O'siyo,
My
name is Jay Two Shadows Morris. Like many of the Lost
Tsalagi I was raised in a white world, our family history
hidden
away by well-intentioned ancestors. I will not condemn
them for the decisions they made but their actions
left
a hole in my heart. One I could not understand. After
completing a tour of duty as a member of the United States
Marine
Corps I attended the University of Missouri and graduated
from the Kansas City Campus with a BA in
Mathematics
and Mathematics Education. I taught all levels of High
School Mathematics and Science in Kansas,
Missouri,
and Virginia for nearly 15 years. I attended graduate
school at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut
receiving
a Masters of Mechanical Engineering and a Masters of
Engineering Philosophy degrees. I am now a Senior
Lecturer
at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, where I
have been teaching in the department of Computer
Science
since 1995.
Through
my youth I felt a lingering sense that something was
missing. Something I could not explain with an
equation
or simulate with a computer. Then, unexpectedly, after
years of research, my younger brother uncovered
the
truth of our Native American ancestry. Over the last eight
years I have voraciously read everything I could get
my
hands on concerning the Tsalagi, their history, their
traditions, but especially their language. I have
attempted
to
forge the pieces of myself into a whole person in the
Tsalagi way, redefining myself and my place in a
modern,
technological world. I do not claim to have experienced a
magical enlightenment or to hold any secret
to
the
meaning
of life. All I know is that I am happier now, and am
comfortable with the path that I have chosen:
the
Tsalagi
path. Duyuktv is the word, it means, balance, truth,
justice, the right way, the Cherokee way.
When
called to serve The United Cherokee Nation (UCN), my goals
center on education and outreach. By providing
schools
with an educational experience, facts about the Tsalagi,
the history, the culture, the language we will gain
an
opportunity to find more of the Lost Tsalagi. I would like
to build an online repository for lesson plans and
learning
materials such as PowerPoint presentations, open copyright
photos and music, not only for our people
but
anyone else to use. Additionally, I would like to start an
Intertribal Student Organization for university age
students,
to give them a place to learn, ask questions, and
socialize.
For
the local clan I feel that a regularly scheduled
gathering, even a casual one, would go far as a unifying
experience.
I believe that only by looking into each others eyes; by
grasping their hands, by hearing their voices
can
the clan experience reach its potential. I believe that
The United Cherokee Nation (UCN) offers a home to not
only
those “lucky” enough to be certified by a faceless
Federal Agency that follows an arbitrary and capricious
set
of imposed guidelines, but to those who were rejected,
such as the Freedmen or like me, those labeled “thin
blood”.
I reject the notion that an artificial, imposed concept
such as blood quanta, can define who we are as a
human
beings, I reject the idea that others can decide what path
we choose to follow or how we view ourselves.
With
utmost respect,
Donadogohunee
Clan
Chief Jay "Two Shadows" Morris
- 412 Sycamore Road
- Portsmouth, VA 23707
-
- Phone: 757-393-4109
-
