming aware of the problem and they are concerned. Keep sharing the truth. 

In 2015, the state where most of my readers came from was Oklahoma. Thank you to all my readers from Oklahoma and everywhere else. Without you, my blog would not be the success that it is. I appreciate you and all the support you have given me. 

In 2016, I'll finish the series on the descendants of Sequoyah. There is more to share about the children of Nelson Guess and I'll share information about the ancestors of the famed Cherokee dancer, Winnie Guess Perdue, going back to Sequoyah. 

I'll also spend time writing on the combined topics of the 1896 citizenship applications, Eastern Cherokee applications, the Guion Miller roll, and the birth of the wannabe. It is my belief that all of those things together strongly contribute to the continuation of the Cherokee Blood Myth. We must get to the root of an issue before we can combat the problem. That's what I hope to accomplish with the new posts on the subject of the birth of the wannabe.

Additionally, I hope to be able to write about the situation at NSU that Cherokee Nation citizen, Dr. Leslie Hannah, has been dealing with. I've not yet shared the information I have because the case is still in the courts. Despite what you might have read on the topic elsewhere, I hope to address the issue from a different viewpoint than others. In my humble opinion, this is the single most important case of fraud in academia to date and it should matter to every Cherokee as well as those in the Cherokee Nation administration.

For those of you who enjoy my political posts, don't worry. If there is a reason to write on a Cherokee Nation political topic, I will do so. Currently, I'm watching the Cherokee Phoenix closely to see what changes take place since the long time Executive Editor, Bryan Pollard, was "forced out" of the job. Yes, yes, I know he resigned, but not until the board had already decided to force him out (my opinion.) Since many of the citizens of the Cherokee Nation strongly desire a free press, independent of the influence of the Cherokee Nation administration, I'll be watching, as will others, as the Phoenix transitions to a new full time Executive Editor. I'll also watch for anything else that warrants the attention of the Cherokee people and write about it as needed.

In closing, I'd like to thank the team of "anonymous" researchers who sometimes contribute their time on projects covered in the blog. I'd also like to thank my anonymous sources who share information as long as their identity is protected. And, once again, I'd like to say thank you to all my readers. I wish you all health and prosperity in the new year and hope you join me in 2016 for lots more genealogy, history and other things of interest to the Cherokee people.

Those are my thoughts for today.
Thanks for reading.






copyright 2016, Polly's Granddaughter - TCB

4 comments:

  1. Thank you, Twila for all that you do. I am hoping for the best from the Cherokee Phoenix but only time will tell and as you stated, many of our citizens are watching.

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  2. Why was Pollard forced out? What were the so-called allegations?

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  3. John, at this point, the only information we have about the allegations came from a statement Pollard gave in a Phoenix article about the subject where he said, "In executive session, board member Kendra McGeady stated the allegations against me. The allegations were all based on good faith editorial decisions I have made in the course of my duties..."

    Because previously, the Phoenix had covered a citizen complaint filed with the AG over McGeady and her open support of Baker at his re-election campaign kick off, perhaps McGeady wanted Pollard out for that. Or perhaps it is because the Phoenix wrote articles sharing information about the current chief (who McGeady clearly supports, i.e. the citizen complaint), that while truthful, portrayed him in a bad light, such as participating in the pigeon shoot.

    While we don't know what their excuses were for forcing Pollard out, I was told by someone "in the know" that whatever their reasons were, if it was negative, then it was made up because Pollard always acted in a professional way and was an example of integrity.

    Links to the articles mentioned can be found at the following links -

    Pollard's comments about the situation - http://www.cherokeephoenix.org/Article/index/9824

    Citizen complaint against McGeady - http://www.cherokeephoenix.org/Article/index/8845

    Pigeon shoot controversy - http://www.cherokeephoenix.org/Article/index/8566

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  4. Thank you I remember reading about that.

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