|
|
|
|
The Book
Charles Frazier’s Thirteen Moons is the story of one man’s
remarkable life, spanning a century of relentless change. At the age of
twelve, an orphan named Will Cooper is given a horse, a key, and a map
and is sent on a journey through the wilderness to the edge of the
Cherokee Nation, the uncharted white space on the map. Will is a bound
boy, obliged to run a remote Indian trading post. As he fulfills his
lonesome duty, Will finds a father in Bear, a Cherokee chief, and is
adopted by him and his people, developing relationships that ultimately forge
Will’s character. All the while, his love of Claire, the enigmatic and
captivating charge of volatile and powerful Featherstone, will forever
rule Will’s heart.
In a distinct voice filled with both humor and yearning, Will tells of a
lifelong search for home, the hunger for fortune and adventure, the
rebuilding of a trampled culture, and above all an enduring pursuit of
passion. As he comes to realize, "When all else is lost and gone
forever, there is yearning. One of the few welcome lessons age teaches is
that only desire trumps time."
Will Cooper, in the hands of Charles Frazier, becomes a classic
American soul: a man devoted to a place and its people, a woman, and a
way of life, all of which are forever just beyond his reach. Thirteen
Moons takes us from the uncharted wilderness of an unspoiled
continent, across the South, up and down the Mississippi,
and to the urban clamor of a raw Washington City.
Throughout, Will is swept along as the wild beauty of the nineteenth
century gives way to the telephones, automobiles, and encroaching
railways of the twentieth. Steeped in history, rich in insight, and
filled with moments of sudden beauty, Thirteen Moons is an
unforgettable work of fiction by an American master.
|
|
|
To Order the Book -
Click Here
|
|
|
Recommended by Charles Frazier
Living Stories of the Cherokee, Cherokee Heritage Trails Guidebook Click Here
|
|
|
Translation Available
“Thirteen Moons: Removal” will be
available June 9 in the Museum Store. This is the inaugural publication
of the Yonaguska Literature Initiative from the Museum of the Cherokee
Indian Press.
Tsogadu Nvdo:
Tsigegvwovdisgei
By Charles Frazier
Cherokee Translation by Myrtle Driver
$11.95 paperback
For wholesale information contact littlejohn@cherokeemuseum.org
|
|
|
Cherokee Literature Initiative
This new initiative will translate and publish works of literature in
the Cherokee language, beginning with Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier,
translated by Myrtle Driver (Eastern Cherokee). This effort will help to
preserve the Cherokee language by encouraging literacy in the language.
Cherokee has its own form of writing invented in 1821 by Sequoyah, a
Cherokee genius who could not read and write in any language when he
invented his syllabary, which is still used today.
The Cherokee Literature Initiative was started with a grant from Charles
Frazier in partnership with the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, a
non-profit organization, and the Tsalagi Aniwoni Committee. Donations to
the initiative can be made to the museum at: or call: 888-665-7249
|
|
|
To hear the Cherokee language/see the Cherokee
language
|
|
|
Tours
|
|
|
To Visit Cherokee Click Here
|
|
|
Will Thomas and Tsali artifacts
|
|
|
|
|
Frequently Asked Questions
What were Thirteen Moons?
The Cherokees were taught to carefully observe from an early age and were
knowledgeable about plants, animals, and the changing seasons. They
marked the solstices, equinoxes, and phases of the moon. They, like other
tribes, observed that there are thirteen lunar months in every year.
Was there a woman named Claire Featherstone? No.
Did the Cherokees have plantation houses?
Yes, from about 1800-1838 there were about a dozen Cherokee men who were
wealthy landowners who had large houses, landholdings, and African
slaves. Joseph Vann, in 1835, owned more than 1000 acres of land, 110
slaves, blacksmith shops, ferries, stores, orchards, stills, taverns,
racehorses, and a steamboat named the Lucy Walker.
Did the Cherokees do the Booger Dance as described in Thirteen
Moons?
Women sometimes participated, although rarely. Hornet’s nests were used
as masks.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Exhibits and Collections || Visitor Information || Join
the Museum || Archives || Museum Store
Contact the Museum || Education
Department || Warriors of Anikituhwa ||
Museum Homepage
|
|
|
|
