Jerry Wolfe

North Carolina · born or raised1924–2018

Native-American awarded the title of "Beloved Man"

Born in Qualla Boundary

Quotations with a citation

I learned by listening to my dad. And I often asked my mother, what did he say? Back in those days, we didn't have the tube to watch. My dad would build a big fire to keep us warm, and he would start talking.

It's important to remember we are a native people with unique traditions.

We have the Old and New Testaments, written in our language. We're the only tribe on the whole globe with our own written language. Think of that.

You can tell a story in Cherokee language to a bunch of people and they all have a big laugh. I can't quite put my finger on it. It's strange but if you tell in English, there's no punchline

Our true identity is our language. We must save our language and teach the youth coming along. When a child is learning to speak, never make fun of them.