My Cherokee grandmothers on both sides were part of the Cherokee Native Americans in Georgia and several other southern states that immediately made the trip west of the Mississippi River.

Grandmother Eliza was a photography teacher in the Mileadgeville, Georgia Prison. They grabbed what little they could and fled west of the Mississippi. They came by whatever means of transportation. I still have the baby carriage that was used during this exodus. That clan of Cherokees named the village here as they settled Onega. The word in the Cherokee language means white.

Most of you are aware of my kidney disease and my being on a home dialysis system. Little did my grandparents know that they same government 175 years later would be offering support for their descendants in the same neighborhood where they were settling. I just couldn’t live without the insurance program that exists now and has proven benefit during my illness. I am grateful for these programs that didn’t exist when the Cherokees were making this forced journey. My doctor and his staff are to be commended for helping keeping me going.

I was in the clinic for a regular check up the other day and the social worker wanted to see me when the doctor and nurses finished with me. Doctor Bhana told me to sit down. She asked me what I did with my spare time. She was conducting a study and was asking many questions. I told Dr. Bhana that I had been writing a historical column for the Aubrey newspaper. She began asking me questions about what kind of information I wrote about. She asked me to bring her a copy of the newspaper. She introduced me to her nephew who was visiting for a few days. Dr. Bhana said that her nephew, Sagar Nagalla, was from India and was visitng with her for a few days before his appointment in Washington D.C. Sagar told me that his daughter was living in Virginia near Washington D.C. from April 7 to April 29. After his trip to Virginia, he is going back to India. Sagar is a Civil Engineer in India.

While talking to Dr. Bhana, I told her that I was the historian for the Texas Cherokee Nation, which included Mexico. Jokingly I commented that it was a good thing that she was here today, because President Jackson was killing all of the Indians back in the 1800's.

Dr. Bhana’s being from India is another example of immigrants to our country and the benefits of living in our country compared to the early 1800's when my ancestors were considered illegal immigrants.

History now tells us that if the Cherokees changed their appearance and denied their heritage so they became land seekers and settled in this area.

The photo is of the Aubrey School in the 1870's. Many civilized Indians are in this old photo, but they are disguised. I think the second person on the right side is A.Q. Mustain.

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