{Roots}
Cherokee Legacy By Loyd McIntosh
Three generations of Cherokees: Rowland Matthews poses with daughter, Angie, and grandsons, Brody and Wyatt, at the April PowWow in Guntersville
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e’ve all heard stories from our grandparents about how they had to walk uphill both ways to school in six feet of snow, about how Grandpa’s first car cost a nickel and how he had to work for months to save up the money for it, or about how Grandma was one of Babe Ruth’s girlfriends. But what about when they start telling stories about their own heritage, particularly stories about their Indian heritage? It’s hard to know what to believe when some of our more senior relations start rolling with a good story, embellishing tales about how their greatgrandfather was on the Trail of Tears, or that they knew Sequoia personally. Sometimes, those tall tales turn out not to be so tall at all and can be life changing. For proof, just ask Rowland Matthews. A businessman from Grant, near Guntersville, Matthews is on the Tribal Council of the United Cherokee Ani-Yun-Wiya Nation and a wellknown historian of Cherokee lore throughout the South, particularly Northeast Alabama. However, Matthews may never have known anything about his Cherokee heritage had it not been for a single conversation with his grandmother as
34 Longleaf Style Summer 2009
a small child. In that conversation, Matthews’ grandmother talked about her own childhood and about an ancestor, a Cherokee chief known as Grey Eagle. Grey Eagle was her grandfather and lived near Tallulah Falls Georgia. “She only told me about it once and I didn’t let it bother me for almost fifty years,” Matthews said. “Then, about seven or eight years ago, it really began to bother me and I wanted to know why she would tell the story once and never talk about it again.” As a result, the research led to the discovery of Chief Grey Eagle’s original “Council Chair,” which was on display at the Tallulah Falls School for some ninety-seven years. For nearly a decade, Matthews has been obsessed with learning about his Cherokee heritage, a task he has gladly taken up to help preserve his family’s history. “For some reason, there is always one person in the family who will become interested and do the research,” Matthews said. “I guess I happened to be that person.” Through his research, Matthews learned that many of his ancestors settled in Jackson and Marshall Counties after leaving Cherokee