“When they first came to our lands they were weak and there were few of them. We were many and strong. So we helped them, we gave them space to live, we traded with them. They brought useful things. Knives made of steel were better than those we used to make from stone and bone. Metal pots lasted longer and cooked even better than our pots of clay. The cotton and silk and wool fabrics made the best clothing we have ever seen. And the white man’s animals, the horses and cattle, the pigs and chickens, they were wonderful. Before long, every Tsalagi family was raising those animals.

“Many of those white people, too, were good people, friends to us. Some even decided to become real human beings and joined our families. But then more whites came and they were not so kind. They did not want to help us or befriend us. They wanted our land and tried to push us out. That is when we began to fight them.

“We were better warriors and we won many battles. But there were too many of them. Finally, there were so many of them that we realized we could not fight them with weapons. No matter how many we killed, there were always more of them. We had to give up more and more of our land.”

My father lifts his chin and turns his head toward the north.

“When I was a boy, much younger than you, the white soldiers came in and burned our towns. Thousands of homes were destroyed. All my mother and I could do was flee to the hills. I remember looking back and seeing the fire smoke rising where our home had been as my mother urged me to run faster.

“Despite their great numbers, some of our Indian cousins thought they could still keep fighting the Ani-yonega. Tecumseh of the Shawnees and his brother the Prophet had a vision of driving out all the white people. They asked our warriors to join them in their big fight.

“Tsunu’lahun’ski was the one who answered those envoys. ‘The whites are like leaves in the forest and stars in the sky,’ he said. ‘You may try to drive them into the sea, but without the aid of the Tsalagi. In peace we will seek a better way.’

“So, since then, that is what we Principal People have done. We have tried to live in peace with the whites. And we have accepted many useful things from them.”

My father smiles as looks over at the big gray cat still purring in my lap.

“It was easy to understand how useful those things were. But some other things,” he says, the look on his face becoming serious again, “were not so easy to understand.”