First Nations Legacy - "Miracle drug"

Five hundred years ago, the people of the First Nations grew a crop that was used as a medicine for headaches, digestive problems and ailments of the lungs in children as well as adults.

It could be used in a powder form, or burned and inhaled. It was a well known medicine, and was so powerful and effective that the early settlers quickly adopted it and introduced it to Europe. Its use spread throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and eventually became a recreational drug.

Today it is one of the most highly addictive and widespread drugs in the world. Ironically, this medicine's use now leads to diseases of the mouth, throat and lungs that it once treated and prevented.

Tobacco.

First Nations Legacy - "Independent Press"

One of our nation's oldest independent newspapers began in 1828. The Cherokee Phoenix was the first American Indian newspaper and is still published today.

The Phoenix was created to bring together the scattered Cherokee communities into a single tribe. Many articles were critical of U.S. government policies of removal. Writers debated land ownership in the eastern homelands weighed against opportunities west of the Mississippi River.

Ultimately, the Cherokee and the Phoenix moved to the territories now known as Oklahoma. The Cherokee Trail of Tears, conflicts with the U.S. government and the rise to economic success have all been chronicled in the pages of their tribal paper.

What's even more remarkable about the Phoenix is the fact that it was originally printed in the Cherokee language, using a writing system that was less than a decade old.

Wadoh.