Cultural Background Storyteller's Cabin
			Written by Craig Dominey The year was 1838. As the first rays of early morning light crept through the dark and misty mountain valley, Tsali gazed out of his tiny cave with a heavy heart. As a young boy, he spent days running though the thick woods and scampering up the steep, rocky hillsides that surrounded his Cherokee village in western North Carolina. The mountains were his place of escape -- a place where he could dream, and be alone with his thoughts. But now, as an ailing, 60-year-old man, Tsali was hiding in these hills for a very different reason. The white man had taken away the land that his ancestors had lived on for centuries. And they would not stop until even these majestic, sacred hills were theirs. Tsali looked out and saw his fellow villagers, who were also hiding in the tiny crevices that dotted the wooded hillside. Many were shivering in the early morning chill. In their haste to leave, they had had no time to pack their belongings. Some managed to smile back at Tsali, their teeth chattering in the bone-chilling wind. Tsali was one of the elders of the village, and was highly respected amongst his people. Tsali managed to smile back, but in his heart he knew that, as long as he stayed here, he was a danger to all of them. For of all the fugitive Cherokees, he was the most wanted by the white man. Now, as the bright morning light slowly burned through the bluish mist, Tsali knew he was about to make the most important decision of his life. -1-
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