"I have been surrounded by American Indian culture all my life. I've always been drawn to it, but that's only natural.

I was born in a federal American Indian hospital. My grandmother grew up in an Indian orphanage in Oklahoma, where I'm from.

When I was about 8, I remember going to my great aunt's funeral and listening to the entire service in Cherokee, from the choir's songs to the preacher's eulogy. I can only say hello, cat, turtle - and a few dirty words - in Cherokee.

My uncle Andrew played a Sioux Indian and actually had a line in the old Western movie "The Indian Fighter" that starred Kirk Douglas.

I learned the difference between jingle dancers and fancy dancers, Southeastern and Southwestern pottery, and I've tried grape dumplings and kanuchi (a broth made from nuts). I went off to college at the University of Arkansas and even then took an American Indian Studies class."

Get the Story:
Julie Hubbard: Finding a connection to my past (The Macon Telegraph 6/4)
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