Meet No-La

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to No-La. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

No-La, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

My resilience starts generations back on both my maternal and paternal sides. I am Eastern Band Cherokee and Mexican which means the brown hues of my skin, the thick dark hair that falls down my back in waves, and the dark almost black iris’s of my eyes are from multiple generations of people choosing to love each other even if its for a moment or a lifetime just from their interaction came the different features that make up me. I have a big laugh something that is shared amongst my family members and those loud echoes of laughter are reminders that there is something good to be thought of and shared. My resilience is something I both witnessed and have had eternally passed down through genetics. I was raised by women who had to be strong to survive. The men in my life taught me physical toughness in order to ensure I will always be able to take care of myself. All of these teachings I have received have poured into my resilience in ways that you have to pay close attention too. Something I didn’t learn until I was older was all of my experiences past and present make up me and through that the decisions my ancestors made thousands of years ago I still feel or can even see the effect of just by looking in the mirror. Sometimes my smile looks like my great great grandma that I have never met but have heard stories of or maybe my laugh is just like my aunts when she was my age. My people have an understanding of always being reminded of seven generations before and always think of the outcome for the future seven generations and when I think of where my resilience comes from I like to think it comes from those seven generations each thinking how the next will effect the next including myself.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I work at the Museum of the Cherokee People as an Atsila Aotasgi Lead Cultural Specialist which means I do a lot of educational outreach programs both onsite and offsite. My job takes interested Cherokee people and gives them the tools and resources to learn about Cherokee culture and how we can best make it accessible to our community. I work with all ages from toddlers all the way up to elders. Through my job I have been able to connect to not only my culture but to my community in ways I didn’t know was possible and there is so much more than just the history. Through my job I get to work with kids I am related to and get to share with them how cool Cherokee culture is and be a role model for them that is reachable. A role model they see not just at their schools doing programs but also at the grocery store or a basketball game. Our museum is in the process of rebranding the way we have been operating for many years from less of a “Natural History” museum to a First Voices Museum which focuses on telling our story from our perspective and understanding.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

One area I struggle in is control and realizing that I cannot control everything. There are times when I get very stuck to my schedule and how things are supposed to work out and if they don’t go perfectly then I get upset or flustered. I have gotten better but really understanding that I can only control myself and my reaction and as long as I am doing what I am supposed and are satisfied with the outcome. I cannot worry about who is not showing up on time or if they’re unprepared I can only control me. I give myself lots of pep talks.
Being able to communicate and not assume. I feel like a lot of people will talk about the importance of communication and really does make a difference. Even if you have already said it 5 times you should say it another 5 just to make sure and as for assuming never assume anything. I learned not everyone knows what you know so don’t assume just because you know how to put together a pop-up tent that the guy from front desk also knows how to put up a pop-up tent. (Learned that the hard way). It is always good to just confirm and repeat no matter what it is.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?

My challenge currently is working on achieving my degree. I love history and am currently studying Anthropology as my major but the issue is as an indigenous woman our history and knowledge is often times not taken as serious as other histories or it is pushed to the side because of the excuse of not knowing enough about early indigenous people but who doesn’t know a lot the “teachers” or the indigenous people who know their histories and teachings. As an indigenous scholar I have to look at everything through an indigenous lens and really take apart the resource readings rather than taking them as they are. I want to change the way people understand my peoples history and it starts with debunking what we have been told is correct and sharing it in a way people understand.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: n.d.t.2

Image Credits

Cameron Wilder
Cherokee Indian One Feather
Museum of the Cherokee People