1
50
2
-
https://omeka-test.library.appstate.edu/files/original/bd92e4fbc33066336189ab94cb2cebd3.pdf
faafa5c5af75e827adb96e85cb965890
PDF Text
Text
�������������������
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians Records
Description
An account of the resource
<em>Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians</em>, later simplified to <em>Katúah Journal</em>, was published from 1983 to 1993. A quarterly publication, it was focused on the bioregion of former Cherokee land in Appalachia. <br /><br /><span>The early issues of the journal explain the meaning of the Cherokee name, </span><em>Katúah</em><span>, and why the editors wanted to view the world through a bioregional lens, rather than political boundaries. A volunteer production, the editors took a holistic view in tackling social, environmental, mental, spiritual, and emotional topics of the day, many of which are still relevant. </span><br /><span><br />The <em>Katúah Journal</em> was co-founded by Marnie Muller, David Wheeler, Thomas Rain Crowe, Martha Tree and others who served as co-publishers and co-editors. Other key team members included Chip Smith, David Reed, Jay Mackey, Rob Messick and many others.</span><br /><br />This digital collection is only a portion of the <em>Katúah</em>-related materials in the W.L. Eury Appalachian Collection in Special Collections at Appalachian State University. The items in AC.870 Katúah Journal records cover the production history of the <em>Katúah Journal</em>. Contained within the records are correspondence, publication information, article submissions, and financial information. The editorial layouts for issues 12 through 39 are included as are a full run of the Journal spanning nearly a decade. Also included are photographs of events related to the Journal and a film on the publication.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
This resource is part of the <em>Katúah Journal Records </em>collection. For a description of the entire collection, see <a href="https://appstate-speccoll.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/937" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Katúah Journal Records (AC. 870)</a>.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
The images and information in this collection are protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U. S. C.) and are intended only for personal, non-commercial, and educational purposes, provided proper citation is used – i.e., Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians Records, 1980-2013 (AC.870), W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection, Special Collections, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC. Researchers are responsible for securing permissions from the copyright holder for any reproduction, publication, or commercial use of these materials.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1983-1993
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
journals (periodicals)
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
<em>Katúah Journal Index, 1983-1993</em>
Description
An account of the resource
This document is a topical index to all 38 issues of <em><a href="https://omeka.library.appstate.edu/items/browse?collection=79" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians</a>. </em>
<em>Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians, </em> later simplified to <em>Katúah Journal, </em>was published from 1983 to 1993. A quarterly publication, it was focused on the bioregion of former Cherokee land in Appalachia. The early issues of the journal explain the meaning of the Cherokee name, Katúah, and why the editors wanted to view the world through a bioregional lens, rather than political boundaries. A volunteer production, the editors took a holistic view in tackling social, environmental, mental, spiritual, and emotional topics of the day, many of which are still relevant.</em></p>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Bioregionalism--Periodicals--Indexes
Sustainable living--Periodicals--Indexes
North Carolina, Western
Appalachian Region, Southern
North Carolina--Periodicals
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Rob Messick
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1993
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
periodical indexes
PDF
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<a href="https://appstate-speccoll.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/937"> AC.870 Katúah Journal records</a>
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a title="In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted" href="https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/?language=en 8" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted </a>
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
<a title="Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians" href="https://omeka.library.appstate.edu/collections/show/79" target="_blank"> Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians </a>
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1990s
Acid Deposition
Agriculture
Alternative Energy
Appalachian History
Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Studies
Bioregional Congress
Bioregional Definitions
Black Bears
Book Reviews
Cherokees
Children's Page
Community
Death and Dying
Earth Energies
Ecological Peril
Economic Alternatives
Education
Electric Power Companies
European Immigration
Fire
Folklore and Ceremony
Forest History
Forest Issues
Forest Practice
Geography
Glossaries
Good Medicine
Habitat
Hazardous Chemicals
Health
Hunting
Katúah
Katúah Organization
Permaculture
Pigeon River
Plants and Herbs
Poems
Politics
Radioactive Waste
Reading Resources
Recycling
Sacred Sites
Shelter
South PAW (Preserve Appalachian Wilderness)
Stories
Transportation Issues
Turtle Island
Villages
Water Quality
Western North Carolina Alliance
Wilderness
Women's Issues
-
https://omeka-test.library.appstate.edu/files/original/9c9bcfa84bab600d115a13527a96a8e5.pdf
ba44c7456e39946ba15dc380372c8e1e
PDF Text
Text
$JOO
ISSUE XIII
FALL 1986
Will the Circle Be Unbroken .....
�ci u
CC~ N 2
wt::-tflM
0
~
.. .
CJ~t-J::N
~a::io~:O
~ a::
N
(I)
oz~j
~ 0
::>
2
u
M
N
,...
CIO
N
THE CENTER FOR AWAKENING.....................................................1
INTERVIEW WITH ELIZABETH CALLARl.. .................................3
REVIEW: A GENTI.E OEAru............................................................ 5
J-OSPICE...............................................................................................6
REVIEW: PEALING CREATIVELY WITH DEATH ........................7
INTERVIEW WITH ERNEST MORGAN...........................................7
J-OME BlJRIAL BOX. ...........................................................................9
THE WAK..E.........................................................................................11
STORY: "GOOD NIGHT FROM SHADOWS FALL"......................13
POEM: "THE RAVEN MOCKER".....................................................15
GOOD MEDICINE: THE SWEAT LODGE. ......................................16
NATURAL WORLD NEWS.............................................................. 18
REVIEW: WQQOSLQBE AND W!LDWOOQS WISOQM.............. 21
~
....
s
Q
~
w
E-t
en
g
~
A:
0
z
tl
..
~
tj
~
g
tJ
._
0
M
a
u
u
M
,...
CIO
en
><
t!
Q
i
en
..
'
~
�ISSUE XIII
FALL 1986
,,
~
... ..
---
i\~
Death is an
,l
.
•
..
i~ti,;,ate,
integral pan
of the whole Life cycle. Not just part of
the human experience, it is part and
:i parcel of a.ll life -- from the microscopic
to the macroscopic. The rhythms of life
and death pulse through every chord of
the universe...as the exchange of life
from one form to another continues and
continues. Death, then, is a process to be
appreciated and respected ...and even,
when held in awe, celebrated.
However, in this culture which
surrounds us, death is frightening to
many ...avoided by most. This culture
escorts us past the reality of death and
attempts to insulate us from its comings
and goings. Only isolated instances "pop"
out, every once in a while, and serve as
reminders of a greater Truth.
The "pushing through" from life to
death and beyond...the "pushing
through" from fetus to the birthing and
beyond...How different can they
be...how much the same.
This issue is devoted to sharing with
each other in a community exploration
into death and dying. It is also an attempt
to understand how we here in KatUah can
together tie the celebrated mystery of
death and dying back into our lives and
our human culture.
A
~-
.
..
VISIT TO THE
CENTER FOR AWAKENING
The Center for Awakening rests in fifty-seven acres of
rolling foolhills between the Brushy Mountains and the Blue
Ridge Mountains in Boomer, North Carolina. The Center
was founded by Elizabeth Callari, R.N. as a place where
people can "consciously live and consciously die". Herc,
tenninally ill people can come, when their life expectancy is
measured in weeks rather than months, 10 receive the
emotional, physical and spiritual suppon they need to make
the uansirion inro death. Whatever one's belief system, race,
sex, age, diagnosis - all arc welcome. The program of care
includes music as well as good food, beautiful rural
environment, meditation, massage therapy, use of color,
imagery, humor, and medication prescribed by the guest's
physician.
The emphasis is on death as "the final stage of growth"
(Kubler-Ross). It is regarded as a natural life experience in
which love and caring suppon plays a vital role.
A "tour" of the Center includes, first, a visit to the hill
where a grove of seven stately trees arc firmly rooted in the
earth, beaconing out to the whole vicinity. This is the "male
energy" spot, as Elizabeth describes it. Then, a visit to the
deeply peaceful Holy Hill where the "female energy" resides.
Here a towering oak greets you - it has been snuck with
lightning at least four rimes, but the scars seem only to add to
its strength and beauty.
Coming down from the hill, you see the beginnings of
the Gaian gardens which arc being nunured and humored by
Herb Appell, a volunteer. He plans to use biodynamic
methods which have been so successful at Findhom. A grant
from the Broyhill Foundation is helping to develop this
project.
Next is the old fannhousc where a large butterlly - the
Center's emblem - hovers on the second story. This old
- conlinutd on page 3
KATIJAH - page 1
Fall 1986
�EDITORIAL STAFF nns ISSUE:
Rob Messick
Scott Bird
Manha Overlock
Chip Smith
Manha Tree
Judith Hallock
David Wheeler
Mamie Muller
Michael Red Fox
Brad Stanback
EDITQRIAL ASSISTANCE:
Tom Hendricks
Brooks Michael
Jeff Fobes
Special thanks to Tom Schulz
J. Linn Mackey
Sara Jane Thomas
IIDITQRIAL OFFICE
THIS ISSUE:
Asheville, NC
PRIN'TED BY:
Sylva fu!s!Q
Publishing Co.
Sylva, NC
WRITE US AT:
TELEPHONE:
(704) 252-9167
KlnWl
Box 873
Cullowhee, NC 28723
SUJ1emen1 ofPurpose
The ln1emal Revenue Service hu declared~ a
non-profi1 oraanization under section SOl(c)(3) or the
lniemal RcYCnuc Code.
All contributions lo Kl1ftJ.h arc deductible from
personal income w.
JR\1E>C:lll'l0R
Here in the sowhern-most heartland of w ApJXJlachian
mountains, the oldest mountain range on our continent,
Turtle Island, a small but growing group has begun to take
on a sense of responsibility for the implications of that
geographical and cultural heritage. This sense of
responsibility centers on the concept of living within the
natural scale and balance of universal systems and laws. We
begin by invoking the Cherokee name HKatllahH as the
old/Mw name for this area of the mountains and for its
journal as well.
The editorial priorities for us are to collect and
disseminate information and energy which pertains
specifically to this area, and to foster the awareness that the
land is a living being deserving of our love and respect.
Living in this manner is the only way to ensure the
sustainability of our biosphere and a lasting place for
ourselves in its conti11ui11g evolutionary process.
We seem to have reached the fulcrum poim of a "do or
die" situation in terms of a continued quality srandard of life
011 this planet. It is the aim ofthis journal tO <k> itS part in the
re-inhabitation and re-culturation of the KatU.Oh province of
the Sow/tern Appalachians. This province is indicated by its
natural boundaries: the New River vicinity to the north; the
foothills ofthe piedmont area to the east; Yono Mountain and
the Georgia hills to the sowh; and the Tennessee River Valley
to the west.
Humbly, as self-appointed stewards with sacred
instructions as "new nativesH to protect and preserve its
sacredness, we advocate a centered approach tO the concept
of decenrralization and hope to become a support system/or
those accepting the challenge of sustainability and the
creation of harmony and balance in a rotal sense, here in this
place.
Ever desireless, one can see the mystery
Ever desiring, one can see the manifestation
These two spring from the same source
but differ in name;
This appears as darkness.
Darkness within darkness.
The gate to all mystery.
We welcome all correspondence, criticism, pertinent
information, articles, artwork, etc. with hopes that KIHfulh
will grow to serve the be.st interests ofthis region and all its
living, breathing family members.
• The Edirors
• The Tao Tc Cbinr
(as translated b;y Gia Fu-Feng)
KATUAH ·page 2
Fall 1986
�- continued rom p. J
homestead has been completely renovated and is where some
of the volunteers reside. Then, there is the new modular
home where staff person Greg Burazer and his family live.
Last year, the Center received a $63,900 grant from the Kate
RENOVATED FAR.\1HOUSE AT CESTER
B. Reynolds Health Care Trust Fund to help with this
building project.
On up the hill is a mobile home donated by an
individual as a volunteer residence. At the crest of the hill
overlooking the valleys arc Elizabeth's home, the Center's
office, the shared dfoing area and the guests' quarters - all in
one complex. It's a double-wide mobile home with an
addition. There is a large deck, bordered by well-cared for
garden an:as, laden with flowers. These flowers were put in
and cared for by Elizabeth's mother, Hilde Spittler, who is
able to come and volunteer at the Center for part of each year.
The guest area can accommodate up to three guests which is the total number for which the Center is currently
licensed. Outside the guests' quarters is a fenced-in area for
any pets that guests may want to bring with them. They arc
encouraged to do so.
The Center is more than just a place for dying. rt also
serves as a place for enriching the quality of life of those
living. Weekend retreats are held here by church groups and
study groups. Periodically, the Center itself hosts retreats
and workshops designed to heighten consciousness.
The Center is incorporated as a non-profit, tax-exempt
organization whose administration is supervised by a Board
of Directors. Board members include homemakers, nurses, a
banker, a clergyperson, a funeral director, a school teacher,
an attorney, a physician's assistant and o ther business and
health care professionals from Wilkes and nearby counties.
Elizabeth Callari serves as director of the Center and is
assisted by staff Shirley Brinks and Greg Burazcr and a core
of dedicated volunteers like Abbie Echerd (see photo, next
page). Volunteers arc invited to give hours, ~. years in
exchange for lodging and meals and the e sfaction of
working in such a rewarding environment. There are no
charges to the guests or their families for room, meals or for
nursing care. They are only responsible for the costs of
medicaJ, legaJ, funeral, and personal expenses.
Visitors are always welcome to come to the Center, but
it is imponant to call or write in advance: Center f or
Awakening, P.O.Box 46, Boomer, NC 28606; (919)~
921-2228.
,
KatUah editor Marnie Muller visited Lhe
Center for Awakening and shares with us
these two articles - one on the Center, the
other an interview with 1he Center's founder,
Elizabeth Callari. (photos by Mamie Muller)
CENTER FOR AWAKENING
An Interview
with Elizabeth
Callari
Elizabeth S. Callari, RN, is founder and direcwr
of the Center for Awakening. Here she tells the
story of the Center's growth in her own words:
Abou1 ten or eleven years ago, I met Elizabeth
Kubler-Ross - actually I was pushed into her path because I
had such a fear of death. It had interfered with my life to the
point where I could not function. I had experienced six
immediate family deaths within a two-year period and there
was no one to help me. I began to question - what is going
on in our country that we have such a fear of death, that a
clergyperson can't talk about it, a doctor cen ai nly can't talk
about iL Your friends don't want to talk about it because they
don't want to see you in pain and hurting so they choose not
to talk about it and pull away. What is goi ng on here that this
is such a fearful life experience? Then I spent a week with
Kubler-Ross and she helped me get some of these feelings
out on the table.
I was brought up in a family where your personal
feelings, you keep to yourself and you just "be good". If
someone dies and you're feeling sad, don ' t
cry ...everything's okay. Well, it's not okay. There arc
feelings that everyone of us has, no matter how deep or how
superficial the relationship is with that person. There arc still
feelings that need to be addressed and recognized and you
need to be allowed to express them.
So afte r I spent a week with Elizabeth she then
basically pushed me out the door and said "It's time for you
to stan a hospice" and I said, "How do you spell it?". That's
how basic it was.
I guess th at was a little more than ten years ago... well,
the hospice I started in the Tampa Bay-Clearwater area is
having its 10th anoiversary...so ten years ago . A group of
KA TUAH • page 3
LARGE BELL ON DECK AT CENTER
five of us got together and staned that hospicc--the first one
in Florida and probably the third in the United States. We
were very new at it and didn't really have anyone to go to for
guidelines ...so it was a struggle - but it was a wonderful
struggle.
In 1982, I knew I had to leave Florida but I didn't
know where I was going. I had started writing a book and
thought "Well, I think I'm going to try the mountains of
Nonh Carolina". I had never even been to North Carolina. I
- continued on next page
Fall 1986
�• continued Crom page 3
we.n t up there and found a nice little house to rent near
Blowing Rock and then returned back to Florida. The day
after Christmas of that year, I was visiting relatives on the
east coast of Florida. Driving back home, there was an
incredible rainstorm and a young man pulls out from the
other lane and hits me head-on. At the moment of impact, I
knew I had a choice -1 could leave or I could stay. And I
remember saying out loud, "Okay, God, here I come" and
then there was like a switch "No, I'm going to stay." But it
was such a profound experience. The next moment, I found
myself under the dashboard, almost laughing, saying "I
wonder what's waiting for me now". Nothing is
coincidence, everything has a purpose. And as confusing as
this whole thing was - being there and experiencing
paramedics, experiencing curious people, my leg being
crushed, my arm split open...going "you know, this is
interesting" - it was like I was watching everybody act and
react. Finally, I was brought to the hospital and went through
all the fear and pain that most people go through but yet
inside was very peaceful, very peaceful.
A few days later, the doctors said that I probably
would not walk again. A few years before that I was told that
I had cancer and probably bad only a year to live - and I
didn't buy into it. So I dismissed that statement immediately
and started to heal myself...with music .. and color and
imagery. I still have problems in this leg, but I'm walking!
So the next step was getting to North Carolina where
basically I wanted to retire - semi-retire - finish writing my
book and do mostly lecruring. No more taking care of the
individual person who was dying. That was the ego
speaking. As a result of the accident, the spiritual pan of me
became very real...and I got in touch with h ...and when I
was in the greatest pain one night going "Oh my goodness,
North Carolina, what am I going to do when I get there? I
have this little house in the mountains. It doesn't have a
ramp. What am I going to do in the snow? " All this, then my
mind became very quiet and I received a clear, audio message
- only one - and it was very clear that I was being given an
opportunity to do something else...but I had a choice. I had a
choice, and they said if you choose to do this work you will
get all the help you need. And that was such an incredibly
deep cballenge,1 didn't know how I could say 'no'. They
gave me the name for this place and the work that would be
done. And I simply put it down on paper so it was all written
down. The next morning 1 looked at it and I was just
amazed. You know, even now, I feel myself reacting to it.
So, I made a decision that yes, I would go ahead and start
this place which would be called The Center for Awakening
and it would be a place where people could live and die
consciously.
One of the most difficult things I've found in sitting
with people who are dying is being there and not getting
caught up in their space of "why did I go through life this
way? Why didn't I do the things I really wanted to do? Here
I am dying and I haven't even lived!" Consciously living and
consciously dying is what this center is all about.
With the help of some friends, I moved into my little
house in Blowing Rock in April and the next day we had a
six inch snowfall, which was really interesting because 1 had
just spent seven years in Florida and I thought it was
wonderful! As soon as I could get out, I mentioned to an
acquaintance up there that I was looking for some land. He
said that he had just put some land on the market in a town
called Boomer. So he took me on this land. It was the first
time I had been in a pickup truck and he put me on the
tailgate because my leg wouldn't bend enough to get into the
cab. He took me on the top of this bill and there were seven
trees ... and I knew. I was always asking "please show me
some sign" because here I am an urban person, having lived
in the big city, coming out here onto land that I know nothing
about. So I said "please show me a sign where I'll know
without any doubt that this is the piece of land that the work
is supposed to be done on." So there were the seven trees
and that to me was clear....and the land itself felt very good
tome.
The next day I came down here by myself and then I
talked with the owner about the cost and how to finance it
and be insisted that we have twenty thousand cash before we
could close on it. l knew I was going to be getting some
money as a result of the accident - that's really the main
KATUAH - page 4
purpose of the accident because that money helped Stan this
place. But, I didn't know where twenty thousand was
coming from. That night I got really quiet and the thought
came in, "call your brother-in-Jaw". Before my father died,
he set up a foundation, some 18 or 19 years ago. The monies
were to be used for non-profit organizations that served
humanity. I asked my brother-in-law how much money was
left in this foundation. He said, "we have twenty thousand
dollars." That was the second affirmation for me. I didn't
need any more. Seven trees and exactly the money that we
needed. So I went ahead and bought the land. I did a Jot of
paperwork the first year. I stayed in Blowing Rock because
the place was totally neglected here - the old farmhouse bad
been used for raising hogs, there was no water, no
electricity, and so on.
So I stayed in Blowing Rock and did the paperwork in
terms of becoming tax-exempt, getting the state's approval to
take care of the dying, and everything else you have to do.
And then three years ago, I moved our. Two and a half years
ago, we opened the doors to take our first terminally ill
VOLUNTEER ABBIE ECHERD ASSISTS GUEST AT CENTER
guest. And in two and a half years we have cared for
founeen dying people. Most of them have made their
transition here. One man got well enough and he went back
home. Another man who came here specifically to die
quickly rather than in a hospital died in four days. Except for
him, everyone who has come here has had a period of
remission that was not medically anticipated. And I can tell
you that that is a direct result of having caring people around
you. You change the environment and you'll change the
nature of the disease. There's no doubt in my mind. Even
though the medical doctors want to argue with me, I don't
argue with them. They want to argue with me and say 'that's
not possible'. That's fine. I don't have to prove anything to
them. I just know that people who have come here have lived
quality time that they would not have lived in another setting.
Let me back up a little and let you know how we got
water here. We contracted with a well-drilling company and
they came out with their equipment, which was astounding to
me. I had never seen equipment like that. I didn't know what
was involved in drilling a well. And they came out and said
to me 'where would you like us to drill the well?'. And I
said, 'anywhere you'd like'. And he said to me, 'Lady, it
doesn't work that way. You're paying us. You have to
decide. lfwe choose a place and you don't get water, you're
not going to want to pay.' How am I going to find a place to
drill the well? So I told them that I would be be back in a
few minutes. I drove my car up to that hill with the seven
trees and really received some remarkable guidance. I came
back down and I said to them, 'drill right here' almost where
they were - within a few feet.
And I still wasn't sure. You know, the guidance was
very clear but I was still very skeptical at that time. I was still
learning a lot about guidance - spiritual guidance. So I went
back up the hill and I said, 'are you sure?' and I closed my
eyes and I saw water gushing, just gushing over a rock ledge
and that's when the peace came. You know, I didn't
Fall 1986
�OAK TREE AT HOLY
mu.
understand i~ but I felt peaceful.
I had to leave because I had a dentist appointment so I
told Jay, who was here at the time, 'I'll call you around 4:30
and let me know if they get water.' They had told me that at
300 feet they would stop drilling. I called him at 4:30 and he
said, 'do we have water!'. At 268 feet they hit a rock ledge,
they had to change the drill bit, they went through the rock
and hit a vein ...and we now have 85 gallons of water a
minute.' And that's the way things have been happening!
Last year was a year of building. The old farmhouse
got refurbished, a new home for volunteers got built This
year is a time for developing the staff, time for pulling all
these loose ends together and really focussing on what we
want to do. I really believe that dying is only one part of this
Center.
I think birthing and healing is going to be part of it
also. So what you do is you welcome in the new soul and tell
them you're glad that they're here with us, then you help
them stay well, and then when it's time to drop the body,
you help them do that - and let them know that they're
waiting on the other side for you. And you do it with as
much love as you have in your hean. No judging. No
judging. no expectations.
One of the first things I tell people who come here
because they're dying is 'the doctor has said you have a life
expectancy of at the most three months. You don't have to
buy into thaL' Most of the people who come here have spent
their lives allowing other people to tell them what to think,
do, everything. They come here and we say to them, 'Here
is your autonomy. You're g(>ing to make the decision and
we're going to support you in whatever it is you will allow
yourself to do.' And I think this is one of the reasons, again,
why they go into this period of "remission", for lack of a
better word. 'If I want to be a dying person, I can be a dying
person. If I am a person who wants to live until I die - really
~. I can do that, too.' So that's the basis for it. Of course
the basis or bottom line of everything is unconditional love.
If you can give unconditional love. you will receive that back
tenfold, as they say.
When I came into this community for the first time, I
was told by many people here, 'you'll never make it' 'Who
are you coming in from a place like Florida... buying this
beautiful land and doing something so bizarre. It's not going
to work.' And I just stayed in my space and said
'someday'.. .'let me just do what I have to do and then see
how you feel about it' And so very, very quietly, I just took
one step at a time. And I let them come to me, rather than
going out and saying, 'okay, this is who I am, accept me as
who I am. I'm not uying 10 do anything to you people.' No,
I just did everything very quietly. And so they smrted
coming, one right after the other. rirst, they would get as far
as the porch. They didn't want to come inside. And then they
started coming inside. And then they started bringing me
produce from their gardens. And then, they started calling me
up in the winter saying,'it's supposed to freeze tonight. This
is what you need to do so your pipes don't break.' And it has
grown ...
We're supported through United Way of Wilkes
County. They give us some of our budget money to take care
of the terminally ill - not to be used for anything else. Then,
KATUAH - page 5
we're supponed through donations. There's a basket there.
People drop money in the basket. They send checks. I speak
and usually bring back money to the Center as a result of
that. I've just written a book and I donated the first hundred
copies, that I published myself, to the Center. Now a
national publishing company has picked it up, so now it's a
"real" book. It's called A Gentle Death (see sidebar), and it's
about my experiences in caring for the dying and my own
personal experiences that have brought me here. And it's
only personal experiences that have brought me here.
Nothing else.
I wanted to get away from death. I didn't want
anything to do with it. So when I went back into nursing, I
chose labor & delivery because that's a happy time, that's
one of the biggest rewards. The first delivery was a stillborn.
And there it was for me to face again. And that's really when
I stopped because I couldn't ignore it any longer - that that
was the issue. So coming from a labor & delivery nurse to a
person who takes care of the dying person has given me this
'whole circle' feeling.
The soul gets pushed out of the body in death just as
the fetus gets pushed out at birth. The body goes through
contractions. just as the uterus goes through contractions.
• continued on page 21
A Geotle Death: Personal
Careeivine Io The Ieaninally III,
by Elizabeth S. Callari, R.N.,
Tudor
Publishers
Inc.,
Greensboro, N.C., 1986, 123pg.,
$7.95 pp.
Death is one of life's most
mysterious
and
intimate
experiences. It is not "good" nor
"bad" and it is not an enemy, as the
medical profession would like us to
believe - death simply is an
unchanging fact, an experience for
awakening.
Elizabeth Callari has directed
her life's efforts to unveiling the
truth about death. It is, as she says, "important to remember
that dying is not an illness to be medicated, excised, and
cured; it is a process whereby the soul transcends the
physical plane for the spiritual one."
In this slim, easy to read (big print}, guidebook Ms.
CaJlari, an R.N. (Chemotherapy), reveals her personal
experiences of overcoming deadly cancer, the denial of her
beloved father's death, and the death of her marriage. She
explores the three grea1 fears: Pain, Abandonment, and
Helplessness, and gently reassures us that there is hope.
"What I do as a counselor for the dying is to give love.
Without conditions... .! open my heart and learn from the
dying."
"I leave my intellect outside the door and put my anns
around the person I'm worlcjng with and say, 'I've never
died before, so I can't imagine how you must be feeling. I'd
like to become more comfortable with death myself, and I
need your help to do this. Please share with me.' How the
doors open! The dying are often our greatest teachers; shon
on time but long on the will to speak straight from the heart.''
This healing book is more than a moving collection of
death experiences. It is a valuable guide for the "caregiver" to
overcome feelings of depression, worry, and anxiety which
accompany terminal illness and are often more debilitating
than the disease itself.
A Gentle Death offers simple rituals and practical
techniques to serve simply and with compassion. It outlines
methods for survivors to overcome grief and deal with guilt
Techniques arc suggested which allow a dying person to
keep control of their life and their dignity. There are
strategies to provide a total care program for the physical,
emotional. and spiritual needs of the loved one.
''This book offers new hope. Rather than experiencing
despair at the inevitability of physical death we can be
uplifted by the hope of an easy, conscious death for a loved
one.
"We can share thls hope with others surrounding the
dying person and thus be instrumental in their comfort and
growth."
-MRF
blfl'
,P"
Fall 1986
�HOSPICE
by Nena Parkerson
The definition of the word "Hospice" is a
community of people with a common
goal..... to care for travelers along the way.
The first hoSP.i~ w~re organized as way
stations for pilgnms m the !U'St ~nuy._In
medieval times they funcnoned in maJor
European cities as m?"85tic h~tages at
mountain passes and nver c:rossmp.
In the most modem context, hospice has
been defined in this way: "A program
providing palliative and support;ive
for
terminally ill patients and their fanuhes,
....an organiz.ed program of care for people
going thrc?ugh !ife's last stati.on. The whole
family is considered the umt ~f care, and
care extends through the mourmng process.
Emphasis is placed on symptom control,
preparation for death and suppon before and
after death.
The Mountain Area Hospice Program,
which serves Buncombe County, N.C.•
recognizes that the dyin~ and those clo~e to
them have special physical, psychologi~al.
spiritual, and practical n~s. The ~osp1ce
staff provides skilled medical, nursmg ~d
counseling care in the warm, supporove
atmosphere of the individual's home. When
persons cannot be cured, hospice offe~
care... .loving, respectful, tender care. Their
primary objectives are effective pain ~n~l.
management of other S)'.'Dptoms, allevta~on
of loneliness, and pracncal help and adVlce
with the business of life that must go on for
the families involved. The goal of hospice is
to enable the patient and family to retain
control over their lives and to maintain the
maximum quality of life possible. Hospice
can be administered within a facility but the
trend is toward home care nursing and
suppon. Also, although the program is
defined for those with terminal illnesses,
cancer patients are the usual recipients.
A team of persons - doctors, nurse~.
social workers, clergy, and volunteers, 1s
committed to these goals and objectives 24
hours a day 7 days a week. No one is ever
turned aw;y because of an inability to
pay..... hospice is based on need.
Patients are usually recommended f~r
hospice care by their physician when their
life expectancy is no more than six months.
Then a staff supervisor and social worker
visit the patient in the home to make an
initial patient/family ~s~essment .. A staff
nurse is assigned and v1s1ts the panent on a
regular basis. much like a doctor on munds
at the hospital, except the nurse often travels
rural roads
car:-.
The volunteers do whatever they can.
Perhaps they might sit with the patient while
the primary careg!ver ~andles n~e.ssary
business, or they might pick up medicine at
the pharmacy, mow the lawn, do errands,
read to the patient, or do anything else that
might be helpful to the patient and family ..
The medical team, clergy, and social
worker are prepared for their jobs ~rough
intensive education before actually being put
to the test through experience. Although the
footing of the volunteers is less sure, the
remainder of the team is always supportive
and tenderly leads the way by a series of 10
classes specifically designed to prepare them
for service as part of the hospice program.
Patients, family members and staff
come to see that all are both strong and
weak, givers and receivers, and that
strength comes from close bonds created
between persons as well as from one's inner
resources. Most decidedly, this is a team
effort.
.
In addition to the care given dunng the
patient's illness, there is also a bereavement
program after the death of the patient At the
time of death, a nurse and possibly other
team members, visit the home and attend the
funeral, wake, memorial, or other
appropriate service. Several days later, there
is usually a call or visit to give the family an
opportunity to revi.ew t~e de~th, .ask any
questions that may linger in ~tr llllnds, ~d
to assure the family that they did everything
possible. This is also an opponuruty for
hospice staff to detect any problems the
Hospice of Yancy Coun1y
2119 Hwy. 80 South
Burnsville. NC 28714
Coniacc Sally L Burrowes
Phone: (704) 675-5518
,,,.......-::
Appalachian Hospice
P.O. Box 647
Hayesville, NC 28904
Contact: William ff. Bell
Phone: (704) 389-6831
Hospice of Hcndersoo County
P.O. Box 2395
Hendersonville. NC 28793
Coniaci: Mary Ocary
Phone: (704) 692-6178
Hospice of Ashe Counly
P.O. Box 216
Jerrerson, NC 28640
Coniacc Roland Mullinix
Phone:(919)246-4542
Home Heallh Hospice
CJ. Harris Community Hospital
59 Hospital Road
family may have with ~h~ grief process.
Periodic calls and/or v1s1ts are made as
necessary and at ~ app~priate .time an
invitation to the survtvors might be issued to
anend monthly social gatherings. The focus
of these gatherings is on the bereaved
helping each other through the stages of
grief although staff will be present. The
famUy is assured that even after discharge,
they may feel free to call the hospice if
problems occur.
In a recent newspaper article, one of the
staff nurses of the Mountain Area Hospice
was quoted as saying, "My personal
relationship with G.od extends ~o my
patients. Whether 1 sit and pray wuh my
patient or not doesn't mean the love of God
doesn't flow through my touch and
presence." I feel sure that sentiment is
deeply shared by all of us.
Hospice.... the loving touch, to make the
path less lonely.
Nena Parkerson is a one-on-one hospice
volwueer in Asheville, NC.
KATUAH- page 6
Mountain Alea Hospice
40 CbW"Ch Suut
Asheville, NC 28801
Coruaci: Judith L. North, RN
Phone: (704) 255.()231
Sylva, NC 28TI9
Contaei: Maureen Hydaket
Phone: (704) 586-7410
HOISIC>n Valley Hospice
P.O. Box 238
Kingsport, TN 37662
Coniacc Barbara Gipe, RN
Phone: (615) 246-3322
SL Mary's Hospital Hospice
Oak Hill Avenue
Knoxville, TN 37917
Conl3CC David Balcer
Phone: (615) 971-7531
Hospice of lhe Soulh
993 Johnson Ferry Rd; Bldg. F
Atlanta, GA 30342
Conmci: Arlhur S. Boo1h, Jr.
Phone: (404) 252-0503
Hamilion Medical Center Hospice
P.O. Box 11.68
Dalton. GA 30720
Contact Florence Brem, BSN
Phone: (404) 278-2105
Fall 1986
�DEALING CREATIVELY WITH DEATH
"THE MANUAL"
Dealine Crearively with Death· A Manual of
Death ErJucatjon and Simole Burial
(Bumsville, NC; Gelo Press; 10th edition,
1984). Dealine Creatively with Death is
available for $6.50 postpaid from Gelo
Press; 1901 Hannah Branch Rd.;
Burnsville, NC 28714
To many of its users Ernest Morgan's
book Dealin& Creatively wjth Death: A
Manual of Death Education and Simple
lkda.l is known simply as "The Manual",
attesting to its usefulness and the high
regard in which this book is held in its field.
This most poignant of "how-to" books
presents a topic that is of great practical as
well as psychological and spiritual
imponance. The theses of the book are that
it is empowering and spiritually fulfilling to
care for our own dead and that a sensitive
funeral process that involves the bereaved as
panicipants can do much to heal the wounds
of loss and grief. But under the tenns of
today's "funeral industry", a family could
also save itself from $1,000 to several
thousand dollars by following any of the
several alternative courses outlined in "The
Manual".
But the main point of the book, that is
emphasized again and again, is that
individuals and families should be able to
choose the method most satisfying to them
to care for the remains and the memory of a
loved one. In our culture, the standard
funeral is offered as a consumer item, a
spectator event, and laws, health
regulations. insurance, and advertising
work together to back a business monopoly
over this segment of our life circle. Funeral
homes offer service that is quick, efficient,
and as gaudy as the family can afford. The
only thing they do not offer is a choice.
Ernest Morgan in Pealing Creatively with
I2cal.b accepts this challenge. Tastefully, the
book first takes up death issues ("Living
with the Dying", "Bereavement", "The
Right to Die") to provide background to the
later discussions of the alternatives available
to those who want to panicipate more fully
in funeral services.
Options presented in the book run from
joining a memorial society, which is a group
of people organized to encourage advance
planning of funerals and to mediate relations
with funeral directors, to "simple burial", as
a funeral that Is organized and carried out by
the family and friends of the deceased has
come to be called. The book also touches on
the pros and cons of cremation, and gives
advice and help in planning a personalized
and effective death ceremony.
Care of the dying is also discussed, and
Morgan speaks of the emerging hospice
movement and home care of the dying by
family members.
Morgan comes out strongly for making an
anatomical gift of the body or individual
organs 10 a medical school or organ bank,
which may offend the spiri1ual sensibilities
of some, but generally throughout the book
he carefully takes the stance of advising the
- continued on p. 9
KATUAH - page 7
AN INTERVIEW WITH ERNEST MORGAN
"A human being is part of the
whole, called by us the 'universe', a
part limited in time and space. He
experiences himself. his thoughts and
feelings, as something separated
from the rest - an optical illusion of
his consciousness.
"This delusion is a kind of
prison for us, restricting us to our
personal desires and to affection for a
few persons nearest to us. Our task
must be to free ourselves from this
prison, to widen our circle of
compassion, and to embrace all living
creatures and the whole of nature in
its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve
this completely, but striving for such
achievement is in itself a part of the
liberation and a foundation for inner
security."
- Albert Einstein
Ernest Morgan: I wan1ed to begin with
this quotation, because it has been very
important to me in reaching an
understanding of death and the death
process.
In Einstein's view we arc each a
particle, a thread in the fabric of life. Each
particular thread begins and ends, but the
fabric goes on, and the individual threads
give it color, strength, and continuity.
Without these 1breads, there would be no
fabric.
The threads give continuity 10 the
fabric; the fabric gives meaning to the
thread. I would like my life to add color
and strength to this fabric of life. Then my
life will have been a resource, an asset to
this process, not just a filler.
Through the experience of death we
overcome the "optical illusion" Einstein was
UllJcing abouL We realize that 'Tm not here
very long, either. What's it all about?" And
somehow we feel a closer identity with what
it's all about. In our daily lives, we tend to
take our family and friends for granted. We
assume tha1 they will be here permanently.
We see everything around us as permanent,
and we deal as best we can within this
circle. But nothing is permanent. It's all
temporary, and the best we can do is to be a
part of the on-going lluman life. This will
last. And what will last is what we do to
enrich human life, the quality of human life,
and of the environment., too. That's what
really helps to make this life wonhwhile.
Katuah: But i1 is hard 10 endure the loss of
someone we truly love. What help is there
for people who nave to make it through a
time such as tba1?
EM: My mother died when 1 was a few
months old. My dad, Arthur Morgan, was
totally devoted to her, and after her death bis
affection, caring, and gentleness found
other channels, because he transfonned his
emotional energy, his grief and his
suffering. and reached out in caring to other
people. He was a tremendou, ly caring
person. and this experience develuped that.
I bad a very warm and close relationship
with my father. and chat reflect in pan, 1
1bink, on my mother's death. for as my
father said, "When someone you love dies,
your love for them doesn't d1.:; it gets
redistributed." That is a very pos1dve aspect
of death.
After my mother died, I wao; cared for
and raised by my aunt. She dit:d when 1
was in my 'teens, and it was a very hard
thing for me. What gave me the most
comfon was a feeling of identification I felt
with her, which made me feel I could carry
on the things I admired most in her life.
I spoke of this once in a funeral talk
for a young man who had been a close
friend. His parents had come to church
crushed at the loss of their son, but they
wem out almost radiant with this feeling of
identily with all the young people in the
audience who were inspired to carry on their
son's life. This makes death a benefactor.
Katiiah: What is the role or imponance of
death in our society from a cultural
standpoint?
E M : As I said in "The Manual", l am
strongly commined 10 creative social
change, and this needs 10 be rooted in our
social and elhical concepts, our philosophy,
and our values. Social change is 001 just
changing the adjustments of a machine. We
are changing consciousness; we are
- continued on p. 8
Fall 1986
�- .;ontinued from p. 7
Katuah: What are some of the things a
family should remember to have the best
kind of ceremony for the deceased'?
changing motivation. We need to have a
whole new feeling. And nowhere in a
person"s life is one more prone to think of
values, of ideals, than when there's a death.
That's when we are realJy open to creative
change. "What am I here for?" we ask.
'What am I doing?" I consider it a rare
opponunity.
If we can deal with a deaih in the right
way, we will find comfon, inspiration,
strength, courage, meaning, and the
enrichment and refinement of life values.
All these qualities arc at the base of social
change. If we don't reach inside ourselves
and find these qualities at the time of a
death, that death is panialJy wasted. Don't
let death go to waste.
Katuah : It seems that it is most imponant
that the living experience a death, to feel it
personally when it occurs. Yet we shy
away from those who are dying and give
tremendous amounts of money to funeral
directors to insulate us from the experience
of death.
EM: That is what 'The Manual" is all
about, but one thing it's valuable 10 keep in
mind is: everyone needs to know the plans!
Get things clear ahead of time. There is no
substi1utc for advance planning and having
the people adjusted to the idea beforehand.
lf you have the idea of doing your own
burial, thrash out the idea while
everybody's healthy. Get around to visit
the county health office, and say, "We want
to do this arrangement, and we wanr to dig
the grave. What do we need to do?" Find
out what the regula1ions ahd what the
requirements are.
We had a young friend whose mother
died. He had her body cremated and
arranged for a memorial service. My wife
and I went to see him, and when we
arrived, he was cleaning house. Well,
when you go to visit somebody whose
mother has just died and they're cleaning
house, the proper thing to do is 10 grab a
broom. So we were cleaning house when
the mother's two sisters arrived. They were
EM: One thing l think is very important is
the matter of social involvement. At the
time of death, as in a marriage, we want
social involvement. This is partly for the
support of the bereaved, and partly an
affirmation of our social nature. It helps to
mature us. If we rorn our back on reality, if
we tum our back on committment and on
this kind of stress, we arc reducing life to a
sort of a game, and upholding a pretense
that death is the enemy.
Death can be a misfonune when it 1s
misplaced or ill-timed, but death js
necessary. Jessica Mitford (noted for her
investigation of the funeral industry • ed.)
once told me jokingly that her position on
death was: "I'm against it!" I said, "Don't
abolish death, or we'll have to have a
government permit to have a baby!" Death
is pan of the whole life cycle. It helps us to
remember that we are a pan of the whole
life cycle.
It is importanr that at the time of death
the bereaved persons have involvement.
Anything that they can do to help with the
fun~ral arrangements is good. The more
they can do, the healthier it is for them. It's
a spiritual exercise and very imponant. But
:t's also important not to push people into it,
but rather to encourage them.
When my wife died, I helped lift the
body into the box, I drove the vehicle to the
burial ground, l helped lower the box. and I
recited one of her favorite poems over the
grave. Then, when we bad a memorial
service, I talked for an hour and 20 minutes.
I wanted to. I needed to. In our culture
men don't cry easily, but we can talk, and
so I did.
We had another service for my wife
in Yellow Springs, Ohio, where we had
spent many years. At that time I only talked
for 40 minutes. I was gaining. I was
feeling better by then.
Viewing the remains is also desirable
for the immediate family. But again, they
shouldn't be pushed, they should be
encouraged. As for putting the remains on
public display and prettying them up to look
like they're taking an afternoon nap, I don't
think much of that idea.
KATUAH - page 8
business rather rhan a spirirual basis, and it
still operates on that basis roday.
Mosr of the funeral regulatory bo:irds
are composed of funeral directors, so they
set up regula1ions that are in rhe interests of
funeral directors. I'd say that most of the
laws regulating the funeral industry are
drawn up as much in the interests of the
industry as they arc in the interests of public
health and safety. That's how it works.
Law is a human instrument, and it is
subject to human interpretation and
enforcement. You can check on a law, but
don't be buffaloed by it.
Funeral directors don't have to know
much about the lav.. but when anything gets
our of the ordinary, they are quick to claim
that what is happening is illegal. For
instance, when some people were fonning a
memorial society in Dayton, Ohio, they
received a letter from a funeral direcror
which said, "What you are doing is strictly
illegal." But by accident his secretary had
enclosed in the envelope a memo from the
director's lawyer which said, "Tell them
anything that sounds good."
If you want to do a burial yourself
and you are a substantial citizen, obviously
honest and obviously sincere, and you carry
out the details of death certificates,
lransponation permits, and any other
necessary forms, they will think twice
before they begin any prosecution.
Katua h :
Do you see any changes,
beneficial or otherwise, in our society's
attitudes toward death, now tha1 it is
becoming more acceptable to talk about
death and its meaning in our lives'?
EM :
aggressive women. The first thing they said
was: "Where's Marie?"
"I had mother cremated, and we're
having the ceremony this afternoon," the
young man said.
"You did what? We wanted to see
her!" they said.
We didn't let him out of our sight, for
fear the women would tear him apan. We
took them all out to lunch. and afterwards
we went to the ceremony and had a nice
memorial. The sisters then left, and
everything was fine. But the lesson we
learned was to get those things cleared in
advance!
Katuah: How about legal arrangements'?
Aren't they major obstacles in carrying out a
simple burial'?
EM: OriginalJy, furniture stores used to
carry a coffin or two, and people would
sometimes buy a coffin instead of making
one themselves. Then 1he furniture store
man offered to help with the burial. and
after a while it became a full-time job and
the person who made the arrangements
became the funeral director The "funeral
industry". as It is call eel ~tarted on a
The general tendency in the
professions is still to regard dea1h as an
enemy and to regard any death as a failure.
They feel defeated by death. I have a
bookplate that was made in Germany for
doctors, and it shows the figure of a woman
doctor wrestling with a skeleton. That little
picture sums up the whole a1titude to me.
The hospice movement has come up
fast, and we've made some progress in the
area of bequeathal of bodies to medical
schools. Fewer of the schools are paying
tr3llsponation now. Apparently they're not
as desperate as they were to obtain bodies
for anatomical study, and I think "The
Manual" has had a definite impact on that.
On the other hand, one concern I have
now is that the forum for death education
and counseling is getting increasingly
professional. Professionalization is also
coming into the hospice movement more
and more.
Now there are licensing
procedures, and to get a license there has to
he a team available around the clock. etc..
etc., until they ge1 to where they are in
Asheville, where they are working with a
budget of something like $80,000 per year.
Nonsense! Absolute nonsense! That's our
culture cn:eping back in again.
The hospice in Yancy County
recruited volunteers, trained them, put them
in the field, and they went out and helped
families. Jn rheir financial appeal last year
the organization estimated they saved half a
million dollars in hospital costs in 18
months. This was done by the aid of
volunteers helping to keep people in their
homes. That is a good thing.
"The Manual" is to ... I don't like to
say "combat" professionalism, but to
counterbalance it. lt is a miniature
Fall 1986
�encyclopedia for non-professionals. There
is infonnation useful to professionals. but
the book 1s aimed at the volunteer
non-professional. ll emphasizes the idea of
family participation and srresses the ideas of
simplicity, dignity, and economy. I hope
that for some people ii will communicate the
positive potential of death, and maybe show
that a bereavement, if it is well-handled, can
be a creative experience.
recorded by D.W.
, .#
ff'
Ernest Morgan, now a continentally-known
authority on death and the dying process,
lives in the Celo Comml4nity near
Burnsville, NC with his wife Christine
Ml4ch of the profit from the sale of~
Creatively with Death has gone coward the
Artluu Morgan Sc/roof in Celo.
A
SIMPLE
- continued from p. 7
reader's choice rather than thrusting some
particular alternative upon us.
The result is a highl)' s.eositive,
compassionate treatment of a very difficult
subject. Detailed points of information are
frequently illustrated by stories from the
author's own experiences in death
situation'S, and the book is supplemented by
65 pages of appendices that are revised and
updated with each edition, making this a
current and practical reference book.
ln recent years a groundswell movement
has arisen to reclaim the birthing process
from the cold hands of the hospitals and the
medical establishment. This has brought
important feelings of empowerment to
individual women and communities. There
BURIAL :
has also been much criticism of the "funeral
industry", but Pealing Creatively with Death'
is the first book to show lay people in clear
and simple terms how they can get a hand in
the funeral process. This book is a first step
in reclaiming community control of our
dying as well as our birthing.
In its unobtrusive way, Dealing Creatively
with Death challenges the taboo enforced by
the major institutions of this society that
says that death is not to be touched or even
to be discussed. Ernest Morgan quietly and
effectively does away with the notion that
death is the enemy, to be hated and feared,
and shows the richness the presence of
death can create in our lives if it is
confronted face-to-face and accepted with all
the attendant emotions it brings.
MAKING BURIAL
excerpted from Ernest Morgan's book Dealing Creatively with Dr.at h
BOXES
A large end piece will be left over.This can be used to make
an extra top and side of Child Size for possible future use.
The following information is intended for families or
groups who wish to carry out their own arrangements
without a funeral director. Ordinarily, funeral directors
expect to provide a casket unless some understanding has
been arrived at to the contrary.
Inexpensive Plywood Boxes: We offer here
instructions for making four sizes of plywood boxes which
are inexpensive, compact and easy to build. These boxes are
not suitable for body ttansponation by common carrier or for
keeping an unembalmed body for any length of time. If used
at a funeral they may be placed on a low bench or other
support, covered by a cloth (pall).
Still Needed: The second side for the Large Size. If the
lumber yard has part of a sheet from which this can be cut,
fine. If not. a fourth sheet will be needed. [n that case, the
rest of the sheet can be cut into spare parts and stored with
the boxes for possible later use.
Also Needed: Two side scrips of 3/4" lumber for Large Size
(5" x 6'4 1/2").Two side strips of 3/4" lumber for Medium
Size, (5' x 5'10 1/2"). Two side strips of 3/4" lumber for
Small Size (4" x5'4 1/2"). (Side strips for Child Size were
included in previous cut.)
From the hardware store, get some 7/8" nails, and
some 4- and 8-penny box nails and six chest handles for each
box. The handles should be of the kind that hang down when
not in use and stay in horizontal position when lifted. Don't
forget to get screws for these.
SIZES Of IUAIAl BOXES
Nail a narrow strip to each side piece, flush with the
edge and the end, using 4-penny nails. The good side of the
plywood should be out.
- continued on p. 25
S!o!All SIZE
O•lllelt H .. •21 .. ll3W"
S'4Yl .. •20Vt"'
21" 11311..
S'4Vt""•'311 ..
$'6"121 ..
3'9Vt'"r1SVt"'
,,..,,°"..
)'9\11""110l4..
3'11 ..111
4' I
s·w,.. ,,..
nw aJ
lot'°' S'4\11 00 119" a1Z\11 00
CHllO SIZE
~3 " 11 .. llf"" all ""
I - J'tVt" 114"" a10""
0
00
0
__ ,,...,. ..
00
~
Instructions: These four boxes can be made from two sheets
of 3/4" plywood and 3 1/2 sheets of 1/4" plywood. Order the
necessary parts from the lumber yard, cut accurately to size.
Anyone moderately experienced with tools can assemble the
boxes.
__ ,,_.
---
CMGS... . .-
.I
!
•
;
I
..
_
I
1)\11"
!"10\11'
!
Cutting instructions for 1/4" plywood (no diagrams needed):
Second Sheet: Top for Medium Size (6' x 21 "),and two sides
(5'10 1/2" x 13 3/4"). Cut long way. Two sides for Child
Size (3'9 1/2" x 10 3/4"). Cut from end piece.
'
!
,.y,.
Chart for Cutting Plywood Sheets: Two sheets of 3/4" 4'x8'
plywood, cut as shown in the two diagrams below, will
provide all the 3/4" plywood parts needed to build the four
sizes of boxes listed above. The 1/4" plywood is simpler and
needs no cutting chart, so we have simply explained below
how it should be cut.
First Sheet (4' x 8'); Top for Large Box (6'6" x 26"), and
one side (6'4 1/2" x 15 3/4"). Cut long way.
Top for Chlld Size (3'11" x 16"). Cut from remaining end.
_
8 $Ntt
1-----"8'-"
\ ll'---- - - l l I
-
-lJoll•
~!
1
11--~-----l~
Third Sheet: Top for Small Size (5'6" x 21 "), and two sides
(5'4 l/2" x 13 1/4"). Cut long way.
KATUAH - page 9
Fall 1986
�HOW TO HELP CHILDREN
HANDLE DEATH
others). When a loved pe1 dies, children
learn to mourr.. The mock funeral
ceremonies teach rituals and allow the
children to work out their feelings and fears.
But don't replace the pet immediately as
children must learn the deceased cannot be
replaced easily.
Death is universal, so no one remains
unaffected by it. Yet many people believe
that children should be shielded from it. But
since one out of 20 children loses a parent
before s/he finishes elementary school and
will inevitably face the deaths of friends and
family, there is really no way to hide death
from children. Experts are now advising
that children be exposed to the concept of
death befo re it occurs.
Often we think of children as too young
to understand the meaning of death. This
isn't always true. Children as young as two
and a half years old have been found to have
some idea of death. Sheltering children
often gives them confusing messages; if
they do not understand that death is a natural
part of the life cycle, then they'll have a
greater difficulty in coping with death in
later life.
How, then, should children be told about
death? And how can we, as parents and
friends, help the child deal with Joss when it
occurs? The following are some practical
guidelines that may offer help.
Produced by TO UFE, this article is one in
a series of articles which discuss how to
better deal with grief and loss. The author of
this particular article is Patsy Albrecht,
(1983). © TOLIFE
TO LIFE is a non-profit educational
organization in Charlotte, NC which
provides support services and counseling in
the areas of grief, loss and life
enhancement. Founded in 1979 by Alexis
Jay Stein and Howard Winokuer, TO LIFE
assists individuals in handling those
experiences that result in grief: death of
someone c lose to you, separation and
divorce, loss of employment, retirement,
physical trauma, and other circumstances.
Through regional and national workshops,
seminars, conferences as well as
publications and counseling, TO LIFE
concentrates on integrating the different
dimensions of life--physical, mental and
spiritual-which have become fragmented by
the experience of loss. TO LIFE, P.O.Box
9354, Charlotte, NC 28299. (704)
332-LIFE.
Don ' t be a fra id to men t ion d eath.
Disrant friends' or relatives' deaths should
be discussed so the child is gradually
introduced to the subject. S/he will then be
belier prepared to cope with death when it
hits closer to home.
W hen talkin g a bout death, don 't
u se e uph emis m s. Tell the truth. Any
beating around the bush can confuse,
frighten, or hann the child, because s/he
isn't able to understand the underlying
meaning of what you say. Consider these
examples from a child's viewpoint:
1. Grandpa died because he was sick.
"Will l die if I gel a cold? Mommy's going
to the hospital--is she dying?" Children
can't differentiate between serious and mild
illnesses, and can associate all hospital nips
and illness with death.
2. Aunt Sarah went to sle®. "When I go
to sleep, I might not ever wake up again."
Teach with animals. If a child sees a
dead bird or other animal, this is a good
time to explain what has happened. Pets are
also recommended for this reason (and
· continued on page 2.S
SUGGESTED READINGS ON DEATH
AND DYING
Than.ks 10 TO LIFE and HOSPICE and CENTER FOR AWAKENING
GENERAL READING:
Levine, Stephen Who Djes? Doubleday, 1982.
Ewens, James & Henington, Palricia
Ram Dass How Can I Help? Knopf, 1985.
Lewis, C.S. A Grief Observed, Bantam Books, 1963.
von Franz, Marie-Louise On Dreams & Death. Shambhala, 1984.
Westberg. Granger E. Gooc! Grief, Fonress Press.
Kubler-Ross, Elizabeth Death· The Final Stage of Growth, Prentice
Hall, 1975.
On DeaJh and Dying, Macmillan, 1969.
Working It Through. Macmillan, 1982.
Iibe!an Book Qfthe Dead. Ollford University Press, 1957.
Jampolslci, Jerry Teach Onlv Love. Bantam, 1983,
Le Shan, Eda I.earning to Say Gooc!bye When a P;ucm Dies. Avon,
1978.
Kushner, Harold S. When Bad Thin gs Happen to Goo!I People
Schocken Books, 1981.
~Bear
& Co., 1982.
Mowatt, Farley The Snow Walker, Little, Brown & C.O.• 1976.
FOR CHILDREN:
Miles, Miska Annie and the Old One, Little, Brown & Co., 1985
(1972).
Craven, Margaret I Heard the Owl Call My Name. A Totem Book,
1967.
Saunders, Cecily Beyond All Pain. SPCK. 1983.
Carter, Forrest The Educatjon of Little Tree, U. of New Mexico Press.
1976.
Moody, Raymond Life Afler Life, Bantam Books, 1975.
White, E.B. Cbnc(oue's Web. Harper and Row. 1952.
KAWAH- page 10
Fall 1986
�Old women are specialistS in those critical
moments when the designs of culture are
threatened by a breakthrough of nature binh, illness, and death - momenrs when we
are reminded of our animal origins and
human limits. Women of advanced age are
healers, midwives, dressers of corpses .....
r HE
Barbara Myerhojf
Parabola Magazine, 113; p.89
The wake, or "setung-up" as it is
called in the mountains today, means an
all-night gathering to mark the passing of a
friend or family member. The custom
originated in Ireland long before Christian
times. In the great migration from Ulster the
Scotch-Irish settlers canied the practice with
them into the Appalachian mountains.
We can imagine the wild revels
auending the death of a wanior who died in
battle in Celtic Ireland. This was seen as the
goal of life and was eagerly sought after, so
while the women would mourn, the men
would carouse in genuine celebration,
ccnain in their belief that their comrade had
auained a place of honor in a better world.
Warriors that they were, they were also
gathered to watch over the spirit of the
deceased to see that no mishaps occurred
during its voyage, for the dark spirits were
many who would want to steal the soul of a
warrior on its journey to the Fields of the
Valiant
The spirit of the original wakes lived
on in the Irish celebrations, moderated and
solemnified only somewhat by the Christian
church.
"The Church was suspicious of the
wake. It had strains of paganism, much
drunkeness. and frcquenc dancing - and the
Church was very suspicious of dancing,"
said Andrew Greeley in his book That Most
Distressful Narjon.
,
But "that national institution" of the
Irish could not be stopped. It was a crue
expression of the Irish character. It was "an
extraordinary phenomenon," as Greeley
described it, "both heartless and reassuring,
melancholy and rejoicing, unbearably
painful and stubbornly hopeful."
The wild ouipouring of emotion at the
wake served the family and the community
on several levels. For individuals, it was
cathartic and eased the pain of a loved one's
passing. By coming together in a wild
celebration, the grieving was confronted,
even accelerated, and not repressed, so the
survivors could work through it and resume
their everyday lives.
It was also an important community
event, for at each binh and each death the
community grows and changes. The
community would instinchvely encll'Cle the
family of the deceased and suppon them by
creating an environment in which emotions
could flow - whether they wanted to cry,
pray, drink, dance, or fight.
At the time of anyone's death, the
"veil between the worlds" is thin, and there
surely was an element of bravado in the
boisterousness of the wake. It was
unspoken knowledge that the community
came together to share courage in the
presence of the spectre of death. Light,
music, and laughter all helped to banish the
spirit of the Dark One from the world of the
living.
T hese times were definitely
"breakthroughs of nature" when the briule
veneer of civilization crumbled, and the
Irish people, who repressed so much in
their Jives, would nm tty to hold back the
rush of emotions. Death played an imponant
role in their lives simply by liberating these
feelings.
DYING IN THE MOUNTA.INS
The wake 1ook on a new importance
when the Ulster Protestants transplanted it
to the New World. Here in Appalachia,
shadowed beneath the forbidding ridges and
rugged cliffs of the mountains, death was a
real and close presence that made the white
settlers feel isolated, vulnerable, and far
from home. A1 all critical times the
community came together, and a
"seuin'-up" was an imponant community
function.
"The wake was intended to be a
gathering of sympathetic relatives and
friends in the home of" the deceased, for
paying respects to the dead, and to dispel
partially the gloom and loneliness that had
settled upon the members of rhe family, but
it came abou t that the all-night vigil
demanded a degree of amusement and
restrained gaiety. As time passed, it often
became, after a preliminary time of
solemnity, a period of song, laughter,
games, gossip, courtship, and
what-not..... " CNonh Carolina Mountain
Folklore and Miscellany, by Horton
Cooper)
During t he early years of white
settlement, caring for the dead was a
communitv resoonsibilitv. Undertakers
were out of the question then.
"Pally" Davis, who lives on Nation's
Oeek near Sylva, N.C., remembers how it
was:
"You don't know what it was like
back then. It seemed like folks was better to
each other. When someone got ~1ck, they
didn't go right into the hospital, like they do
now. No! The doctor'd come to their house.
They'd stay in their own bed, and people
would come over and help cook, and they'd
bring some food to cook, and do dishes,
and they'd set up with someone. There'd
always be somebody settin'-up with them
from the time they got real sick until the time
they died.
"And then people would set up with
the body until it was buried. Some people in
the neighborhood would dig the grave
where the family wanted it, and they'd bring
food, and everybody would gather around
the family. They wouldn't go to the
undenaker's back then. Nobody had the
money.
"When Daddy passed away, they
made him the nicest coffin. It was made of
oak - oak or poplar, one - but it was the
prettiest thing. Big, wide lumber - like this
(18"). And they lined it inside with cotton
stuffing and put a nice cotton cloth around it
with lace and a little pillow, and when he
was all washed and dressed, they put him in
iL
"He'd had that lumber all saved out
for his coffin, and enough for Momma's,
too, and so when he finally died, two
fellows back up on the hill there (pointing)
took that lumber up and made his coffin,
and set handles on it, and varnished it nice and, oh, it was the prettiest thing. Much
prettier than you can get now at the
undenaker's.
"Momma lived thirty years after him,
and by the time she died, they said that the
coffin wood Daddy'd saved out for her had
gotten wonny, so they had to get some
more for her.
"They're buried right over there in the
- continued on p. 25
�GOOD MGHT mot1
SHADOWS fill
by Turrin Keye
Sera Jean Samuels gently laid her
fingers to the withered brow, feeling for the
pulse that still trembled within the old man.
The wrinkled eyelids flickered open, and
she looked again into the increasing vacancy
which was overcoming the laughter she had
known.
"I'm going to leave you now, Gran'pa.
Is there anything you need?" she asked,
trying to find a softness in her voice while
increasing its intensity to cut through to the
old man's brain. The tired eyes only closed
in reply.
Thiny-six days. No ooe would have
thought it would take so long. But even in
death, there was no predicting the old man.
Sera Jean tucked the quilt up around him
and checked the steaming cauldron of herbs
to be sure there was water to last through
the night. She pushed the stick fire, piling
embers up against the cauldron's belly. It
was late September, and she felt no cold at
all, but she did not want him to want for
warmth. She gathered her things into a
basket and backed out of the small
srickhouse. She pushed the rickety door
shut, being less silent than she wished to, as
it flopped badly on its shoeleather hinges.
She made it fast against any wandering
animals that might bother the old man in the
night. She had not believed be would make
it through this day. But he had.
From where she stood in front of the
stickhouse, poplars blocked the view of the
far mountains. But she knew the distant
ridge lines could be seen from the rick
where they would lay his body. Hewn of
locust poles, bound with copper wire, there
was oo reason why it should not stand for a
long time. Longer than the guard they had
erected to frighten away birds. The
scarecrow had been her mother's idea, but
even Gran'pa had not cared to have his
body picked over by crows. Sera Jean
inspected the dummy, dressed in some of
the old man's clothes. She righted the head
which had shrugged down into its flannel
shin. All be had to offer in his shin sleeve
hands was a shon bun round of locust tree
with the old man's name burned into it
It had seemed no more than fun when
Gran'pa had brought her up here almost a
year ago and they had spent the most of two
weeks clearing the site, building the stick
house, and preparing the rick. He had
worked with patience and care, but still he
had joked about morbidity and poked fun at
Sera Jean's youth. Her father had
commanded her to help the old mao, mostly
to be sure he did not hun himself. She
stayed out of school a couple of days and
her mother had called it all foolishness and
said that it would come to nothing. But,
though the old man had presented it as
quirkiness, it was obvious to them all that
KA11JAH - page 12
he was deadly serious.
But then Gran'pa had fallen in the
winter, breaking his hip. The old bones had
refused to mend. His every movement had
become painful and his disposition sour. He
chose to die rather than continue toward
further dilapidation. No ooe supponed his
choice. He stopped eating and became
crankier still. But it was not until he began
spending every day trying to climb the ridge
to his stickhouse, that anyone took his death
wish to purpose. Sera Jean and her mother
had brought his frail old body there. It bad
seemed to Sera Jean that he could not, and
therefore would not, stay. But each time he
refused her gentle persuasions to come
down. He seemed more at peace, there on
the ridge, regaining some of his impish
laughter. But it was only a brief respite
before the old man bad sunk to the level of
the sleeping mat in the stickhouse, never to
rise again. He ate nothing, drank little, and
for the past two weeks Sera Jean had stayed
out of school, believing each succeeding
day would be the old man's last. It had
become an ordeal for everyone.
The last of the dying sun winked at her
through the foliage of the western ridge, and
it prompted her to continue on to her home.
She lifted her basket to her bead and staned
down the narrow, steep trail that wound its
way down from the ridge. She came out in
the upper pastures which joined the nut
orchard further down. The trees hung
heavy, and harvest was not far away. Soon
everyone would be up here where there was
no one now. There would be basket lunches
and calling between the trees, and she
would be climbing up the tallest chestnut to
put nuts in her shoulder sling and gaze at the
ridges in the clearest of fall days.
She \\ aS nl\ssing through the lower
fields now, where the tr.iii had become a
lane and the trickling water had grown into a
stream that sang a rhythm for the day's end.
The lane brought her down into fields in
succession of growth - some recently
harvested, some already fuzzy where the
winter cover had been planted.
Sera Jean turned to see a dark, tall
woman coming up the hill toward her,
flowing gracefully over the broken terrain
on bare feet
"Auntie Peg!" Sera Jean greeted her as
the woman pulled up before her, flashing
her warm smile.
"Have you been all day on the ridge?"
Peggy asked.
"l picked some mushrooms, some
greens. But mostly I stayed with Gran'pa,"
Sera Jean replied.
"I'm surprised he's still alive."
"I don't know why or how. He seems
to get no worse. But I.can't believe he could
ever get better."
"Perhaps he would not agree with you.
It may be hard for him now but I believe he
expects things to get better."
"Peg, what do you believe about life
after death?"
Peggy smiled. "Sera Jean, I don't think
that's something you need to bring to the
power of beliefs. Living things die all the
rime. There is stilJ the same here as before.
You shouldn't let it occupy too much
thought. Just accept what it offers.
"I remember," she continued, "when I
went to Malaysia as a rural nurse. I spent
some time with some of the mountain
people, the first I'd ever met. They would
wrap their dead in a rauan mat and secure
the whole thing into a special tree high on
the ridge. They would do intricate things
and leave specific reverences to the body,
but when I asked what ii all meant, they
replied, To get below the smell, as it
rises.'"
"It sounds like they just wanted to get
out of the way."
"Well, you may be right. To get in the
way of death would be a very foolish thing.
And that would get in the way of life."
"But it won't ever be the same without
Gran'pa."
Fall 1986
�Peggy smiled comfort for the girl's
anguish. In a voice feminine and strong she
asked, "And was i1 ever the same wi1h
him?"
Sera Jean slopped, puzzled by her
aunl's question.
"No-o-o ..... I don't know. I don'1
know wha1 you mean by 'same'."
"Perhaps you should look more closely
then. Think abou1 whar's the same and
wha1's differen1, and maybe you can sec
1ha1 what's really imponan1 to you hasn'1
changed al all."
"My love for Gran'pa?" Sera Jean
wondered about Peggy's question.
"Don'1 forget his love for you."
"Bui his love is dying!"
"Sera, are you no1 alive and well and
growing?"
The young girl's slale-blue eyes blinked
in assent.
"Then his love is not dying. His love,
your love, are one. Having grown ou1 of the
things you have shared. Those things are
gone. So is Gran'pa. But you embody it all.
Flesh and bone are different. They change •
1hey come and they go like the sun and the
wind.They mean almost nothing. But, Sera.
wha1 doesn't change? What is always the
same?"
Sera Jean screwed up her face, feeling
close upon a threshold.
"God?" she tried. "Love? Life maybe?"
"Maybe so," Peggy said seriously.
Then a shine of mischief glinted in her eyes.
"Maybe not. Maybe chicken soup and
sno1."
Sera Jean joined with her in reciting the
final line of the rhyme they had shared so
many times before. Their chant broke up
into girlish laughter.
"Come 10 supper, Sera. I've dug some
sweet po1atoes and Jerrell will build a fire."
Sera Jean smiled and looked up at the
cabin tha1 Jerrell and Peggy shared 10 see a
puff of bluish smoke rise from the chimney
and knew tha1 Jerrell was already hard a1
work on the season's first fire. And hard a1
work at being man to woman.
"No, 1hank you anyway, Auntie Peg.
I'd beuer go on home. I haven't seen much
of my own family these days."
They left each other wi1h brigh1ness.
Sera Jean continued up the trail. She 1urned
around a bend of hemlocks to catch sight of
the house, old now, grown into the side of
the slope, barely, seemingly just barely, not
a to1al part of il ..Started by Gran'pa so
many years ago, i1 was high up in the cove,
dangling on lhe end of a sometimes road,
sometimes lane, sometimes nei1her, like a
balloon on a string. II was se11led
comfonably now after turning over a
genera1ion of human beings.
Sera Jean s1epped over the worn s1ones,
through the doors, and walked the few steps
along the stone passage into the kitchen.
Felici1y, her mother, looked up from 1he
ccmcr table as Sera Jean set her basket upon
the big black cookstove. She sough1 1he
girl's face for an answer 10 everybody's
ques1ion and, knowing her daugh1er so
well, voiced tha1 answer back to Sera Jean.
"Hmph. He's still alive."
Her eyes broke away briefly in priva1e
1hought, bu1 flashed back green and quick
and omo everyday.
"Well, I guess ils for lhe bes1. You and
your father will be all by yourselves for
dinner tonight. I'm going over to Marjorie's
10 do a sweat for Elise. If you had come
KATUAH - page 13
down sooner, I'd have invited you along.
But I can't wait for you 10 ge1 it togelher
now. You'll jus1 have 10 keep Duane
company."
Sera Jean was a1 first a li11le
disappointed a1 missing an all-woman sweat
for a pregnan1 friend, but she knew that
Felicity had only said that to lessen lhe
harshness of denying her the chance to go.
By the look of her mo1her's light step and
the quickness of her fingers, Sera Jean
could tell !hat Felicity was feeling young,
excited, and ready to excite - girlish in her
flaunt, womanly in her bearing. She was
dressed in complements, and her
countenance was no longer at home, but
already out the door, before the public, not
telling all, but keeping a reserved depth of
femininity.
"Sera, I won't be back 'til late," she
said, pulling a flashlight from a drawer and
tossing it into a shoulder bag. She slung it
into place and turned to face her daughter.
"You tell Duane when he comes in, would
you?
Sera Jean nodded as her mother
brushed past her, starting down the walk.
"There's mung beans soaking and a
melon !hat needs to be eaten. Enjoy."
The telephone rang on the counter
beside Sera Jean.
"Oh, damn! Be not for me," Felicity
wailed to lhe plants of her greenhouse as
she spun to look back at Sera Jean, her
multi-colored skirt flowing wide about her
calves. "Get that Sera, would you? And,
unless il's a dire emergency, I'm gone."
Sera Jean lifted lhe reciever as it rang a
second time.
"Yes? ..... Oh, hello, Mrs. Benson
..... No, rm fine ..... He's still alive, yes,
ma'am ..... He's ... he's not at lhe hospital,
ma'am .....I..... " Her eyes came up to find
her molher's. "Just a minute, ma'am."
She pulled the receiver away,
whispering to her mother, "It's my teacher.
She wants to talk with you."
Felicity rook a deep breath. "Alright, I
have to be a parent sometime."
She dropped her shoulder bag to lhe
stone by a diffenbachia plant and stepped
near Sera Jean. Felicity coiled against the
kitchen counter, brushing against Sera Jean,
mother to daughter, as she rook the receiver.
Sera Jean reached fingers to touch her.
"Hello?..... Yes, I'm fine ..... No. My
falher has prepared us well for his
passing ..... Well, we're missing her, too,
ma'am. She's spending most of her time
with her grandfather..... No, I wouldn't say
she's taking it hard. I think she's doing very
well. My father and she are very
close.....He has no panicular ailment. He's
just worn out.. ... Yes, that's true, he's not
at a hospital. Is there a law that says you
must die in a hospital?..... No, we're not
doing everything to keep him alive. We're
doing all we can to help him die in
peace ..... Yes, I think Sera is very important
for that. Besides, it's her choice..... Well, I
can't say I agree wilh you. I think she's
having a learning experience that far
outweighs anything she might learn in your
school... ..I don't think I'm undervaluing
her education. I believe I've got it in proper
perspective. And no disrespect intended,
but I'm convinced her grandfather is a far
better teacher .... .! think Sera has proven
herself an adequate student of what your
school has to offer and I have no complaints
about her deveioproent....J lhink she has
lhe ability to choose where she wants to be.
I trust her to be responsive every day, and I
believe she does well. I don't think it's a
mauer of life or death if she misses some
school. If she chose to remain out all year,
no one would be happier than I.. ...Send the
truant officer, and he will be most welcome,
but l don't think he will change
things ..... Funeral? No, lhat would make no
difference eilher..... Where my falher will be
bur- laid to rest is no business of yours,
ma'am.....Excuse me !hen, but Sera will
not be encouraged to do anything more than
what she herself feels is right. ....! think I
can't add much more to that. Goodnight to
you, ma'am"
Felicity returned the phone to its cradle.
"Well, r didn't need that."
The woman, drawing a breath of
strength, turned to Sera Jean and pulled her
close. She pressed her lips to the girl's
forehead and Sera Jean ran an arm around
the slim waist, feeling her mother's breast
against her cheek.
"You be you, Sera." Sera Jean felt
warm breath against her hair. "Don't let
them push you somewhere you don't wan1
10 go - even if you're not sure there's any
be1ter place. Don't let them decide for you.
Be the best you can be - but you set the
standards. Don't let anyone else do that for
you."
They were silent for a moment before
Sera Jean's mother pulled softly away to
retrieve her bag and disappear on sure steps
over the worn stones.
Sera Jean sank down onto the wooden
stoop !hat led into lhe greenhouse. She
looked over her mother's garden and out
into lhe shadowy cove, dark almost all the
way to the top of the ridge where her
grandfather lay. There a rising moon had
just cast its blue-whiteness into lhe trees.
Rising, Sera Jean crossed the kitchen
and pulled open the door to the refrigerator.
She took from it eggs, red bell peppers, and
the soaking mung beans. She thumped the
small melon and made a face at the sound. It
seemed far from appetizing.
She washed the food, took down a
cutting board, and was placing a big bowl
before her on the table when she heard lhe
door open and shut and the tap of her
falher's step on lhe stone walk. His voice
drifted in, light and out of key singing a
little ditty.
The tall, drawn man entered between
stone and wood. His kind face brightened
into a sincere smile when his eyes met hers.
"Well, howdy, stranger."
"Hey, Duane."
- continued on p. 24
Fall 1986
�l;y
Martha
Lal4Tie
Overlock
n t e story that follows, I share wit you a persona
experience with death and transformation. Through this
experience I have learned more about trusting my i111uitille
wisdom and my inner voice. This experience may seem
surprising and somewhal paradoxical. I believe we are given
the information and experiences we need to live life nwre
fully. We are always changing .... always growing.
Manha l. Overlock
The season is Fall.. ... the time of change ..... of
iransformation.
I was on my way to get license plates for my car when
I saw Rick and Troy turning right onto Charloue Street As
they passed me, they stopped shon and threw it in reverse.
With an intense look on his face Rick said: "Ralph - you
remember Ralph? - He's missing! He went out in the woods
on Sunday and hasn't come back yet..... PRA Y!l"
At that moment my body turned ice cold. I did not
hear Rick say another word.....
Green light - oh yeah - I reached deep inside my being
and prayed with all that I am I prayed for life, for healing,
for strength and understanding.
My body was cold - so cold.... .I could not get warm.
I continued to pray, asking God to help Ralph, to
guide Rick and Troy in their search. To comfon me! To
wann my body!
I was unable to get my license plates because they
would not take personal checks. As I drove away from that
office I knew that I had 10 go out to look for him ..... I knew
I needed to drum.
As I walked into my apanment and phoned the office
to say I would not be in, my body slowly began to wann up.
I changed my clothes and scanned my mind to hear
where Rick thought Ralph had gone on Sunday. I heard
Town Mountain Road.
At this point in time I lived behind the Old Manor Inn.
I drove up the back roads to the Parkway. I got out of my
car and looked at the gravel to see if I could locate any tracks
from Rick's truck. I didn't know which way to go.....Once
again, I looked inside and asked "Where do I go?" I knew I
had to turn left onto the Parkway.
Driving.....driving .....higher and higher. I wanted to
be there already! I wanted to be in the woods looking for
Ralph .....I wanted to give that which be needed. I was
getting nervous and antsy. 1 had not seen anyone I knew and
I was already at Craggy-Gardens. I stopped and asked two
rangers, who were in their truck, if they bad any information
about a missing biker. They said they had heard some news
earlier in the morning and called the main dispatch 10 get
more details. They told me 1here was a car just past
Glassmine Falls that had been left since Sunday.
Instinctively I knew it was Ralph's car.
11 seemed an eternity to get 10 that tum-off. As I was
driving I reminded my self to remain centered and clear to
remain open to giving what is needed. I again asked for
strength and guidance. I asked for guidance as never before.
There were three men standing around their car talking
when I pulled up. I introduced myself and learned that these
men were federal and state authorities. I asked them if this
was Ralph's car. I did not know with my mind if it was or
not because I bad never seen Ralph drive .....in fact, I had
met Ralph only twice; once during the Summer Solstice
Gathering at Sam's Knob and once at the Nothing but
Natural store, just a few days earlier.
These men were a bit baffled by me. I could not tell
them what Ralph's last name was, where be lives, if that was
his car. Yet I knew deep inside that he was somewhere in
the woods.....alone.
I volunteered to go into the woods and start looking
for him and was told that it was necessary to wait for more
KATUAH- page 14
ople to arrive, so t at we cou
orm organize search
parties: that way, everyone would be in contact.
l felt frustrated .....I kept praying. I asked that the
people get here soon. I asked for patience and trust. I asked
for help.....
I got the feeling that these men thought Ralph had
committed a crime. Soon after I felt this they asked me if
Ralph was growing marijuana in the wa1ershed. My heart
screamed "NO!"..... my mind calmly answered: "No, I don't
think he was growing marijuana." Their reason for asking
was that three men were seen coming out of the watershed
area on Sunday. The watershed is off limits to hikers. The
men who were seen ran back into the woods and the ranger
never saw them again. He did see Ralph's car there on
Sunday and wondered about the connection. He said he had
spoken with some folks who had been hiking on the other
side of the parkway. They hadn't seen anyone all day. A
long time passed before I felt the au1horities believed that
Ralph just wanted to be in the woods.
I walked the trail with the ranger who had seen the
bikers. We both knew that he wasn't there. We also knew
that we had to look at all the options. While we were in the
woods, volunteer firemen and Forest Service people and
friends were gathering in the parking area. Formal search
parties were being formed. Rick and I were in the same
group. He could not believe I was there. He asked me how
I knew where to go. I told him I bad followed my instincts.
The whole experience of walking in the woods was
very grounding. In that grounded state I began to truly
understand the ebb and flow of life, nature, and my self. I
realized that everything and everyone has a purpose and it is
my responsibility to participate as fully as I am able.
I now understand why it was so imponant (or me to
know these truths. When we returned to the parking area we
were told that Ralph had been found. He'd fallen from the
waterfall. He was dead.
"O, Mother carry me. ....A chHd I will always be;
"O, Mother carry me.....Down to the sea."
One week Later, as friends and family gathered to
release Ralph's ashes and to say what they felt they needed to
say, I went back to the Parkway to play drums and pray
.....to say goodbye. I went to a place where I thought I'd
see the falls. It was so foggy that day that I could barely see
three feet in front of me. As I lit candles and bumed sage, I
asked for clarity. As I played the drums and sang, I asked
that my songs be heard. As I listened, I saw Ralph's energy
field dancing in the mists. He looked like "electric rain", free
and strong. He was seen on the same day in the same form
by another friend in Linville Gorge.
Months later I returned to the place where our
searching began. As I stood in the quiet of the night, under
e moon and stars, I listened. I could hear and feel the
ythms of life all around me. As I played my drum I felt the
ower of transformation sweeping through me. That feeling
was so strong I began to tremble. In that moment, I
experienced death being a part of life, a pan of the whole.
One is not possible without the other.....I respect life and I
live more fully; 1 respect death and the Crone does not bring
me fear. I did not know Ralph well while be was alive. Our
meetings were special and the connection strong. I learn
re about myself each time I think of him. I am grateful for
all the wonder-filled people I have met through Ralph. And I
pray for our ~cc.
~
~
//
Fall 1986
�The shape of all our fears
Turns fortune into dust
Our dreams into mist
Our grisly morlalily
Feeding on carrion hatred and disgust
Kalanu Ayeli'ski
Crunches the skulls of our desires
Its haunting cry
As ii tucks its wings
And dives into the darkness within
Congeals the blood
Stiffens the limbs
And shivers in the marrow of the soul
Kalanu Ayeli'ski
Darkness that makes light bright
THE RA VEN MOCKER
When of the Great Mystery
Motion was born
The world was
And because there was
There was not; One became two
And Kalanu Ayeli'ski
Spread its dark wings
The Raven Mocker
To keep the Balance
And give meaning to the au of life
In fear the greatest of conjurors
Cries out:
"Kalanu Ayeli'ski!" the shadow
Draws near, ruthlessly, sharp claws
Ripping out the truth
The dripping heart of the matt~r
And with a triumphant croak
Holding it l1igh for all to see
Kalanu Ayeli'ski
Greatest of teachus! Greatest of healers!
One day we will all
Life itself ordains
Peer into the malevolent dark eyes
And go shrieking down the blackness
That opens into the dauJing glare of manifestation
Kalanu Ayeli'ski, through you
"We are reborn!"
Say "KAH·la-noo
KATIJAH - page 15
ah·yell·LIH-sld" (Clltrokle)
Fall 1986
�The Sweat Lodge
We have been told that when the people of the
dominant culture came to this land, they subdued the native
people of Tunle Island in a very cruel way. They took away
the native people's land, and they took away their culture as
well. They tried to make over the native people in their
image, acting as if they were doing them a favor.
We have been told that when we speak of spiritual
things, "Religion" as it is called among those of the dominant
culture, it should be remembered that these are things of the
hcan and the mind - the only things the native people have
left. So when the native people open their heans and speak
of these things, it should be remembered that these are very,
very sacred matters. If anyone truly respectS the native
people and their way with the land, he or she should learn
everything they can about these ways and what these ways
mean to the Indian people before they try to practice them.
We have been told that 10 many of the native tribes of
Tunle Island, including the Cherokee of the Katiiah
province, the sweat lodge is a sacred thing. Its use is for
cleansing and healing, not only for the physical but also for
the spiritual self. At the same time it pulls people out of their
individualism.
Many white people are now going into the sweat
lodge, trying to capture that good experience. They wish to
come together; they wish to feel pan of the whole. When
that experience happens, people feel exhilarated and they
wani to hug their neighbors, and they feel good about the
spiritual things of the world. But we have been told that that
is only the external experience. Much goes into the sweat
lodge to make that experience happen. It is more than
hearing some rocks and putting them under a cover. There is
a lot more to it than many people know, and those people
should not take it lightly.
We have been told that among the Cherokees,
apprentices who were learning to lead a sweat lodge would
pull rocks, cover the lodge, dig fire pits, and tend the fire for
many years - often 15 to 20 years - before they could "pour
water" for a sweat lodge. During that time they were allowed
to sit outSidc the lodge and listen to what went on inside and
to what was said. Although they learned all the mechanical
practices very quickJy, this was to teach the apprentices that
there was more happening in the sweat lodge than the
mechanical chores of its preparation.
We have been told that the fire keeper, for example,
fed and cared for the fire in a very sacred manner. The fire
pit was used for no other purpose. To the Indian people the
fire was a very sacred thing. It was a little bit of the sun
upon tbe Earth, and it also attracted the spirits to the lodge.
We have been told that the one who "poured water,"
the person who was to lead the sweat lodge, would lay a
spirit trail from the fire, across the altar at the door of the
lodge, and into the lodge. That line was not to be crossed.
That person would use mixtures of tobacco, cedar, and sage
- medicine plants - to mark the spirit trail. He would ask all
the spirits to come. saying "We are doing a sacred thing; a
sacred happening is happening here tonight, and these
tw<>-leggeds are coming to join us all."
We have been told that if one was above the lodge
looking down at it with a spiritual vision, it would look like a
turtle - with the fire being its head, the spirit trail its neck,
and the lodge as its shell. If people go across the spirit trail,
they cut the trail, and the lodge will not work.
We have been told, too, that when the people gathered
the rocks to be heated for the sweat lodge, they would not
gather just a.ny rock. They would have a sense of which
rocks had power, which rocks had people in them. They
would bring only these special rocks to the fire pit. When
the rocks wCTC heated, they would be laid in a hole in the
center of the sweat lodge in a ccnain way. The first seven
were dedicated to the directions, with the one in the center
being for the Great Mystery. Each rock was "doctored"
specially, and laid in its proper place. Everything was done
for a reason. The rocks arc special people in the lodge
because they are carrying a bit of the sun with them. These
are all good things that come together to make the sweat
lodge a sacred thing.
We have been told that the one who pours the water on
the stones is a channel for the spirits and a guide for the other
people in the lodge. But at the same time this one should be
a part of the group. He or she should know that the power
they feel is not theirs alone. It is the power of the Spirit, and
the power of the group. ,If they become confused by their
own ego, then nothing will come through them.
We have been told that the one pouring the water
should know when there is something bad in the lodge, and
he or she should know how to get rid of it, because the sweat
lodge is a cleansing and healing place, and people often carry
a lot of negativity in there. Things come up in some people
that are dangerous to the others in t.h e lodge. The one
pouring water is responsible for the two-leggeds in the
lodge, and there is a real chance that one could be badly hun.
When someone is ca!Jing the spirits and docs not know what
he or she is doing, it comes back on them. Sometimes it
hurts people - and not by being burned on the stones, either!
The sweat lodge is strong medicine, we were told, and
the only thing it should be used for is medicine. People
should know that before they come into the lodge. It is not a
social function. People should come in there to have a
spiritual experience. Everyone who goes into the lodge takes
responsibility for what they are doing, and the one who
pours water takes responsibility for the energies that they call
down. It is a serious thing.
�To the Cherokee, we were told, all sacred things
happen in fours and sevens. So there are four rounds to the
sweat lodge. The first two rounds are to adjust to the place,
to adjust to the people, to see how hot it is, and to bring up
all the things the people want to be rid of. But the last two
rounds are to work with the power of the spirits and the
power of the people in the lodge. People should speak out in
the lodge and participate! The energy the people put into the
lodge is the energy they get ou.t of it. They should try to sing
the songs even if they do not know the words. It is the
people singing together in unison that caJJs the Spirit, not
their voices. We were told that the Spirit Likes singing.
The sweat lodge can do good for a lot of people, we
have been told. It does good not just for the individuals in
the lodge but for the people as a whole, for the sweat lodge is
a very powerful thing, and it puts a lot of power behind the
prayers that are made. It 1s a velucle tor common voices.
When people truly "drop their robes" in a spiritual sense and
join their energies freely, there is incredible power. Then it
is no longer one person. It is 12, 15, ...20 people, and if
they can all move evenly and not be self-indulgent, they can
have a Jot of effect upon the planet and the situations we face
today.
We have been told that the sweat lodge was also used
by tribal people in ancient Europe. The Finnish people arc
well-known for their use of the sauna, and this practice is
descended from a time when it was a sacred cleansing. The
German people had a form of the sweat lodge in their culture,
and the Jews also used a purification ceremony involving the
sweat. The sweat lodge has been a pan of many cultures
across the world. It has always been related to cleansing and
healing. Even now, the Laplanders that herd reindeer in the
far nonh of Scandinavia have a spiritual sweat lodge, as do
nomadic Mongolian people in the steppes of Russia.
We have been told to remember that native American
people are not trying to deny anybody their tradition when
they caution people of other races about using the sweat
lodge. The sweat lodge is a gift of the Spirit, and it should
be t.reAted as such. But the native culture of Tun le Island and
of Katilah developed in this way. It is the gift of the native
people to talk with the spirits in this way, and that is to be
respected. If a Cherokee did a sweat with the Sioux, he
would sweat m the manner of the Sioux. That kind of
respect was basic. It was a traditional thing. In the same
way, a white person should not take a sacred pipe into the
lodge without understanding it. fr is the wrong thing to do,
and it could be hannfuJ. One does not give a loaded pistol to
a child.
We have been told that women in their "moon lodge"
(during the time of their menstrual period) should not be in a
sweat lodge. This is hard to explain to women who come
from a culture that considers a woman's flow dirty, unclean,
painful, and inconvenient.
Women arc very powerful beings, we have been told,
and their mosr powerful rime is when the menstrual blood
flows. Why else are men so afraid of women? European
men have always suppressed women because they have
sensed the women's power and have seen it as a threat
instead of a sacred and glorious thing.
This we are told: we all suck the breast - man,
woman, and child. But we all cannot offer the breast.
Women are sacred beings. But in the dominant culture
women have nor been taught that. They have always been
suppressed, and having a period of flow was something
inconvenient to men, and somehow it came 10 be considered
unclean. lt has been this way for generations.
But we were told that a woman's moon time is not a
negative thing at all. The reproductive cycle is a very sacred
process. Women arc the mothers of everything. Everything
comes through the mother. The moon time cannot be
separated from ovulation time. During the moon rime, the
products of ovulation are discharged. It is a sign that a
woman has the power to create life, and it is a very sacred
thing.
A woman going through this time in her cycle, we
were told, is more powerful than the sweat lodge. The lodge
is a cleansing, healing process. A woman at this time does
not need to be cleansed. She does not need to be healed.
She is in a sacred rime - her most powerful and strong rime.
It is so powerful that it interferes with the power of the
lodge. She nullifies it It is self-indulgent for a woman even
to want to sweat at that rime. She should not do anything at
that rime. And she should not be interfered with sexually at
that time. Perhaps she should go off to fast, meditate, and
pray. When she is at her most powerful time, that
reproductive spiritual energy should be used for good things.
We have been told that one person cannot tell another
person what to do, because each one must follow his or her
own path and take responsibility for their own actions. But
the native sweat lodge must be seen in light of the whole
culture within which it grew. To take just one element of the
sweat lodge ceremony without being aware of the whole
context will lead to misunderstandings and mistakes.
Spiritual matters are affairs of the bean. As such, they
cannot be told, but must be experienced and felt. If one does
not know how to do a sweat lodge, he or she must find a
lodge someplace where they know the person is doing it in a
spiritual way. lf this is not available, they may take a sauna,
take a plunge in the river or creek, and when the time com~
to sweat, then it will be time to sweat.
(/
�....
·······-·········-············:·~./;.>
.....·· .:
·········· .... ·
......
NATURAL
....···· ........···.·.:::::<-·········.'
WORLD
:"'
.:·
NEWS
RNER OTTERS RETURN
by George Ellison
BAD NEWS FOR BEARS
N11unal World News Service
THE DROUGHT
N11unal World News Service
Was it because of holes in the Earth's
ozone layer reponed over the South Pole?
Was it the "greenhouse effect" caused by air
pollutants? Or was it simply a fluctuation in
the normal weather cycles?
Whatever the cause, the drought of
1986 was unquestionably the worst ever
recorded in the southeast.
TV A
measurements show that the rainfall for the
past year and for the past two-year period
were the lowest recorded in the nearly 100
years records have been kept In the upper
Tennessee Valley 71.5 inches of rainfall
have been measured in the past 26 months
out of a normal 112 inches of rain.
Throughout the whole valley only 32.3
inches of rain fell during the past year
compared to a norm of 51.7 inches.
The worst of the drought occurred
this spring and summer. In Asheville
during the time between January and July
20, only 11.5 inches of rainfall were
measured - less than half the norm of 27 .2
inches for that period.
Springs have gone dry in the
mountains that had provided water for
families for as long as anyone could
remember. In Jackson County, on the
Nonh Carolina side of the Great Smoky
Mountains National Park, it was reponcd
that 1200 springs went dry and that
well-drillers were working o\>c:nime.
The dry weather has placed particular
stress on small farmers. Already threatened
by a poor balance of prices on the farm
market and unsympathetic federal policies,
for many family farms the drought has been
the last, dry straw. Particularly in the
Piedmont, farms have been closing out in
numbers unprecedented since the Grea"'
Depression.
·
fl
KA1UAH- page 18
As many as 200-300 black bear cubs
in the Great Smoky Mountains National
Park are in danger of starving this winter
due to a poor acorn crop caused by the
severe drought this spring and summer.
Black bear cxpen Dr. Mike Pellon of
the University of Tennessee and the
Tennessee Wildlife Commission repon that
acorns and other hard mast, staples of the
black bear's diet, arc in shon supply. The
mast shortage will cause both adult bears
and cubs to roam funher in search of food
this fall, tbus making them more vulnerable
to bunters.
In the mountains, Nonh Carolina's
bear hunting season is from October 13 November 22, and December 15 - January
1, making ii the longest bear hunting season
in the Southeast. Realizing that an early fall
bunting season jeopardizes the female bears,
both Virginia and Tennessee have limited
their hunting seasons to the last week in
December, after most of the females have
gone into their dens for the winter.
Warburton's 1981-82 study of the
Pisgah Bear Sanctuary revealed that of all
the bears being monitored there, 60% of
them were killed, and 75% of those killed
were females. Pisgah Disaict Ranger Art
Rowe has indicated that of the 15 bears
currently being monitored in a North
Carolina State University study, only three
are females, and only one is of breeding
age.
To express your concerns about the
survival of the black bear and to request that
the bunting season be limited or eliminated.
write to:
Paul Wilms
Dept of Environmental Management
NC Dept. of Natural Resources and
Community Development
Raleigh, NC 27611
For more information, contact
Paul Gallimore
Bear Action Nerwor:k:
Long Branch Environmental
Education Center
Rt. 2, Box 132
Leicester, NC 28748
Otters were once common throughout
North America, but by the late I 800's they
had become rare in the streams in western
Nonh Carolina and cast Tennessee. By the
time of the establishment of the Great
Smoky Mountains National Park in 1934,
the otters (or "oners" as they were called by
the native mountaineers) had nearly been
exterminated from the Smokies.
A group of three were reponed in
CataJoochce in 1927. One was trapped
within the park area in 1931, and a pair was
reported on different occasions near
Elkmont in 1934. Still another was reported
near Mount Sterling in 1936. But the last
reliable sighting was made in 1934, the year
the park was established.
In 1he ensuing years, the indigenous
otter population in Tennessee apparently
was eliminated. In North Carolina, they
have remained relatively abundant
throughout the Coastal Plain and sporadic in
the Piedmont
In a program under the coordination
of Jane Griess of the University of
Tennessee, 16 river otters were obtained
from a trapper operating in the New Bern
area for reintroduction into the Great
Smokies National Park. They were fitted
with radio transmitters, and on March 10
were released in five male-female pairs a1
intervals along Abrams Creek below the
Cades Cove section of the park. One of the
older females died after release and was
replaced with another female.
In all, there are about 80 square miles
of lowland streams in 18 drainages within
the Smokies that are considered potential
otter territory.
Abrams Creek was chosen as the
release sire because it represented the most
suitable habitat - pools, long stretches of
slow-moving moderately deep water,
waterfalls, riffies, and rapids.
Griess has been monitoring the
activities of the otters on a regular basis and
will continue 10 do so until July 1987. They
apparently are adapting, using old
groundhog boles for shelter a.nd feeding off
crayfish, frogs, fish, and snapping turtles.
If the project on Abrams Creek is
successful, similar reintroductions in other
suitable areas of the Smokies could follow.
-excerpted with permission from a reporl
In the Asheville Citizen
I
Fall 1986
�LOW-GLOW LOW BLOW
Narunl World News S~icc
"PINSOUTHERN GOVERNORS ASSOCIATION@IT/ON
THE DUMP ON THE CHUMP!"
5Pf0Al
$
-JUST CUTOUT THE
llAZAl1DQ.IS WASTE
o:wrAIWERS Bao,..t.
Now il's official. The eight states of
the Southeastern Low-level Nuclear Waste
Compact have met and have chosen to
award Nonh Carolina the honor of being
host state for all the low-level radioactive
wastes (LLRW's) produced by the member
states over the next 20 yea.rs.
The Nonh Carolina state government
will now begin the unsavory business of
finding some county to stick with a landfill
that would eventually receive 37% of the
nation's low-level nuclear waste. Five sites
in the Piedmont are among those under
consideration. And a popular movement of
citizens is gearing up to sec that some
county will not have to eat eight states'
low-level radioactive trash.
The Conservation Council of Nonh
Carolina (CCNC) is calling for a state-wide
ban on shallow burial of LLRW's and is
demanding that the legislature adopt location
standards for radioactive waste disposal
facilities. While state regulations call for
"engineered barriers" to control the wastes,
there is no mention of what these barriers
would be, and the CCNC is calling for
public definition of this term.
The group is also asking the state
legislature to require Nonh Carolina's main
nuclear waste producers, Duke Power and
Carolina Power and Light (CP&L), to take
responsibility for their own radioactive
wastes. These two private companies, that
m1xs~P1~.
IU~ATLEfT.
1'l>JU5T 8l.llJl>f()U)I
A11t> GO~ /T!.. ..
are turning huge profits, produce 97% of
North Carolina's LLR W's by curies
(radioactive content) and 87% of the state's
waste output by volume. State disposal of
their radioactive wastes amounts to an
enormous government subsidy to encourage
the production of nuclear energy and to
discourage energy conservation and waste
control.
The Jackson County group Citizens
for a Choice on Nuclear Waste has already
begun to circulate petitions calling on the
NC Legislature to 'either pull out
immediately from the Southeastern Compact
or to submit the decision to a binding
referendum by the state's elect0rate.
"The compact is a poor concept," said
Avram Friedman of CCNW, "because it
encourages irresponsible production of
nuclear wastes. We would like to do away
with the compact idea altogether, so that
each state will have to become more aware
of the effects of nuclear waste generation.''
Contact:
Conservation Council of NC
1024 Washington SL
Raleigh, NC 27605
for petitions:
Citizens for a Choice on
Nuclear Waste
P.O. Box 653
Dillsboro, NC 28725
··-
BUNCOMBE COMMISSIONERS CONSIDER COMPOST
N11ural World News Service
ln the past winter the Buncombe County
Commissioners were considering
mass-burn incineration as the method to
handle the county's solid waste (see KatGah
#12). They had contracted a $10,000 study
to investigate the feasibility of
co-incineration of sludge and solid waste.
To people concerned about Asheville's air
quality and the economics of waste
recycling things were looking grim.
However, through the effons of Paul
Gallimore of the Long Branch
Environmental Education Center, the
commissioners were introduced to Elliot
Epstein, a former researcher for the US
Department of Agriculture research station
in BeltsVillc, MD. On April 17 Epstein gave
a presentation to the commissioners on the
"static-pile" composting system he
developed and "refuse-derived fuel" (RDF)
systems. Both these systems are methods of
turning waste into useful and beneficial
products.
In the static-pile composting method
treated sewage sludge and solid wastes are
heaped into piles around a framework of
KATUAII - page 19
pipes through which air is blown into the
pile. This sets up conditions for microbial
action that quickly convens the wastes into a
soil conditioner rich in organic matter.
Refuse-derived fuel systems process
waste paper and cardboard into briquetS,
pellets, or "fluff' to be burned in boilers to
produce steam and/or electricity by
co-generation. These materials could be sold
to industrial customers, or, according to
local engineer Erik Nielson, it would be
profitable to build a boiler and sell the
trash-produced electricity into the grid.
The commissioners were impressed
enough with Epstein's vision and expertise
t0 offer him $15,000 to study the possibility
of developing composting and RDF systems
in Buncombe County.
Epstein announced the results of his study
to a meeting of the commissioners on
August 12. They expressed their approval
of his findings by extending his contract by
$38,000 to do preliminary market research
for selling municipal compost and RDF
materials and to design a composting plant
that would meet the county's needs.
The future for waste recycling in Asheville
looks brighter indeed. The city could now
possibly be the home for the first
composting and RDF plant in the
southeast.Yet citizen input is still needed on
this issue. It is imponant that people
encourage the county commissioners in their
decision, for, if they proceed on this path,
they will be breaking the trail for other
urban centers in the southeast. They need to
know they are acting with the support of
their constituents.
It is also imponant that the NC Dept. of
Natural Resources and Community
Development bold public hearings on the
disposal of sewage sludge by the
Metropolitan Sewer District Authority, an
autonomous agency in Buncombe County
regulated by the state and the EPA. This
may be requested by writing t0:
Nonh Carolina Dept. of Natural Resources
and Community Development
Division of Waste Management
/
512 N. Salisbury St.
Raleigh, NC 27611
Fall 1986
�NATURAL
WORLD
NEWS
USFS 15 YEAR PLAN
Nallll'lll World News Service
The US Forest Service has developed
a revised 15-year management plan for the
Nantahala-Pisgah National Forests area.
The flood of commentS received when the
first draft of the 15-year plan was released
influenced the shape of the new plan.
"We're in a tough spot," said Larry
Hayden, ranger at the Wayab District station
who participated in the revision of the
15-year plan."We got a lot of feedback from
many different interest groups, and
somewhere in there is one tiny point where
we can balance all these different demands.
We are looking for that one tiny point."
The demands of local residents were
reflected in a reduced area of timber
production, a greater emphasis on
non-motorized recreation, better bear
habitat, modified logging methods, and new
management criteria 10 better protect running
creeks.
The greatest change was in the area
available for timber cutting. Where
previously 800,000 acres had been open to
logging, the modified plan proposes only
550,000 acres of timber production. This
means that 250,000 acres of forest would be
taken out of timber production altogether, at
least for the duration of the plan.
However, timber quotas were not
low~red, !Deaning that the areas open to
logging wtll be cut more heavily in the next
15 years. The acreage to be cut is set at
7,360 acres, which is acmally an increase
over the amount proposed in the original
draft. Of this area, 2,500 acres are to be cut
by the shelterwood method, whereby 60%
of the timber is removed in a first cut, and
the remainder is taken out in a second
cutting either 10 or 60 years later
depending on the management plan for th;
particular site. In some areas this is being
done to help regenerate the oonhern red
oak, a valuable timber tree which has been
losing ground in the national forests. In
other areas shelterwood cutting would be
done strictly to alleviate the ugliness of a
large clearcut in an area visible to the public.
Only 360 acres of the two national
forests are to be cut by the group selection
method, in which small groups of trees of
both good timber and cull grade wood are
removed to favor the growth of the next
generation of trees. In the public outcry
against clearcutting, most of those who
proposed an alternarive
had group
selection in mind. Allotting only 360 acres
could be seen either as political tokenism or
as an experiment that might lead to changes
in forest management in the future.
KATUAH - page 20
Another change for the better was a
substantial reduction in proposed road
construction. Instead of planning to build
156 miles of road per year from a $5.1
million transportation budget, the USPS
now plans to build 40 miles of road per year
and spend only $1.2 million on
transportation needs. However, the
reconstruction of existing roads is to be
doubled from the original proposal of 28
miles per year to 55 miles per year. That
again reflects the decision that areas already
in use will be worked harder, but that less
territory will be open to human incursion.
The establishment of new directives
for a riparian (running creek) management
zone was one of the major advances of the
new plan. These directives clearly state that
trout habitat is to be maintained in the
national forests. Specifically, there is to be
no logging for 30 feet on either side of a
year-round creek, and between 30 and 100
feet l~gging is to be done only by the group
selection method to lessen the impact on
creek life. This will remove a substantial
amount of land from timber production and
will do much to ensure that streams are
running clear as they leave the national
forests.
Five areas in the forest, a total of
26,920 acres, are under study as wilderness
areas by an act of Congress. The legislature
will decide whether or not these areas are to
receive a wilderness designation, but in the
new plan the Forest Service will recommend
that the Lost Cove, Harpers Creek, and the
Craggy Mountains areas be set aside as
wilderness. Also written into the new plan
was a promise that the Overflow and
Sno~bird ai:eas will remain virtually
u~d1sturbed 1f they are not designated
wilderness and left in Forest Service
control.
Under the modified plan, 75% of the
Nantahala-Pisgab National Forests area will
be reserved for "dispersed recreation" (not
open to vehicles). This is a higher
percentage than in the original proposal, but
the figure is misleading, because it includes
areas that would be clearcut and then closed
to traffic. It's not much fun trying to walk
across a new clearcut!! However, this does
ensure that the bears, turkeys, and other
wil~life will have a larger part of the
nauonal forest for their habitat free of
human disturbance, a very important
consideration.
There is no review period planned for
the revised draft of the ForestS Services
15-year plan for the Nantahala-Pisgab
forest. "We've already heard what everyone
has had to say, and this modified plan is our
best attempt to respond to that, "said Larry
Hayden.
The completed final draft of the plan
and an environmental assessment is
scheduled to go to Regional Forester John
Alcock September 15 for approval.The
public will have 45 days to file appeals once
the plan has become official, probably in
November.
. Despite the USPS plan to pass over a
review by the people, it is irnponant for us
to make our thoughts and feelings known.
A summary of the modified plan and a
description of the new management
catagories is available from:
US Forest Service
P.0.Box 2750
Asheville, NC 28802
USFS OPEN HOUSE
Natural World News Service
The US Forest Service held "open
house" presentations on the modified
15-year plan for the Nantahala-Pisgah
~ari?nal Forests on August 7 at the eight
distnct ranger stations. The sessions were
billed as "informative". Announcements
said that rangers would be happy to discuss
the P,lao ~d "any concerns you might
have , but tt was made clear that the review
period was over and the next chance the
public will have for input on the shape of
the next 15 years in the national forests will
be during the formal appeal period after the
decree bas already become official.
Nevertheless, delegations from the
Western North Carolina Alliance went to all
eight of the USFS district offices to make
themselves heard.
At the Wayah District station in
Franklin, NC, Clarence Hall of Sylva raised
the central area of concern to the
WNCA:"Why are there only 360 acres
alloted to group selection cutting? That's
only a drop in the bucket!"
Rangers responded by saying that
group selection cutting was economically
viable on only the best sites, and that the
practice of clearcutting would be modified
w~~~ver they c:onsidered it feasible by
util1zmg the pracnce of shelterwood cutting.
Where a second cutting would be
uneconomical at some of the sbellerwood
sites, the Forest Service plans to kill cull
trees by injecting herbicides to achieve an
even-aged stand of young trees. This plan
met resistance from the Alliance members
who favor all-aged management as being a
more natural method of silviculture. The
res.idents also objecied to the long-lasting
poisons that would be introduced into the
forest system and to the fact that the dead
trees would be left unused.
Rangers also avoided a question
about mining and mineral rights under the
new plan. "It's always been the law that if
mineral rights are privately owned, the
Forest Service has to provide access to the
mining site. That won't change," said a
ranger. "But mining is not a pressing issue
anymore " The WNCA members remained
skeptical.
The residents also criticized the Forest
Service for cutting back on road
construction and closing parts of the
national forest to recreational traffic. The
Alliance is in favor of more open roads in
the national forests, a sentiment not shared
by other environmental groups.
"Thirty-five years ago," Clarence
said, "I was out hunting squirrels, and I
came across some men up on Greens Creek
killing trees with those injection hatchets. I
begged and I pleaded with them not to do
that, but they said that's what had to be
done to manage the forest.
"Recently at a meeting I talked about
that day, and Lewis Kearney, the district
ranger, said at that time that killing those
trees had been a bad mistake.
"I'm afraid that years from now,
when ~ of us are g~ne, people may say the
same thing about this clearcutting. We don't
want to let that happen."
The Western North Carolina Alliance
can be reached by mail at: P.0.Box 117,
Murphy, NC 28906.
Fall 1986
�Review
THE WIT A~D WISDOM OF RA NGER
DOUG
Woodslore and Wj!dwooc!s Wjsdom by
Doug Elliott (Burnsville, NC 28714; Rt 4,
Box 137; Possum Productions: 1986) $7.95
This book is a savory stew of the
knowledge Doug Elliott has accumulated
during a dec ade of woods-stomping,
jungle-jumping, and tidepoo!-splashing
throughout eastern Tunic Island and Central
America. Woodslore and Wjldwoods
Wisdom is actually a compendium of Doug
Elliott's greatest hits, as much of the
material has been published before. But
although you may have seen the classic
"How to Use Road Kills" in the ~
Eanh Catalog of years past, and unless you
are a regular reader of Wildlife jn North
Carolina magazine, much or all of the
material in this Ranger Doug reader will be
new and fascinating.
lt's best, of course, 10 meet and to know
Doug and to walk in the woods with him,
getting the benefit of his knowledge or the
wild, his hilarious stories, his infectious
laugh, and the twinkle in his eye. But as an
introduction to Doug and whm he knows,
Wooc!slore and Wildwoo<ls W jsdom will do
j ust fine.
He covers a variety of topics from his
beloved possums through old-timey apples
and the infamous ramp plant of the Katiiah
hills. He tells us how to make a rope and a
basket from natural materials found in the
wild, and talks about herbs, orchids, bears,
ginseng, and millipedes. One feature is an
introduction to the wondrous underground
world beneath the forest excerpted from
Doug's book R22!1. And there's more .....
There is little rhyme or reason 10 this
book. Its topics are as varied and as
far-flung as Doug Elliott's wandering mind.
But Doug has a unique and deep perspective
on the world, and seeing it through his eyes
is always educational and fun. His new
book is a wonderful collection of some of
the high points of Doug E!liou's literary
career, fu!J of woods-sense, common sense,
and humor.
But ya still got to meet the boy.....
\Vood~/ore and Wildwaods Wisdom is
avai /able for $7.95 plus $1.00 postage for
each copy o rdered f rom Possum
Productions; Rr. 4 , Box 137; Burnsville,
NC 28714
Also still available is Doug's book B.Juu.s..:..
An Un<lererollnd Botany and Foraeer's
Gllkk., an excellent guide co identifying and
using the different roots of Katuah's field
and woodland plants, illustrated with
beauriful drawings. $8.00 plus $1 .00
postage for each copy ordered from Possum
Productions.
..-.
An Interview with Elizabeth Callari
continued from p. S
And then there is that period of rest right
before you go into labor...and it's very
quiet In dying, there's also that period of
res t before the work really begins.
Twenty-four hours before death. I notice a
shift in the person It's usually a hiatus and then, I know, aha, okay now we're
really starting.
I usually share it with the staff Watch this because this is what's really
happening. Notice thar. The last guest who
was here - her name was Geneva - that
morning that she died, I went in... it was
about 5:00 in the morning. I ran my fingers
over her arm - which I do a lot - and it felt
very strange. I had never felt anything like
this before. I thought to myself that her
body is just getting rid of the last of the
toxins in order for it to be healed. Death is
the ultimate healer, you know. And so, I
had everybody with the staff touch
her ...and feel rhat something was different,
very differenr. She died around 3:00 that
afternoon.
When I go into the room and I feel as
though death is coming close, we sran what
is called a vigil. The staff comes together those who can, you know - sometimes we
are there 24 hours, so we take turns. We
pu!J up chairs and sit around the bed, light
candles. and then do some meditative
reading. Sometimes we read aloud.
Sometimes we read quietly. It doesn't
matter, they still get the message. If people
like to have the Bible read, we read the
Bible. You know, whatever their reality is.
It all disappears anyway, but whatever they
can relate to during that time is fine. So they
move into this space in a very gentle way
and they're surrounded by people who love
them, who are not going to stop the
process. You know it's very difficult to die
when there is someone standing there
saying, "no.no.no, r can't live without
you."
Nobody leaves until it's time so don't
interfere, just don't interfere. If you 're
having a tough rime, it's better that you go
KATUAH-page21
into the other room just so you don 't
interfere with your thoughts. Just your
thoughts are going to stop what's
happening.
The vigil, I think, is very beauuful
and that time is so exciting. I know what is
happening and I know that incredible
beauty, that 'ahhh', that 'what it's all about'
is taking place. Careful of your attachments
as you go into your dyi ng process because
whatever attachment you have, that's what
you're going to be drawn 10 afterwards. So
release all your attachments while you're
living, be totally involved, but not attached
to anything, not even to your concept of
God because your concept of God is going
to change as you go through this process.
~'
And if you're attached to your concept of
God, the way it is right now, you're going
to put up resistance and resistance causes
pain - this is a kind of pain that no
medication takes care of.
In the first two years, I was pretty
much doing this work by myself. Now in
February of this year, the volunteers really
Started coming and I believe that it worked
that way because of all the issues I had to
work out Until they got worked out, the
volunteers weren't going to come.
Some of them came because they are
so afraid of death ...and I have to admire
them because most people step around the
issue and don't walk in. These people come
because they are afraid of death are walking
right into it and they're growing. We all are.
The guests who are here are our teachers.
It's not someone out there who has a book
in front of them who is our teacher. These
are our teachers. That's their gift to us. We
give them the gift of love and caring for
them and they give us the gift of life.
The food we prepare here is prepared
very consciously and I ask that no one
prepare it if they're angry because that goes
right into the food. If there is a day when
you're upset about something, it's best you
don't be in the kitchen. And when I was by
myself and I was upset for some reason, I
didn't cook either. It's bener 10 open a can
of soup or wh atever and hope that the
person who processed that soup was happy
that day. This is another reason that the
people get well for whatever period of time.
Food is lovingly prepared and it comes from
our gardens, when they want to eat that kind
of food. Now, also, people can eat
whatever they want to eat here but we offer
them a good, cleansing type diet. Usually,
they come to us with so many chemicals in
their bodies...it's like shovelling through a
whole pile of stuff to get to the essence of
who they are. Very often, people who come
here go off of much of the medication they
bring with them. They just don't need it.
You don 't need anti-depressants when
you're here.
We encourage people who come here
10 take responsibility for their life and their
death. And in taking responsibility for your
death, you make the final decisions. You
don't want somebody else to do that So we
sit down when it's appropriate. Intuitively, I
know when it's appropriate - when the time
is right There is that linle clue that they give
and so I pick up on it. 'What would you
like? Who would you like to have speak?'.
Details. We work on the details.
You know, when you are sitting with
someone who is dying, you don't need an
education in anything except to be able to
love...and not judge what's happening. It's
their game...it's their play. Let lhm..do it.
But be there for them when they need you.
And if it means crawling into bed and
holding them and rocking them while
they're going through this, then that's what
you do. If it means leaving them totally
alone, then ~ what you do.
Fall 1986
�DRUMMING
LETTERS TO KA TUAH
Dear KatCiah,
Here are some thoughts that arise when thinking about
the "Death and Dying" issue you mention in your note.
Death is a familiar aspect of our lives. At rimes death is
perceived as being especially "close" when a person or being
close to us dies. It is suggested that famiUariry and our
perceptions are not the same as an understanding of death.
We have rituals, stories, poems, and pictures to deal with
death, and still the mystery remains. These comments,
influenced by Krishnamurti and others, are offered with a
view of death as a necessary and integral part of life. In this
view, any aucmpt to separate death from life introduces
violence, a violence that may contribute to the fears and lack
of understanding that are commonly associated with death.
Furthermore, it is suggested that environmental, personal,
social and political conditions are subject to the same basic
considerations. That is, because of a lack of a realistic view
of the world and experience, we tend to deal with familiar
patterns as separace aspeccs of reality and experience a
kaleidoscopic world based on discrimination through
separation. When separation is recognized as being violent, it
is no1 surprising that violence is rampant in the world that we
help to create.
Divide and conqucr--a military maxim also applied
with dramatic results in the laboratory. What is conquered
with division? Wholeness seems to be "conquered".
However, all wars, every experiment, are conducted in a
context that remains whole. Division represents a local
perturbation in the fabric of reality, but the over·all context
prevails. Only those near the division experience the stress of
separating forces. The violence associated with separation is
a localized phenomenon. The impact of such violence can be
moderated by recognizing the more general reality in which
the localized separation occurs.
One might suggest that the violence associated with
nuclear war is not localized, that it includes the entire earth.
True, however, the earth is an extremely small part of the
universe and can be viewed as a highly localized
phenomenon in the general scheme of things.
We are somewhat familiar with the earth and have a
growing understanding of the connectedness of the many
systems on the eanb. Native Americans and ecologists
recognize this connectedness and the violence that appears
when we attempt to separate the many aspects of local reality
on Eanh. So it is with life and death. To consider death
"separately" does violence to the unity of life and death. We
not only breathe "out", we also breathe "in". To understand
inspiration fully, we must include expiration.
You may recognize the Taoist perspective in these
comments. Yang alone or Yin alone are out of balance. When
Yang and Yin are in balance, the Tao is realized and Yang
and Yin are no longer discemablc. The violence of separation
is expressed in classifications which emphasize Yangness
and Yinness without recognizing the Tao as transcending
these aspects of division.
As we consider death, or the familiar stories and rituals
that humans have developed around biological death, it may
be well to recognize the nature of the violence possible in
KATUAH · page 22
such considerations. As death and life arc blended, the
possibility of transcending the localized violence presents
itself. Poems, stories, rituals, and pictures can be useful
pointers to that which is beyond and in our limited
assumptions. HO.
Best to you,
John Artley
Karuah folks,
I am impressed and appreciative of the work you are
doing. Your journal is a backbone of strength and unity for
the bioregion and myself. I enjoy reading a journal in which I
am so consistently, practically, philosophically, and
spiritually aligned. I was concerned however, that J. Lynn
Mackey's review, "Deep Ecology or Shallow Moralism?", in
the Wintcr-86 issue might inadvertently have presented a
distorted picture of Deep Ecology as a movement
Deep Ecology, particularly in the western states, has
become a key concept in both the bioregional and radical
environmental movements. Deep Ecology, inclusive of
concepts of a deeper and deeper questioning of dominant
paradigm values, a lifestyle simple in means and rich in ends,
reverence for earth communities, and the interrelationship
and intrinsic value of all life (animals, plantS, rocks, rivers)
on all levels, is entirely conducive to the resacralization and
reinhabitation of bioregions.
Deep Ecology has been the name for a continuously
developing body of environmental thought coalescing in
front line direct action by bioregionally centered individuals
and groups like Earth First!. It has also functioned as a
difficult "middle groundn, a transf~nn~ve area of ideas, for
lhose reaching for a deeper connecaon wuh the Earth but soil
grappling with the misconceptions of the dominant culture
itself.
Unfortunately a bioregionaJly specific, close-to-earth
lifestyle by itself does not necessarily inspire a harmonious
relationshipwith nature. Our western pioneer movement is a
case in point. Neither does it necessarily, once tainted with
western paradigms, have respect for culturally rich, simple,
bioregional lifestyles. Ask the spirit of the Native American.
Anyone involved with bioregionally protective
activism and developing a spiritually richer community
recognizes the difficulty and necessity of the "middle
ground" where the peaceful warrior and earth-centered
culture meet the forceful domination of mass culture with
goal of peaceful rransformation.
Deep ecology assists with this space while lending
iLSelf to the open ended development of a rich, bioregionally
specific culture. Individuals and groups developing practical
lifestyles, ritual, thought-outreach, and eco-activism in
alignment with the spiritual center of a natural place, are
practicing both bioregionalism and deep ecology.
.
J. Lynn Mackey is right; bioregionally specific,
diversified culture is where it's aL We could use a
bioregional analysis. and I hope he or someone else takes up
that proJecl. Perhaps 11 will assist in changing the world. But
until that time, emergent bioregional culture needs to support
itS closest allies, and be supported by them, each contributing
to the other. Deep ecology is an ally, on all levels, for those
who face the full responsibiUty and reality of a localized
earth-centered lifestyle in a homocentric, domination oriented
society.
We draw our allies from vision quests in sacred
places, from the land, our friends, and the constant flux of
our creative connection with a natural place. We can draw
upon and consider Deep Ecology a valuable ally in the work
of our Ii ves.
Peace and Love,
John Morris
Chatham, GA
Fall 1986
�Dear Katliah,
Belief in reincarnation was nearly universal among our
pre-Christian European ancestors and was accepted by many
native Americans as well. Native Australians, Inuit, native
Hawaiians, and many Africans are among the people who
believe we live more than once. Perhaps we can call !ouch a
belief pan of our native intelligence.
According to a 1981 Gallup poll, twenry-three percent
of the adult population of North America believe in
reincarnation. This is panicularly impressive when one
thinks about the lengths to which the church went to stamp
out this and other heresies (a word which originally meant
"free choice"). Perhaps as many as 9 million people were
burned, hanged and tortured cruelly and publicly for
witchcraft in Europe over a period of 3 ccnruries. Why did
this happen? Perhaps it was a form of initiation for souls
who wished to learn Jesus' message of forgiveness
first-hand.
The experience of the burning time has left psychic
scars on many people. Such experiences, like ourselves, do
not die but arc transformed. So it is by the light of millions
of burning women and men that we are now able to see our
way clear of the stinking mess of a situation that our rejection
of death has caused.
Children fight sleep, grown-ups fight death, adult
humans light fear and ignorance.
Take Hean,
WiU Bason
Floyd, VA
OPENLETIER
TO MEN, HUNrERS Oh, it's alright
to send the slug at high speed
into the life of a dark bear
(faster than the red stain expanded
until globs of brain
splattered against the trees,
wasn't it?)
i would never say you had no right
to hunting, to kill
is something we need to know
("we could always live off game and wild greens")
to keep our place
strong and free in this land
and our boys
need to know when they are men
and we need to know
do we measure up to the measure of this land?
Do we measure up to the measure of this land?
Does it make the mountains proud?
to see one sitting in a new truck
360 horse, 4 x 4 to burn up the back country
drinking whiskey (even if it ii illegal)
Do the trees?
listen with quiet approval to the radio
"CCKKKKK!! It's coming to you, Luther"
What kind of a man?
eases his swollen gut from behind the wheel
picks up his rifle
that can keep a bear a quarter-mile away
and crashes through the woods
to a sure shot at a female
("scrawny - the acorns were bad this year and last")
the pack of dogs already had treed
the bear and itS ways
fast from food three days
before the hunt
plunge seven times
into mountain waters clear and cold
not touch a woman for a week?
How do you go about your business
taking a life
or is it all as casual?
as red globs of brain
splattering against the trees
The question remains
~ the fro~t of my brain, small and hot
'Why.....
in savage rage
i ask, roaring, bellowing
lips curling away from razor fangs
"WHY THE HELL
do you~
Jill.CH SQ MOCH
taking a measwe
we must read what we find
when that same bear
her entrails still dragging
the way you left her
returns for you
and finds you cringing
in a hospital bed
barricaded behind wires and machines
swallowing magic pills
superstitious charms against a death
so important simply because it's yours
that you think the world is finished why'?"
No one, not i, would stand in front of your gun
and say "You have no right!"
but when
did you ever?
give time to study, learn, and love
the hills, the forest,
drunken and blind, only we
could go into the forest
back among the hills
and still not learn
the truth about bears.
KALANU, TIIB POET
KA TUAH - page 23
Fall 1986
�GOOD NIGHT FAOM
SHADOWS FALL
• continued from p. 13
Sera Jean smiled in return and rose
from the table. Her father towered above
her, his tanned cheekbones healthy above
his beard, which was sunbright like his
wisping hair. His green eyes shone wannly
down, a large hand came to rest at her
waist.
"So, how's the old man?"
Sera Jean looked up to see his eyes
upon her, ttying to see in her more than she
could show.
"Hc's ..... he's no worse."
She turned back to her cooking, taking
a cast iron skillet, splashing in some
safflower oil. Her father spoke again.
"You'd think that old man was enjoying
himself up there.
"Guess I'll say hello to my big girl.
Where's she at?"
"Oh," Sera Jean replied anxiously,
remembering the message she really didn't
want to pass along. "Fe went to a sweat for
Elise. She won't be back 'ti! late."
The man seemed to sink in on himself.
The light in his face wavered, his step
became a Limp. He took a deep breath.
"Sweet lady Fe. She does love her
women."
He sighed with resignation, ranging
awa.Y toward the far end of the kitchen, to
the cedar bathtub which Gran'pa had set
into ,the floor before the big glass window
that looked up the cove to the ridge top.
"Did she leave any hot water? Think I
got time for a bath? These old bones could
use some warmth."
"Sure," Sera Jean replied, moving the
skillet to the fire.
She looked after the man as he steeped
in his disappointment. Slowly, absently he
saipped away his shirt while he sat upon the
squat, three-legged stool and stared out at
the trees where the line of moonglow could
be seen descending into the cove as a
quarter moon rose over the eastern ridge.
She came up behind him.
"Dad, let me massage your shoulder."
The man's head jerked around in
surprise at her offer.
"Why, Sera Jean, I believe your heart
has gotten bigger."
He leaned forward and started the water
in the tub, then rose back into Sera Jean's
waiting hands.She had stopped massaging
Gran'pa's cold body, afraid he would die
from her touch. Now she leaned her weight
into her father's hard frame, digging her
fingers into his shoulder blade as she had
seen her mother do.
"Duane, why does Fe go out so much,
but you hardly go anywhere?"
The man seemed to wait, holding
himself rcoeptivc to her fingers, and then let
his breath out as he answered,
"Hmmmmmmmm..... we all make our
choices, Sera. Then we are obligated to live
up to the responsibilities that go with those
choices. You might say I'm feeling lazy
these days."
"You? Lazy?" Sera Jean queried. "I
don't thlnk I could ever say that."
"Hmph," Duane replied, amused.
"Yeah, I'm k:i nd'a stuck on my ass these
days. But the freedom I choose by staying
home doesn't require whole bunches of
responsibilities. I just stay here and work.
KA1UAH • page 24
It's easy. But your mama, she's got to get
out there and talce it to the limit, just to see if
she can handle it, which is good. We need
her to handle it. As long as she brings it
back to us, I can't complain."
"But you don't want to go anywhere, to
do things?"
"Sera-girl, when I met your mother, I
was running on a ridge, just as fast as I
could, doing anything, doing everything doing il twice if it didn't kHI me the firs t
time. I thought I had to run faster, get
higher, fill myself right up, because that's
what I thought life was all about. But if you
never share any of that, it piles up, gets
heavy. And then I became afraid I would
always need more just to be never quite
satisfied.
"I really didn't believe your mother had
the speed to keep up with me. But she
brought me here, turned me loose inside this
cove, let me run circles around her, and no
matter how fast I went, she could always
catch me whenever she wanted me. Just
head me off at the pass. I've always been
amazed, y'know, how easy it is to run so
fast and free and good and not hun a soul in
doing what I pleased. So, I've got it all,
Sera. Right here and now. If I went
anywhere else, even with good friends, I'd
feel poor and alone."
"Even when mom's gone?"
Her fingers could feel the man
struggling not to lie. There was silence. He
looked away, drawing upon the shadowy
cove where the line of moonglow had
descended closer, getting the feeling right.
"Yeah," he said, "even without my
sweet lady Fe."
He moved, quick as a gentle breeze, his
great arms coming around her, Lifting her to
place her on his knee.
"You can't hang on to things, Sera.
Letting go can be hard, but things must
pass. You can't stop them."
"I-I guess I know that, Dad. But I'm
not strong like you. I'll always miss
Gran'pa."
"I'm sure that would make Gran'pa
very sad - to know that you will always be
missing him for the rest of your Life. Trying
to hang on to what no longer is, you'll miss
what Gran'pa has for you now.'
"But he'll soon be gone, and I'll ..... "
"Gone? Where's be gonna go? To get
free of that worthless bag of bones must
have him grinning ear to ear. Did you ever
thlnk, babe, that if it weren't for you still
putting energy into Gran'pa, he might have
been set free a couple of weeks ago?"
Sera Jean looked out the tall windows
and saw the line of moon glow ever closer.
"Y'see, Sera, the secret is to spend
every day gently impressed. If today comes
at you all thunder and lightning, then brace
yourself and take it on gently. Don't let it
get in the way of tomorrow. You never
know where it's coming from. but it's
always coming. Take ii on gently. and give
it b:ick gently. You'll be alright
"Why don't you pack up your sorrow
and set it on the rick? You don't have to run
on the ridge anymore, ttying 1 gc1 higher 10
0
see 1he last of a setting sun. ll'll still come
up behind you in the morni ng. But, if you
look right now, ru bet you can find
Gran'p:i down here waiting for you like he
never left."
Sera Jean's downcast eyes caught sight
of moonlight creeping over the window sill.
She looked up to see that it had set all the
cove to eerie whiteness and black shadows,
surprising her with a beaury she knew so
well, a gentle touch, impressing upon her
like Life holding her close. She felt the
rough, work-hard hand through the cloth
upon her back, and felt ic a comfon. She
looked into the kind eyes, old and
comfonable too, crinkling around the edges,
caring.
It was only fair that she should smile in
return for the gentle goodness that had
replaced the gentle sorrow that had weighted
her for so long.
"Duane," she spoke in a half-whisper,
"Get me up in the morning. I think I'll go to
school.''
"You got it, Ace," Duane confirmed.
"You and me for breakfast."
"What about Fe?"
"Well," he breathed, "I suspect Mama
will want to sleep in tomorrow. So, we'll
just have to do the best we can with what
we got."
"Maybe we should ask her to come
home," Sera Jean suggested.
"No," he shook his wisping, hairy
bead. "If we did that we wouldn't be living
up to our responsibilities. I think we should
let her go more often. She just might fall off
the ridge someday, and if we haven't let go
of her yet, we might find ourselves being
tom painfully hard.
"Hey, look, big girl. This water's
a'waitin' on me, and I think I'll be gettin' to
it."
Sera Jean rose and stepped away
silently, turning her back on the big man as
he stood and became a rustling of clothing.
She looked back from the summer stove
where she poked the embers tighter together
and a tiny flame leaped anew. She saw him
standing straight in the blue-white
moonglow, his hard body sharply defined
by shadow. He reached up behind his head
to pull the tie from his hai r and a
moon-bright radiance dropped about his
shoulders. He stepped into the bath, and the
gentle sound of lapping water came to her as
he sat and was silent.
Sera Jean Samuels could see rum, in his
silent sadness, staring out into the land of
her grandfathers, calling upon them to give
him strength, letting the moonlight give him
beauty, beauty to liken the womaness he
needed.
She thought she saw a tear sparkle in
the moonglow, heard it drop into the water
and be gone. But then again, it seemed only
right that it be the part of the man to let go
the woman.
lUustralions by Rob Messick
Fall 1986
�HOW TO H ELP CHILDREN HANDLE DEATH - conunocd from page 10
This can terrify children about bedtime.
never coming back). And the third is hope
(We're going 10 be okay even without
3. Mommy's gone on a long trip. "Daddy
is going out of town on a business trip--is
Daddy). Help the child work through these
he never coming back? Will I be left all
processes, and s/be ""ill be the healthier for
it, and stronger when faced with loss the
alone? Why didn ' t Mommy tell me
next time.
good- bye? Didn't she love me? Was I
naughty?" Children may think all of these
and also wonder, "If Mommy only went
Recognize anger, guilt, and
away, why is everyone crying?"
physical distress for what they are.
4. God took her becau~e she was good.
These are all normal reactions 10 loss. A
"Then I don·t want to be good. so I won't
child may say s/be hates Uncle Bob for
have to die. Are old people bad?" This can
dying and leaving the family. Or S/be might
develop into a fear and hatred of God.
say the doctor murdered a brother. Or why
didn't Susie's mother die instead of
Deceiving children is the worst course,
Mommy?
because eventually they'll learn the truth.
Guilt often results when children don'1
And deception will not help them to face the
understand the difference between fan1asy
inevitable fact of death.
and reality. They can think they caused a
person's death because they once said, "I
Help children to expr ess their
wish you were dead." h 's important to
grief. Encourage the child 10 let out his or
explain this can't happen and that the child
her feelings. It's okay 10 cry--you feel like
had nothing to do with the dea1h.
crying, 100. h 's okay to feel sad or
Many children feel physical distress
depressed. It's okay 10 not know how to
when faced with 1be shock of loss.
act. But emphasize that although the loved
Dizziness. nausea, insomnia, shonness of
one will never return, s/be lives on in the
breath, lack of appeti1e, and inability to
happy memories you all share.
concentrate are but a few of the symptoms a
The grieving child experiences three
child may experience. Reassure him or her
phases. The first is denial (Daddy didn't
that the feeling is natural and will disappear
die). The next is pain and despair (Daddy's
in time.
MAKING BURIAL BOXES
- continued from p. 9
Nail the side pieces to the bo11om, using 7/8" nails.
The strips should be inside and at the top.
Nail the ends, with the good sides out, firmly to the
bottom and 10 the side strips. using 8-penny nails, and the
job is done.
The handles may be stored inside the box and screwed
on when the box is used. Likewise, the top may be tacked
lightly in place until the box is needed, and then nailed firmly
down with 7/8" nails when the box is used.
The box, when loaded, should be moved with care to
avoid pulling the ends away from the box. After the cover
has been nailed down, however, the box is quite strong and
can be handled freely. By using screws in the ends instead of
nails, the box can be made quite strong without the lid.
THE
WAKe:
- continued from p. 11
graveyard. When my brother died, though,
they faid him over on Barker's Creek (on
1he other side of the ridge - ed.). I don't
know why they put him so far away. If I
had the money, I'd have him reburied over
here. But it seems like when someone dies,
it all comes so sudden-like and all. that you
don't have time to think about all that. I
don't know why. but it feels better 10 have
them buried close 10 you ....."
OLD CUSTOMS SURVIVE
Being a tribal people, the Cherokee
Indians probably had a custom similar to the
wake in ancient times. In any case, when
the Baptist missionaries penetrated the
reservation of the Eastern Band. the Indians
readily adopted the practice of "senin~up".
Baptist style, they held the wake in the
church, and for the Indians ii was a solemn
occasion. The Cherokees are a conservative
people, and the custom of "seuin'-up" is
srill maintained on the reservation today.
KATUAH - page 25
Allow children to attend the
funeral. Never force children 10 go, but do
encourage it. They are pan of the family
and, like other family members. should
panicipa1e in this significant event. Be sure
10 explain the details of the service before
you go. But remember children need 10
share their sadness and be with others, just
as adults do. This will help them 10 accept
the reality of death.
These guidelines should help to make
dealing with death a little easier. Keep in
mind that the grieving process (for children
and adults alike) takes time. But if, in a
maner of time, the intensity of grieving
does not abate, or if you have any doubts,
don't hesitate to seek professional help for
the child. In the midst of their own grief,
few people are able to give children
undergoing severe grief reactions the
suppon they need.
Day by day it will get easier. When
children understand the meaning of death
and are honestly dealt with, they can more
readily cope with loss and move forward to
maintain a positive attitude towards life and
living. And they realize human life is one of
our most precious possessions, and will go
on 10 live life 10 its fullest.
...:.-<:::
When the box is used, two handles should be screwed
to each end for ease in going through doors. They may be
removed with a screwdriver and brought home from the
crematory or cemetary for furure use.
When a body is taken to a medical school in one of
these boxes, it is customary 10 remove the body from the box
and take the box home.
To save storage space, these boxes are so designed so
that the medium size can nest inside the large size. and the
child size inside the small size.
Assembly Diaaram
Tom Underwood, a white man who
grew up on the reservation, describes the
tradition:
"Once the life was gone from a body,
it was never left until it was buried. Now, in
modem days, the body is taken 10 a funeral
home to be processed, but then it's brought
back, and as long as it is in the care of the
family and kin, it's never left alone. The
wake is usually held in a church, and here
on the reservation it's customary for people
10 have food to eat, coffee, and soft drinks.
They sing the deceased's favorite
songs..... Here, it's not a party, it's an
observance."
The isolation of the mountains played
a large pan in keeping traditional customs
alive after they had disappeared from the
sophisticated urban areas. But as the roads
came in, undenakers began to move out into
the rural countryside.
Tom Underwood said:
"What prompted people to change
over was just a feeling that the undenaker
could do a beuer job of taking care of the
body. Another reason was that in the hot
summenime it didn't take long for a body 10
begin to go!
"Having it processed meant that kin'
who lived farther away would have ome to
get there before the funeral. Then, too,
people began 10 have more ready cash to
pay the undenaker. At first, though, be was
paid with chickens, hams, produce, or with
work, if there was something he needed
done. That's what people had 10 offer."
Now, in most places, the undenaker,
a man, stands guard over the gates of death,
keeping the burial elaborate, efficient,
fonnal, and solemn - watching again~t any
threats co the "designs of culture".
But in small churches high in the
coves of Appalachia people still stay
through the night: talking, praying, crying,
eating, and singing the mournful old songs together.
/
�704-58&-8729
FRIEDMAN &
8
p -~~·. Q,.J
'I l : r" · < "'i
DESIGN, INC.
ENERGY SYSTEMS
THAT PAY FOR THEMSELVPi
AVRAM FlltEOMAH
OESl()NER.TECHNtCIAN
P O 80XM7
DILLSBORO. N C 28725
CIHlllNIE§I&
ACIUDP1UNC1I'IUl!UE
NATIJRAL FOOD STORE
&DELI
~
llil!H:lil!OILOGY
CILOOC
MALAPROP'S
BOOKSTORE/CAFE
160 Broadway
Open 7 Days A Week
Monday • Friday
(704) 253-7656
9:00 a.m. • 8:00 p.m.
9:00 a.m. • 6:30 p.m.
6 1 RA YWOOD ST., ASHEVD..LE. NC 28801
Where Broadway
Meets Merrimon
(704) 2S4-6734
107 Menimon Avenue
Asheville. N.C.
( 704) 258·90 J 6
Asheville, NC 28801
And l-240
1:00 p.m. • 5:00 p.m.
BOOKS
• CARDS
•
Saturday
RECORDS
Tftl powerful Get.DEN EAGLE
" " ' abo•t tllt eiue R•dre in 11111 full
color duop. hand·screentd on T·
SHIRTS Of 100'!'. PRESHRUNK COT·
TON These hl1h quality 1arments
Sunday
1\!aga .
}
:~·~~.=~~~&\i6
Mountain lumber Cd.
Soru Adults S.Xl.
Sholl$1-tT.Mvl·S1000ppd.
r--- · ----------
DILLSBOl\.Oh NC
Lont Slt,.t T Ad<olt·S 14.00 ppd.
588-9011
:
MallOrdefTt llodttll-r Nahnls
1033'" 8alumRd.. Waynomlll, NC28l8617041456·3003
Check
O MUWC•nlH01- - - - - - - --t
MoneyO!ftr
J VISA
Eap. D•t"'- - - - - - - -- t
"'"''- -- - - - - - - - - - - - --t
AddltH - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --1
lonr Sleeve Includes delllled print ol follltt
on sleeve. Slltislactlon assured
l"hono _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ __
or rtlllm tor tull relun6.
L
_ _ _ _-t
L CMck htlt .... fREECOlOR CATALOG ol 1ll ou1W1ldhlt lhph!CL
O£Al..ER INQUIRIES INVITEO
Ul IRAVIOlH PURIFICATION AND FlllERING SYSIEMS
SOLAR PAOOUCTS · WATER ANALYSIS
Joe Roberts
RANOAll C LANIER
704 293 5912
. llWY 107
AT. 68 BOX 125
CULLOWllEE, NC 28723
KATUAH ... page 26
Oavod Reed
258 1038
734 Town Mountain Rd
Asheville, NC 28805
Fall 1986
�A CHILDREN'S PAGE: ON DYING
I would like to be burned and have my ashes spread
over Riverflow (Community in Floyd, Va.). I think
after you die you go to another world and each time
you go to another world you would be sent there to
do something good. Like in this world some of us
possibly were sent here to stop war. Some people
think when you die all you are is a ghost and just go
around scaring people. But I think you go to
another world.
Asa-9
"Mum, when I get dead I want to be another man so I won't miss the rest of life!"
Dylan-4
"When you're dead do you get a birthday? I mean
an invisible birthday. When you're dead do you get
an invisible birthday?
Josh- 6
I think when you die your body disintegrates and
you can tum into a butterfly or something. And
God will call you and when its your tum he turns
you into a baby and puts you in a stomach!
Josh-6
0
"Yellow Dog" by Amy - 8
We had an old dog and it died because it was so old.
It died and we buried it. We put sage and other
kinds of herbs on its grave - and I found a little dead
bird. I was going to bury it where we had buried
our dog and I found little creatures and I went to
tell mom and she said, "I do not know what they
are." So, we buried the bird in our herb garden.
And almost every day after I found the little bird I
would go up to our yellow dog's grave and sit there.
Special thanks to Colleen Redmon-Copus
We welcome original drawings, stories, poems,
ideas, or comments by individual children or
groups for this page. Let us know what the children
of Katuah are doing! Send contributions to Katuah.
-cu KATUAH - page 27
�!9Bb
SEPTEMBER
25
Black Moun tain, NC
David Wilcox, Folksinger, at
McDibbs; 119 Cherry SL; Black Mountain,
NC (704) 669-2456.
26
Black Mountain, NC
Bill Melanson and Paul Fieldman
rockin' out at McDibbs. see 9/25.
9-26
Blue Ridie Parkwa y
Mountajnweet Talk Two-act
play by The Folktellers. Folk Art Center
Theater. More info: Mountain Sweet Talk;
c/o The Folktellers; P.O. Box 2898;
Asheville, NC 28802 (704) 2.58-1 113.
26-28
B oome r, NC
"Dyin g Into Our Lives"
Workshop with Dale Borglum, director of
Hanuman Foundation Living/Dying Project.
At the Center for Awakening. $75. More
info: (919) 921-2228.
27
Alum Ridge, VA
Nature Attunement Workshop
with Tom Williams. Commune with nature
spirits and the Devas. Bring lunch and stay
for the weekend. Cost $25; Pre-register.
Penny Royal Education Center; Rt. HC 67,
Box 171; Alum Ridge, VA 24051.
C ullow hee, NC
Mountain Heritage Day.
Traditional music, exhibits, puppets,
shows, food, crafts, more. WCU campus.
Brasstown, NC
Fall
Craft
Weekend.
Blacksmithing, silk screening, kaleidoscope
building, and woodcarving. see 10/3.
10-12
OCTOBER
27
Burnsville, NC
Folk Music Festival, $5, Patience
Mullendore Park, 6-12 pm. Toe River Arts
Council, Box 521, Spruce Pine, NC 28777
(704) 682-7215.
27
S p r uce Pine, NC
Western Nonh Carolina Alliance
Annual Meeting; workshops, business,
strategy meetings. $10 includes meals.
Contact: Ron Lambe; Rt. 1, Box 127-E;
Bakersville, NC 28705 (704) 688-2447.
27
27
3
B r asstown, NC
Jean Ritchie in concen, 8 pm.
Appalachian music, vocal and instrumental.
John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown,
NC 28902 (704) 837-2275.
3
Black Moun tain, NC
David Wilcox at McDibbs. see
9/25.
3-5
H ot Springs, NC
"To Leap Like a Tiger". Zen
Buddhist Meditation weekend with Barbara
Rhodes. Pre-register: Southern Dharma
Retreat Center; Rt. 1, Box 34-H; Hot
Springs, NC 28743.
Big Ye llow Mounta in ,
(Aver y C ounty) M oderate to
strenuous hiking. Spectacular views, rare
plants.
Pre-register: N.C. Nature
Conservancy, POB 805, Chapel Hill, NC
27514.
4
27-28
4
Willis, VA
"Balance Through Massage". A
weekend intensive with Libby Outlaw;
approaches to massage and balancing the
body energies. Pre-register: Indian Valley
Holistic Health Center; Rt. 2, Box 58;
Willis, VA 24380.
30-0ct 4 Che r okee, NC
Cherokee Fall Festival. Indian
dancing stickball, blowguns, basketry,
carving & other crafts; agricultural exhibit,
midway & food. At the Ceremonial
Grounds.
KATIJAH - page 28
Bonas Defeat Gorge, (near
C ullowh ee, NC) Nature
Conservancy Field Trip. Very strenuous
hiking. Pre-register: see 9/27.
Bluff M ountain, (near Wes t
Jefferson, NC)
Natu r e
Conservancy Field Trip. Pre-register: see
9/27.
Brasst own , NC
Fall Festival. Crafts, music &
dance. John C. Campbell Folk School. see
10/3.
4-5
W illis, VA
"Personal Integration: Past,
Present and Future". Exploring personal
history and past lives with Gaines Steer.
Pre-register: see 9/27-28.
Hot Springs, NC
"Meditation on the Mountaintop"
with John Orr. Pre-register: see 10/3-5.
10-13
15
Black Mountain, NC
Gamble Rogers, singer and
storyteller at McDibbs. see 9/25.
16-19
W heeling, West VA
Midwives' Alliance of North
America 4th Annual Conference. Speakers
include Susun Weed, Norma Swenson, and
Vera Keene. Workshops include therapeutic
touch and herbs for birth. Contact: Ruth
Walsh, POB 5, Linn, WV 26384 (304)
462-5617.
16-19
Highla nds, NC
Fall Landscape Workshop. A
photography workshop exploring the
Highlands area. Fee $250. Contact: The
Appalachian Environmental Arts Center,
P.O. Drawer 580, Highlands, NC 28742
(704) 526-4303.
17
Black Mounta in, NC
Dab Hand, music from Ireland,
Scotland and the Shetland lslands at
McD ibbs. see 9/25.
17-19
As he ville, NC
Highlands Oaft Guild Fair, Civic
Center.
17-19
C he rokee, NC
Civilian Conservation Corps
(CCC) Reunion, Qualia Community Center.
4-5
17-19
Boomer, NC
"Caring for the Caregiver"
Workshop at the Center for Awakening.
Info: (919) 921-2228.
Fall 1986
�OCTOBER 19, 1986,
NOVEMBER
11 a.m.
2-15
Brasstown, NC
Fall Crafts. Blacksmithing, log
ho me building, quilting, weaving,
enameling & drawing. see 10/3.
Hot Springs, NC
Meditation and work retreat with
Rodney Smith. Pre-register: Southern
Dhanna, see 10/3-5.
7-9
Hot S prings, NC
"Beginner's Mind" - An
introductory meditation retreat with Cheri
Huber. Pre-register: Southern Dharma
Retreat Center, see 10/3-5.
26-30
17-19
Zionville, NC
"Healing in the Wise-Woman
Tradition" with "Green Witch" Susun S.
Weed, herbalist and healer. Workshops
include plant identification, herbal
preparations, simple ritual. Sliding scale fee:
$75-100, barter, or work exchange.
Pre-register: Phoenix Productions; Rt. 2,
Dox 59; Zionville, NC 28698.
18
Roan Mountain (Mitchell
County} Hiking the heath balds
with The Nature Conservancy. Pre-register:
see 9/27.
31
SAMHAIN FESTIVAL
Celtic New Year (Feast of the Dead)
DECEMBER
31-NOV 2 Durham, NC
"Ecology - The Spiritual
Imperative" wilh Margot Adler, Peter
Borrelli et al. Sponsored by Center For
Reflection on the Second Law. Registration
$25; room & board $60. You may commute
or camp. More info: CFRSL, 8420 Camellia
Dr., Raleigh, NC 27612.
18
Black Mountain, NC
John McCutcheon, Hammer
Dulcimer music a1 McDibbs. see 9/25.
Hiwassee, GA
Old-Time Fiddler's Convention,
Georgia Mountain Fair, POB 444,
Hiwassee, GA 30546.
24-25
24-26
Brasstown, NC
Fall Dance Weekend. see 10/3.
Hot Springs, NC
"What Are You Expecting from
Zazen?" - Introduction to Zen Meditation by
Katagiri-Roshi, Abbott of The Minnesota
Zen Meditation Center. Pre-register:
Southern Dhanna, see 10/3-5.
24-26
Black Mountain, NC
Sally Rogers plays traditional
music at McDibbs. see 9/25.
5~
H~ Sprin~, NC
"Introduction to Sufi Meditation
and Dance" with John Johnson, founder of
Light of the Mountains Sufi Community.
Pre-register: see 10/3-5.
11-13
Brasstown, NC
Christmas Madrigal Concert and
Dinner. John C. Campbell Folk School.
see 10/3.
~ SOUTHE:RN DHARM~ RE:TRE:~T CE:NTE:R
\ 1'
FALL SCHEDULE
October
3-5
10-13
24-26
"To Leap Like a Tiger - A Zen Weekend", Barbara Rhodes.
"On the Mountaintop", with John Orr.
"Introduction to Zen Meditation (Zazen} - What Are You Expecting
from Zazen?", with Zen Master Katagiri-roshi.
November
7-9
26-30
December
5-7
27-Jan 4
"Insight Meditation and Work Retreat Weekend", with Rodney
Smith.
"Beginner's Mind - An Introductory Meditation Retreat", with
Cheri Huber.
"Introduction to Sufi Meditation and Dance", with John Johnson.
"A New Year's Meditation Retreat", with John Orr.
29
30-Nov 2 Berea, KY
13th Annual Celebration of
Traditional Music, Berea College. With
Doug Wallin, Betty Smith, Sparky Rucker
and many others. Info: Berea College, Box
2336, Berea, KY 40404 (606} 986-9341
Southcm Dharma Reireat Cen~ iJ loc.ied in a remote lrC& o.r the Smoky Mountains near Asheville, North
Carolina. For further ln!ormatioo about So11lhan DhlnDI or lbout ID)' of the pn>grmns above, call ar write:
SOUTHERN DHAltMA RETREAT CENTER RLI, Box 34-H; Hot Sprinp, NC 28743 (704) 622-7112
You Can't Beat a Woman! Contact:
Buncombe......................... HELPMATE, lnc................. (704) 254-0516
Cherokee I Clay I Graham....... R.E.A.C.H.,Inc .................. (704) 837-8064
Haywood .......................... R.E.A.C.H ........................ (704) 456-7521
Henderson ......................... MAINSTAY...................... (704) 693-3840
Jackson ............................ R.E.A.C.H ........................ (704) 586-8969
Swain .............................. SAFE, Inc ......................... (704} 488-6809
Transylvania ...................... SAFE, lnc ......................... (704) 885-7233
Polk................................ STEP TO HOPE, Inc............ (704) 859-9721
Rutherford ........................ PA TH, Inc ......................... (704} 245-8595
McDowell... ...................... F AMIL Y SHELTER ............. (704) 652-6150
KATUAH - page 29
Fall 1986
�APPALACHIAN PATCHWORK· Mouniain lales
and songs by the Appalachian Puppet Theatre.
Cassette tape $7.00 from: Appalachian Puppet
Theatre, 3SS Cedar ~ Road, Black Mouniain,
NC 28711 (704) 669~1.
APPALACHIAN GINSENG CO. • Cultivated
American ginseng, s1n1tlfied seeds. seedling roolS T-Shirts with ginseng logo. $9.00 ppd Crom P.O.
Box 547; Dillsboro, NC 28725.
CEN1C.R FOR AWAKENING needs a volunteer to
TI.JRNING lHOUGfff INTO ACl10N: Cen1et for
ReJlection on the Second Law. 8420 Camellia Dr..
Raleigh, NC 27612.
give advice and assistance in developing an
alc.emative energy system as well as an alternative
waste system for the Center. Contact Elizabeth
Callari: (919) 921-2228.
HEALTH and F11NESS SELF-CARE CENTER: A
private center offering comprehensive programs or
scientifically and medically documented approaches
to optimum health and fitness. Seminars,
WOtltshops and privac.e consultations for indivil!uals,
families and businesses. Contacc Jeffrey Brown:
HFSC; POB 278; Lexingron, NC 27293 (704)
246-4919.
APPLE TREES
GOLDEN SEAL PLANTS and other native and
exotic wildilowers. Descriptive ca181og Sl.00 from:
Appalachian Wildflower Nursery; RL I, Box 275-A;
Reedsville, PA 17084.
FRIENDS OF THE MOUNTAINS IS a grassroots
organiution involved in lhe conservation and
protection of the southern Appalachian hi&hlands.
RL 2. Box 2279; Clayt0n, GA 30525.
Old-timey and popular
conc.emponuy varieties on SWldard. semi-, or dwarf
stocks. Send SASE for price list: Jeff Poppen,
Long Hungry~ Nursery, Red Boiling Springs.
TN 37150.
CHEROKEE CLEANSING TEA • over 1 dozen
herbs (makes app. one gallon) • $7.50 from
Medicine Canoe Products; R1.2, Box 90-E; Old
Fon, NC 28762.
APPLE TREES Grafted old-fashioned and
contemporary. Send SO cents for catalog: Henry
Monon. Old-fashioned Apple Trees. RL I, Box
203; Gatlinburg, TN 3n38.
In1ematjonal l'mnacuhure Sce<I Year1look •• The
annual bulletin, directory. and resource guide for
permacullure practitioners; S 10.00; Box 202;
Orange, MA 01364.
Woman of Powec A magazine of feminism,
spirituality, and politics. Published quanerly. POB
827;Cambridge,MA 02238.
CRAFTS FROM SALVADORAN AND
GUATEMALAN REFUGEES IN NICARAGUA:
Cards. plitques, boxes, puzzles, paiches; This trade
benefits refugees directly. Brochure from:
Dry Crcclc Cooperative Trading
918 Jennings CL
Woodbury, TN 37190
a non-profit organization.
APPALACHIAN WILDFLOWER NURSERY •
Nauve and exotic wildilowers. Descriptive catalog
SI from: RI. I, Box 275-A: Reedsville, PA
17084.
ASHEVILLE I BUNCOMBE COUNTY SOLID
WASTE ALTERNATIVES PLANNING
WORKSHOP: A design for handling solid waslCS
in any urban context. SIS from Long Branch
Environmental Education Cenc.er. RL 2, Box 132;
Leicester, NC 28748.
DRUM WORKSHOPS • for children of all ages.
therapeuuc massage • Relaxes the body &
mind ...Call Manha for more info al (704)
258-0616
MOON DANCE FARM HERBALS· herbal salves.
uno1wes, & oils for binhmg & family health. For
brochure. please write: Moon Dnnce Fann: RL I,
Box 72f>; Hampton, TN 37658
CUSTOM CELTIC HARPS • A'Court Bason;
Travinnna Farm; RL l; Check, VA 24072.
FAIRGLEN FARMS offers organic, biological
feniliz.ers for farm and garden. Send SASE for price
lisL Biologically-grown produce 10 sell? We are
interested in acting as cooperative marketing agents
with other growers. Write: Route I, Box 319;
Oyde, NC 28721.
Shares for sale in FLOYD AGRICULTURAL
ENERGY CO-OP; par valued at SIOO each. Will
Bason: Travianna Farm; RL I; Check, VA 24072..
·AS WE ARE" - Women's music by Pomegranate
Rose. a four-woman group playing lively original
music. Cassette tape available for $9.00 ppd. from
RL 2, Box 435; Piusboro, NC 27312.
BIG MOUNTAIN • 10.000 uaditional Navajo
people threatened with removal by US government
to make way for coal and uranium mines. Suppon
and donations needed. Write: Big Mountain Legal
Defense/Offense Commiuee; 2501 N. 4lh St.,
Suii.e 18; Flagstaff. AZ 86001 (602) 774-5233.
KATUAH ·page 30
HOLOGRAPHIC ASTROLOGY • Every p:irt of a
hologram contains all the info about the entire
hologram. and each cell in your body contains all
the genetic data about your whole body. Similarly,
every body contains all the information about the
entire solar system • you are lhe solar system and
each of your planets is one of your potentials. Chart
& Consultation, SS0.00 Harriet Wiu Miller (704)
689-4617.
AMRITA HERBAL PRODUCTS • Comfrey,
EuoalyplUS, or Golden Seal Salve, Lemon or
Lavender Face Cream. Made with narural and
essential oils and love. Send for brochure: RL I,
Box 737; Floyd, VA 24091.
ELACHEE NATURE SCIENCE CENTER •
dedicated to the undersrand.ing and appreciation of lhe
natural world. For membership or visiting info,
write P.O. Box 2771; Gainesville, GA 30503.
At ARTHUR MORGAN SCHOOL 24 Students and
14 staff learn together by living in community.
Curriculum includes creative academics. group
decision-makmg, a work program, service projcclS,
extensive rield trips, challenging outdoor
experiences. Write: 1901 Hannah Branch Rd.;
Burnsville. NC 28714.
FOUR WINDS VILLAGE • health and spiritual
retreat; home for children in need. For visiting info,
write: Box 112; Tiger, GA 30576.
LIGHTWORKS • luminous fabric window pieces
by Cathy Scou; 734 Town Mountain Rd.;
Asheville, NC 28804.
WEBWORK.ING is free.
Send submissions to:
.KaWab
P.O. Box 873
Cullowhec, NC 28723
Fall 1986
�KJUW wants to communicate your thoughts and
feelings to the other people in the bioregional province. Send
them to us as letters, poems, stories, drawings, or
photographs. Please send your contributions to us at:
Kmiiflb; Box 873; Cu/lowhee, NC 28723.
The winter KatUah, Issue XIV, will focus on
"Keeping Warm". The deadline for all submissions for that
issue is October 31.
Please send your ideas for future themes for .Katiiih.
Medici11tL- Allies
GET BACK!
issues of Katuah
full color
T- sfJirts
In the traditional Cherokee Indian
belief, the creatures in the world today are
only diminutive forms of the mythic beings
who once inhabited the world, but who now
reside in Galuna'ti, the spirit world, the
highest heaven. But a few of the original
powers broke through the spiritual barrier
ans:I exist yet in the world as we know it.
These beings are called with reverence
"grandfathers". And of them, the strongest
are Kaniui.. the lightning, the power of the
sky; Utsa'nati. the rattlesnake, who
personifies the power of the earth plane; and
Yunwj Usdj, "the little man", as ginseng is
called in the sacred ceremonies, who draws
up power from the underworld.
Each is the strongei;t power in its own
domain. Together they are allies: their
energies complement each other to form an
even greater power. As medicine allies,
they represent the healing power of the
Appalachian Mountains.
The medicine powers ofKatiiah have
been depicted in a striking T-shirt design by
Ibby Kenna. Printed in 5-color silkscreen
by Ridgerunner Naturals on top-quality,
all-cotton shirts, they are available now in
all adult sizes from the Kan"illlljournal.
"To show respect for this
supernatural trinity of the natural world is to
in tum become an ally in the continuing
process of maintaining harmony and balance
here in the mountains of Karuah."
To order, use the form below.
ISSUE TWO - WINTER 1983·84
Yona • Bear Hunters • Pigeon River •
Another Way With Animals - Alma •
Becoming Politically Effective Mountain Woodlands • Katiiah Under the
Drill • Spirirual Wuriors
ISSUE TIIRBE • SPRINO 1984
Sustainable Agriculture • Sunflowers •
Human lmpac1 on lhe Forest - Chi.ldrens"
Education - Veronica Nichola.s:Woman
in Politics - Lillie People • Medicine
Allies
ISSUE NINE- FALL 1985
The Waldee Forest • The Trees Speak •
Migrating Foresis • Horse Logging •
Starting a Tree Crop • Urban Trees Acom Bread • Myth Tune
ISSUE FOUR · SUMMER 1984
Water Orum • Wa1u Qualiiy • Kudz.u •
Solar &lipse - Clearcutting • Trout Going 10 Water • Ram Pumps •
Microhydro • Poems: Bennie Lee
Sinclair, Jim Wayne Mille.-
ISSUE TEN· WINTER 1985.86
Kale Rogers - Circles or SIOne • Internal
Mythmaking - Holistic Healing on Trial
- Poems: Sieve Knaulh • Mythic Places •
The Uk1ena·s Tale • Cryslal Magic
'"Orcamspeaking"
ISSUE FTVE - FALL 1984
Harvest • Old Ways in Cherokee
Ginseng • Nuclear Waste • Our Celtic
Heritage • Bioregionalism: Pasi. Present.
and Future . John Wilnoly • Healing
Darkness • Politics of Puticipalion
ISSUE ELEVEN. SPRING 1986
Community Planning • Cities and lhe
Bioregional Vision • Recycling Community Oardening- Floyd County,
VA • Oasohol - Two Bioregional Views •
Nuclear Supplement - Foxfire Games
-Good Medicine: Visions
ISStJE SIX· WINTER 1984-85
Winier Solstice Earth Ceremony
Horsepa.sture River · Coming or the
Light - Log Cabin Roots - Mountain
Agriculture: The Righi Crop · William
Taylor - The Fu1urc of the Forest
Living in the Oard~~
Sacred Scarab •
Regular Membership........$10/yr.
Sponsor.......................$20/yr.
Contributor...................$50/yr.
Address
Enclosed is$
to give
this effort an extra boost
State
Phone Number
KATUAH - page 31
Herbal· Oood
Back Issues
Issue# _ _@ $2.00 = $_ _
Issue# _ _@ $2.00 = $ _ _
Issue# _ _@ $2.00 = $ _ _
Issue# _ _@ $2.00 = $ _ _
Issue# _ _@ $2.00 = $ _ _
Complete Set (2-11)
@ $15.00 = $_ _
T-Shins: specify quantity
oolor: tan
S_ _ M_ _~
L_ _ XL_ _
Zip
I can be a local contact
person for my area
Area Code
,. the Appalachian
.,~Woman
Sus1ainAble Economics - Ho1 Springs •
Worker Ownership • The Creal Economy
- Self Help Credit Union - Wild Turkey ·
Responsible Investing • Working in !he
Web of Life
For more info: call Mamie Muller (704) 252-9167
City
~t:fo\\,
<P'
ISSUE SEVEN. SPRINO 1985
KATUAH: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Aopalachians
Box 873; Cullowhee, Nonh Carolina 28723
Name
ISSUE EIOHT ·SUMMER 19g5
Celebu.tion: A Way of Life • Ka1uah
18,000 Years Ago - Sacred Siles • Folk
AIU in the Schools • Sun Cycle/Moon
Cycle Poems: Hilda Downer • Cherokee
Heritage Center - Who Owns
Appalachia?
@ $9.50 each............$ _ _
TOTAL PRICE=
postage paid
$_ _
Fall 1986
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians Records
Description
An account of the resource
<em>Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians</em>, later simplified to <em>Katúah Journal</em>, was published from 1983 to 1993. A quarterly publication, it was focused on the bioregion of former Cherokee land in Appalachia. <br /><br /><span>The early issues of the journal explain the meaning of the Cherokee name, </span><em>Katúah</em><span>, and why the editors wanted to view the world through a bioregional lens, rather than political boundaries. A volunteer production, the editors took a holistic view in tackling social, environmental, mental, spiritual, and emotional topics of the day, many of which are still relevant. </span><br /><span><br />The <em>Katúah Journal</em> was co-founded by Marnie Muller, David Wheeler, Thomas Rain Crowe, Martha Tree and others who served as co-publishers and co-editors. Other key team members included Chip Smith, David Reed, Jay Mackey, Rob Messick and many others.</span><br /><br />This digital collection is only a portion of the <em>Katúah</em>-related materials in the W.L. Eury Appalachian Collection in Special Collections at Appalachian State University. The items in AC.870 Katúah Journal records cover the production history of the <em>Katúah Journal</em>. Contained within the records are correspondence, publication information, article submissions, and financial information. The editorial layouts for issues 12 through 39 are included as are a full run of the Journal spanning nearly a decade. Also included are photographs of events related to the Journal and a film on the publication.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
This resource is part of the <em>Katúah Journal Records </em>collection. For a description of the entire collection, see <a href="https://appstate-speccoll.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/937" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Katúah Journal Records (AC. 870)</a>.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
The images and information in this collection are protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U. S. C.) and are intended only for personal, non-commercial, and educational purposes, provided proper citation is used – i.e., Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians Records, 1980-2013 (AC.870), W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection, Special Collections, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC. Researchers are responsible for securing permissions from the copyright holder for any reproduction, publication, or commercial use of these materials.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1983-1993
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
journals (periodicals)
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
<em>Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians</em>, Issue 13, Fall 1986
Description
An account of the resource
The thirteenth issue of the <em>Katúah Journal</em> focuses on the theme of death as a natural part of the life cycle and hospice. The feature story is on the Center for Awakening, a hospice founded by Elizabeth S. Callari in Boomer, North Carolina. Authors and artists in this issue include: Marnie Muller, Nena Parkerson, David Wheeler, Turrin Keye, Martha Laurie Overlock, George Ellison, Kalanu, and Rob Messick. <br /><br /><em>Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians</em>, later simplified to <em>Katúah Journal</em>, was published from 1983 to 1993. A quarterly publication, it was focused on the bioregion of former Cherokee land in Appalachia. The early issues of the journal explain the meaning of the Cherokee name, Katúah, and why the editors wanted to view the world through a bioregional lens, rather than political boundaries. A volunteer production, the editors took a holistic view in tackling social, environmental, mental, spiritual, and emotional topics of the day, many of which are still relevant.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1986
Table Of Contents
A list of subunits of the resource.
The Center for Awakening.......1<br /><br />Interview with Elizabeth Callari.......3<br /><br />Review: A Gentle Death.......5<br /><br />Hospice.......6<br /><br />Review: Dealing Creatively with Death.......7<br /><br />Interview with Ernest Morgan.......7<br /><br />Home Burial Box.......9<br /><br />The Wake.......11<br /><br />Story: "Good Night From Shadows Fall".......13<br /><br />Poem: "The Raven Mocker".......15<br /><br />Good Medicine: The Sweat Lodge.......16<br /><br />Natural World News.......18<br /><br />Review: Woodslore and Wildwoods Wisdom.......21<br /><br /><em>Note: This table of contents corresponds to the original document, not the Document Viewer.</em>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Sylva Herald Publishing Company, Sylva, North Carolina
Subject
The topic of the resource
Bioregionalism--Appalachian Region, Southern
Sustainable living--Appalachian Region, Southern
Terminal care--North Carolina, Western
Terminal care facilities--North Carolina, Western
Hospice care--North Carolina, Western
Death--Psychological aspects
Children and death
Funeral rites and ceremonies
North Carolina, Western
Blue Ridge Mountains
Appalachian Region, Southern
North Carolina--Periodicals
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<a href="https://appstate-speccoll.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/937"> AC.870 Katúah Journal records</a>
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a title="In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted" href="https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/?language=en 8" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted </a>
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
https://www.geonames.org/4456695/boomer.html
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
||||osm
Boomer (N.C.)
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
<a title="Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians" href="https://omeka.library.appstate.edu/collections/show/79" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians </a>
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
PDF
Journals (Periodicals)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1980s
Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Studies
Black Bears
Book Reviews
Children's Page
Community
Death and Dying
Forest Issues
Good Medicine
Habitat
Katúah
Poems
Radioactive Waste
Recycling
Stories
Turtle Island
Western North Carolina Alliance