Briggs School is welcoming a new face to the Cherokee Cultural Class this year.
Charlotte Wolfe kicked off her first year as a full-time cultural teacher for the district, though she has worked to promote Cherokee culture in other schools and universities throughout eastern Oklahoma.
Wolfe said her goals for the class include becoming more active in competitions.
“Our plans are to become as active as possible, and to bring home some new titles in art competitions, challenge bowls and language bowls,” Wolfe said.
Students in the Cherokee Cultural Class participate in classroom lectures and crafts, and learn how to play traditional games like stickball, and marbles. Before the winter sets in, Wolfe plans to educate students on how to use blowguns and play chunkey.
“Throughout the cold winter days, there will be many opportunities for hands-on crafts such as basket weaving, pinch pottery, making mini-stickball sticks, and cornhusk dolls,” Wolfe said.
She said she has always had an interest in the culture, leading her to educate others.
“I have been blessed to have crossed paths with several respected traditional Cherokee elders over the years, many of whom have passed on,” Wolfe said. “The impact they have left within me is something I personally needed to heal voids.”
She said the culture is unique, and that students learn to embrace their individual uniqueness and personalities.
“We are all unique in many ways, and it is OK to be unique,” Wolfe said. “In a culture with the seven-clan system, there are many different personalities, yet all are vital to the tribe to ensure balance and harmony.”
Wolfe is part of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokees, and was chosen to be a Tradition Keeper for the tribe in 2022.
“I feel I now have an obligation to share as much as I can,” Wolfe said.
She said it is vital for students to learn about the culture and maintain their own uniqueness.
“I have always been taught that without culture, we not only lose the uniqueness in our identity as indigenous people, but in a sense, it’s a disgrace to our ancestors who fought so hard to save it,” Wolfe said.
Wolfe said learning about the culture can help students feel proud of their heritage. She said the culture offers a supportive environment for youth.
“If our students are given the facts and traditions of our culture young, they will most likely embrace it and be proud of their heritage,” Wolfe said. “I teach that our traditions are sacred, not secret.”
Wolfe said her lessons extend to nonIndigenous children as well, and it is important for everyone to understand the history and culture of the Cherokee people.
“Cherokee or not, it is still important for all to understand the people around them, considering they are also living in Indian Territory, and in parts of the Keetoowah Cherokee Reservation,” Wolfe said.
For her cultural students, these lessons can spur conversations among the younger and older generations about tradition, which Wolfe said brings families closer together.