When Charlotte Richardson grew up in Greenup County, her Native American heritage was never mentioned.  The 1940s was “not an era of finding your roots,” she remembers.  Instead, embarrassment led her family to hide their ancestry.

  Her father’s family was Cherokee and her mother’s family was Creek, and when she applied for tribal identity she received Creek papers.  “I had finally found my soul,” she says with deep satisfaction.  She fervently wishes people would learn to listen to the earth and teach their children to do the same.  She spends time in schools educating students by giving them a more accurate portrait of her forebears through telling Native American myths and legends.  She also makes authentic clothing and silver jewelry creating her own designs from Cherokee and Creek traditions.

  Richardson has been a member of Governor Paul Patton’s Native American Heritage Commission, which works to pass state laws that protect Native American burial grounds and artifacts.

Visit the Cherokee Nation Web site and learn about the history of the Nation.
Learn more about the history of the Creek Nation.