One Tribe

http://www.indians.org/welker/cherokee.htm

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173536

I chose a poem from the Cherokee culture, a culture which I knew nothing about. I
also chose another poem, but from the American culture during the Regionalism period.
Both of the poems deal with a common theme of people going above and beyond what is
being asked of them. In the Cherokee cultured poem, they didn’t want the white men to
take their land and wanted them to not be able to make it past the mountain ranges.
Unfortunately, the white men got passed the mountains and started to search for land
they can claim. The Cherokee people did everything they possibly could to keep their land
by having all of the warriors ready for battle. They were determined, and would do
anything they could for what they wanted and what they believed in. The second poem
was all about finding out what the universe means and to explore new things that may not
be known yet. By overcoming life’s obstacles and pushing through the hard times is
similar to when the white men physically overcame life’s obstacles. Both of these poems
touch upon the idea of always pushing yourself and to keep on going. Even though these
different cultured poems were written during totally different time periods, they both show
how important it is to go above and beyond and keep going on.