The University of North Carolina Press

News Bytes

August/September 1998


Cherokee Storytelling: A Living Tradition

Cherokee storytelling is a living, vital tradition hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years old. Cherokee storytelling grows and changes as new tales are added and old ones are changed or forgotten. New stories about recent events and family histories form an important part of oral tradition, along with the animal stories, creation myths, and legends. In Living Stories of the Cherokee, Barbara R. Duncan collected stories told by six contemporary storytellers who learned their art and their stories from family and community. Here we present "The Legend of the Corn Beads," as told by the late Edna Chekelelee. Duncan says, "Edna used stories to entertain her children and to teach them (and anyone else who was around) how to act, to teach outsiders about Cherokee culture, and to teach Cherokee history and philosophy to audiences throughout the Southeast."

Copyright (c) 1998, The University of North Carolina Press. Reproduction or distribution is prohibited without the express permission of the University of North Carolina Press. All rights reserved.



The Legend of the Corn Beads
Edna Chekelelee

Cherokee women
wear the legendary necklace made of corn beads.
It is a gift
from the Great Spirit
in the shape of a teardrop.
This is the Cherokee legend of the corn beads.
In the 1800s
during the Trail of Tears,
the corn stalks were eight feet tall,
and corn was twelve to eighteen inches long.
The corn stood back and watched
as the Indian people were getting pushed and shoved
by the white soldiers.
And the corn cried and cried.
And the teardrop landed on the corn fodder,
and the corn dropped down to three feet tall.
That's why it's called teardrop,
our mother of corn.
The Cherokee women used these teardrops,
our mother of corn,
to make beautiful cornbeads,
but to me this is sad.
But it is a way to remember
the Trail of Tears.


Living Stories of the Cherokee is available in paperback ($15.95) and hardcover ($29.95) at bookstores or from the University of North Carolina Press, 1-800-848-6224. Say you saw it on the internet. Email ordering also available.


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