Ooswesthoesbes

Thanks!

Thank you for your welcome message.

We're greatly interested in not only fundraising through this project, but the project's growth itself. Philippe Beaudette, my boss, is from Oklahoma and I'm from East Tennessee, so we are both interested in the Cherokee nation's push to cultivate and expand its language use. An encyclopedia written in Cherokee is a fantastic goal, and the Wikimedia Foundation is firmly behind it. Keegan, WMF Fundraiser 2010 06:26, 17 September 2010 (UTC)

Redirect

I redirected "ᏣᎷᎦ" to "ᏎᎷ ᎦᎫ," since it's a more commonly used term. Hope this is okay. ᎣᏍᏳ,0 -ᎤᏴᏍᏗ 19:02, 27 September 2010 (UTC)Uyvsdi

Most Welcome

I am still learning how to edit here but you are most welcome. I will continue through the discussion adding input where I am able.--Tsistunagiska (talk) 10:11, 4 ᎦᎶᏂᎢ 2020 (UTC)

I have a long answer for "waterfall" and that is why I haven't answered it. --Tsistunagiska (talk) 10:21, 4 ᎦᎶᏂᎢ 2020 (UTC)

I saw discussion about the possibility of closing the wiki. I truly hope they do not ever consider that. The interest it could generate if promoted would not only benefit the Cherokee from a historical basis but also promote the nation as a whole, as it currently is. We should strive for accuracy but we can't get there by shutting down discourse. It may even generate the study of other native tribes and nations in the Americas. That's something I can get behind that is productive. --Tsistunagiska (talk) 13:27, 4 ᎦᎶᏂᎢ 2020 (UTC)

@Tsistunagiska: As it stands, closure is averted for now :) Unfortunately, I don't know any Cherokee (I can't even read or write syllabics), but I have been watching this wiki for years, to remove vandalism and clear mistakes. Most page are very short, most of them no longer than a title and an image. I am an experienced wiki editor however, so if you need any help (moving pages, wiki syntax, etcetra), do not hesitate asking me :) --Ooswesthoesbes (talk) 13:44, 4 ᎦᎶᏂᎢ 2020 (UTC)

@Ooswesthoesbes I will do most anything to assist you in any way possible but mostly by contributing to the discussion. I am learning Cherokee but it is a very complex spoken language. The written is a little easier but understanding the spoken is essential to accurately being able to write the language. What I will do is put this forward to some fluent speakers that I know to see if they can offer guidance and possibly help make some articles more complete. I would like to see articles added that are dedicated to herbal medicines used (without going too in depth because we want people to seek experienced medicine(wo)men rather than trying to do it on their own) and possibly the ancestral stories but written in Cherokee. --Tsistunagiska (talk) 14:59, 4 ᎦᎶᏂᎢ 2020 (UTC)

Ofcourse, that would be a very good way to do it :) It's good to try and find a niche, which the Cherokee wikipedia can fill. I can imagine Cherokee people looking for physics and other sciences to go to the English wikipedia, while looking for articles on their culture here. I believe the Noongar community (aboriginal Australia) have a similar approach. --Ooswesthoesbes (talk) 15:15, 4 ᎦᎶᏂᎢ 2020 (UTC)

I believe we can definitely do better. It's not something that will be altered overnight. We see how long the project has been in place and I can see strides have been made. We should continue with small alterations and creation of pages with minimal information even if only a title sentence is required. Keeping it related to Cherokee history and/or Cherokee culture would be a starting point for development and can be expounded upon later. A link to the English Wikipedia would be useful for any further details the reader may want to know. --Tsistunagiska (talk) 15:48, 4 ᎦᎶᏂᎢ 2020 (UTC)

There is always a link to the English Wikipedia in the corner left, although it is not too obvious. I personally prefer contents over empty pages, because it gives a bad impression: for example 1.000 title-only pages look like there's a lot to see, but actually, there is nothing there. --Ooswesthoesbes (talk) 15:51, 4 ᎦᎶᏂᎢ 2020 (UTC)

Contact

@Ooswesthoesbes I contacted the Cherokee Heritage Center to see if they would be interested in adding an article to the Cherokee Wikipedia about the Center/Community similar to one added to the English Wikipedia. I have not received a response. Hopefully that will spur some interest in getting some fluent speakers involved. If that fails I will resort to contacting and blackmailing (tongue in cheek) some of my mothers family who are fluent speakers. --Tsistunagiska (talk) 20:01, 5 ᎦᎶᏂᎢ 2020 (UTC)

Very good :) Of course, if people find it too difficult to get involved online, you can always tell that that bringing you any material is good. --Ooswesthoesbes (talk) 06:09, 6 ᎦᎶᏂᎢ 2020 (UTC)

@Ooswesthoesbes I plan to offer two options to them. Option one is for someone who is fluent to help us remake the wiki with an emphasis on cultural and historical data specifically related to the Cherokee Nation as a whole or Option two is to allow someone to be the focal point of said information with every contribution being credited to the originator. Ideally the former is preferred but I would accept either option or a combination of both. My goal would be to use this wiki as a means to preserve the culture and language of the Cherokee in a way that could serve as a one source utilization tool to both teach and document this information for generations to come. We see and hear about the decline of Native speakers in America. Almost every tribal nation is under the constant threat of losing their identity as a people. I believe this is a worthy enough cause for any descendant of that great people to be able to stand behind and support. --Tsistunagiska (talk) 12:36, 6 ᎦᎶᏂᎢ 2020 (UTC)

Yes, that sounds good. For minority languages, inclusion is a keyword. In my native language Limburgish Wikipedia, similar things occur very often, in which an experient user gets a text from someone-else and publishes it for him/her :) --Ooswesthoesbes (talk) 14:41, 6 ᎦᎶᏂᎢ 2020 (UTC)

@OoswesthoesbesI haven't been online much the last few days as my family and I are prepping for winter which does take most of my time for a few weeks. The Center is closed due to Covid-19 but I contacted some members of the tribal Legislature hoping to get an audience. I will keep you informed. --Tsistunagiska (talk) 16:05, 11 ᎦᎶᏂᎢ 2020 (UTC)

Alright, thank you. --Ooswesthoesbes (talk) 16:08, 11 ᎦᎶᏂᎢ 2020 (UTC)

English Wikipedia

I have been doing some editing on the English Wikipedia, in regards to articles about the Cherokee. It's still minor edits but it is giving me something to do while waiting for response from my contacts. Sometimes bureaucracy takes so long. Tsistunagiska (talk) 20:44, 13 ᎦᎶᏂᎢ 2020 (UTC)

Btw, I promoted our little community on this English Wikipedia article talk page. Maybe it will get some attention. You never know who is out there and maybe just never thought about coming forward to help. Tsistunagiska (talk) 20:51, 13 ᎦᎶᏂᎢ 2020 (UTC)

That's a good idea. You never know who reads that :) --Ooswesthoesbes (talk) 05:23, 14 ᎦᎶᏂᎢ 2020 (UTC)

You have edited several articles and been an admin? Would you just look at the article I am currently editing Cherokee Society and let me know if I am on the right track? I am including a brief statement on what I am changing on each edit, primarily adding citations and making sure the information is accurate, and an overall intent on the talk page. I would be very appreciative.Tsistunagiska (talk) 17:49, 14 ᎦᎶᏂᎢ 2020 (UTC)

Ooswesthoesbes I want to restructure the segments to help the information on the article flow better. I'd like to bounce those ideas off you here if possible and get your opinion.Tsistunagiska (talk) 17:56, 14 ᎦᎶᏂᎢ 2020 (UTC)

Yes, I have been a temporary admin on the Cherokee Wikipedia, and I still am admin on several other projects (mainly the Limburgish ones). The article you are editing looks good. It is balanced (the paragraphs are not too long), the amount of (blue) links looks healthy and navigatable.

Specifically your edits: It's very good that you're adding references. They make the page credible and reliable, and also enable readers to verify the information. Adding a summary to your edits is good too. What I'd advise you is that you make the links to the references a bit cleaner, like this; it looks nicer in the "Notes" section. I'm not entirely familiar with the way the English Wikipedia works with citations, so maybe somebody will slightly alter them later on. From that, you can learn of course :)

About adding intent on the talk page: This is not that common as far as I know, but it is never harmful, so be free to do so :)

It's always good to restructure pages to make them easier to read. However, I don't think I'm going to be much of a help there, as I'm not a native English speaker, so I miss a certain "feel" for the language :) --Ooswesthoesbes (talk) 18:02, 14 ᎦᎶᏂᎢ 2020 (UTC)

Ooswesthoesbes I will make changes to my notes as you suggested. Let me show you what I intend so far.

Right now the Segments are broke out as such:

1 The seven Cherokee Clans

2 The Blood Revenge

3 The Council House

4 Villages

4.1 White government

4.2 Red government

5 Naming

6 Traditional use of masks

7 See also

8 Notes

9 References

10 External links

After restructuring:

1 The Seven Cherokee Clans

2 Villages/Government

2.1 White Government

2.2 Red Government

2.3 The Council House

3 The Beloved Women

4 Family

4.1 Marriage

4.2 Divorce

4.3 Death

4.4 Birth/Naming

5 Ceremonies

5.1 Cherokee Moons

5.2 Dances

5.3 Traditional Use of Masks

6 Sacred Numbers, Animals and Plants

6.1 Numbers

6.2 Animals

6.3 Plants

7 See Also

8 Notes

9 References

10 External Links

I will probably come back and edit it later for a section on medicine but this is what I have so far. What do you think? Tsistunagiska (talk) 18:21, 14 ᎦᎶᏂᎢ 2020 (UTC)

Looks good :) Make sure you got enough information to fill each section. --Ooswesthoesbes (talk) 18:28, 14 ᎦᎶᏂᎢ 2020 (UTC)

Ooswesthoesbes Already have at least a paragraph with citations for each including a rewrite of information where needed. Even though I have firsthand knowledge of most of this just by my family heritage and the stories I have been told I am endeavoring to find sources to back it up and use that.Tsistunagiska (talk) 18:34, 14 ᎦᎶᏂᎢ 2020 (UTC)