A Few Poems By Chief
Waya Unega
of the Free Tsalagi Ayeli
of Ohio



the beautiful mountians
still in my mind
the rolling hills
the evergreens

long behind us now
that is true
the trail, long and hard
that we must trod

the rain, the snow
the freezing cold
the daylight, the nighttime
another death, another loss

but thru the tears
we carry on
a will to survive
the strength to go on

a new land
a new life
a people proud
a people strong
TSITSALAGI



he was a man
a lonely man
a man misunderstood
an unlikely hero

but curious he was
and that is true
about the magic
of the talking leaves

so in his spare time
what there was of it
he sat down with tree bark
and thought very much about it

if the white man could write
his words down on the leaves
why could we not also
put our words down on the leaves

his name is sequayah
a hero for sure
the syllabary
his true legacy



the young man walks
thru the forest alone
at peace with his world
and with himself

his hair
it's not black
his eyes not brown
his skin not brown

but in his veins
the blood still flows
of a people so proud
a people he belongs to

we call ourselves
the cherokee
and proud we are
of our heritage


Copyright 1999 Chief Waya Unega