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TAHLEQUAH, OK - Everything we see with our eyes is temporary. You can’t see anything that is permanent." Hastings Shade, Cherokee Nation Deputy, begins another session at a recent Cherokee culture camp.

For four days, attendees stayed at Camp Egan, near Tahlequah, and studied Cherokee language, history and culture. Daily activities included hands-on workshops, storytelling sessions, and arts and crafts, as well as traditional Cherokee meals.

"We try to answer four questions," Shade said. "We teach where we come from, who we are, where we have been and where we are going. Our elders have passed down this knowledge, and it’s our duty to pass it along as well."

Fourteen people attended the four-day session.

"The group didn’t want to leave on Thursday when we were through," Shade said. "They wanted to stay longer. This is the first one, and we had a lot of interest from people who couldn’t attend during the week. We had a lot of teachers interested as well, so we may try to schedule one during spring break or over Christmas break."

The event was open to the public, and there was a broad mix of attendees.

"We had some tribal members, a couple of Cherokee Nation employees came out for the night sessions, people from Nebraska, Arkansas, all over," Shade said. "Some people think we shouldn’t teach non-Indians, but if they want to learn about our culture and history, they might understand why we do things different than everybody else."

"We’ve got to teach everybody to make sure everybody understands what it means to be Indian," Shade said. "Right now it’s cool to be Indian, but one of these days it won’t be."

The Cherokee Nation plans to offer the camp again in the future, but no dates are set. The first camp cost $250, but future camps could cost less. The bulk of the costs go for lodging and food.

"We’re trying to lower the cost, and we’d like to make it free, if we can get a place for people to stay."

For information on future camps, call Evelyn Conley or Sandy Houston at the Cherokee Nation; (918) 456-0671 ext. 2201.