Light for the Darkness

A packed SUV containing the Simmons family pulled into the Oconaluftee Visitor Center. The Oconaluftee Forest is the valley of the Oconaluftee River in North Carolina’s Great Smokey Mountains. The river is sacred to the Cherokee People.

Jim and Meredith Simmons were eager to stretch their legs after the long ride north from Florida’s Disney World. Their twin eight-year-old children, Bruce and Bridget, were even more eager to escape the back seat of the Ford Explorer. They had said goodbye to Disney World early in the morning and headed for the North Carolina mountains. As awesome as Disney World had been, Meredith and Jim wanted the kids to experience some time outdoors before the start of school that was fast approaching.

Knowing they would arrive at the Great Smokey Mountains National Park in the late afternoon following the long trek from Florida, the family had ensured that their camping gear was packed for easy access. Meredith and Jim were enthusiastic hikers and campers, having spent many days and nights outdoors before the birth of the twins slowed down their frequent treks through forests. Knowing they had over a mile to walk to their backcountry campsite and would need time to set up their tent, the family quickly registered, checked their gear, and headed onto the trail.

For Meredith and Jim, it was like being home again even though they had never hiked in this area. For Bruce and Bridget, it was a new experience. Even though there were many interesting sites to point out to the twins, Mom and Dad encouraged the twins to use their imagination and think of the many things that had happened throughout history in this same area where they now walked. They talked to the children about the Cherokee People who had lived on this land for centuries. They talked about how they fished from the Oconaluftee for food and how they also hunted the animals that roamed the area for not only food but for the hides that could be used for clothes and blankets when the temperatures fell in winter and snow covered the area. Both Bruce’s and Bridget’s eyes got very large when their dad talked of bears in the area. Their Mom added that the Cherokee were also good farmers that cultivated the land.

Bridget shouted, “I would not have liked to kill bears! I like bears.”

“You would not have hunted the bears, Bridget. When the Cherokee hunted here, the men did most of the hunting and the women did most of the farming. They worked together to care for each other,” Mom explained.

“Will I be able to find bows and arrows that the Cherokee used?” asked Bruce.

“Probably not,” answered Dad, “but look for the arrowheads. They would be very old now, but you never know when you might find something that belonged to the early inhabitants.”

After the discussion between parents and kids ended, the trek to the campsite slowed. Bruce was so intent to look at the ground for arrowheads that he twice walked into a tree. Bridget was so busy looking for bears that she almost walked into the river. Finally, however, the family arrived at their campsite alongside the river. The campsite was beautifully situated just inside the forest giving a clear view of the river and the mountains in the background.

While Dad set up camp, Mom and the kids went to find firewood. By the time the sun was starting to set over the mountain peaks, Mom had put together a delicious meal from the dehydrated foods they had brought with them. It wasn’t quite as good as what she cooked at home but since everyone was tired and hungry, no one was about to complain. When the meal was finished and the dishes were cleaned and put away, they sat around the campfire and roasted marshmallows. Instead of the sounds of television, the family was treated to the sounds of the great outdoors under the light of a full moon and a sky of millions of stars. The forlorn cry of a coyote introduced a sound that the twins had never heard.

The fire was beginning to die down when Bruce spoke up and said, “Dad, can you tell us more about the Cherokee that used to live here? How did they get here and where did they go?”

“Son, the history of the Cherokee and other Native Americans in this area and throughout what is now the United States is one of the great tragedies of our country. They did not come here; they were already here long before the explorers and later the settlers from Europe began to arrive. They were the original inhabitants of this land. That is why we call them Native Americans.”

A shadowy figure spoke from the edge of the forest. “Your father speaks the truth, young one. The land you are visiting has been the home of my people since time immemorial. You are welcome in our land if you care for it and come in peace.” The shadowy figure said nothing more and then disappeared.

Jim and Meredith looked at each other. It was Meredith that first spoke, “Jim what just happened? Was that real?”

“I’m not sure,” replied Jim. “I heard the voice but only saw something in the shadows, what did it say?”

It said that we are in the home of his people and that we are welcome if we care for it and come in peace.

Bruce asked, “Was that a ghost?’

Bridget said, “Mommy, I’m scared,” and crawled into her mother’s arms.

“I think it’s time we get some sleep,” said Dad. “We had a very long day and all of us are tired.”

Jim carefully put out the campfire and the family moved into the tent and crawled into their sleeping bags each wondering what they had just seen and heard. Everyone lay awake for a short time and then fell into a sound sleep in the home of the voice that had spoken to them.

It was still early the next morning, when Bruce’s eyes opened. Looking around he saw that everyone else was still asleep. Gently shaking his sister awake, he whispered to Bridget, “We have to go outside and find what was out there last night.” The twins quietly slipped out of the tent and began searching for any clues they could find. Finding nothing in the woods around the campsite, Bruce and Bridget decided they should check down by the river. Their mother’s warning to not go near the river was long forgotten. The twins looked up and down the river and found nothing but were intrigued by a large tree that had fallen and hung out over the river just feet above the water level.

“Bridget, you stay here, I’m going to climb out on the tree so I can see along the banks of the river. Not waiting for any approval from his sister, Bruce quickly pulled himself up on the tree and walked out over the river. As he got out further from the shore, he sat down and moved cautiously as he looked up and down the river. Bridget, who had never believed that Bruce should tell her what to do, followed not far behind her brother. Bruce, concentrating on looking everywhere he could on the river, never heard Bridget coming up behind him until she slipped, screamed, and fell into the water. Bridget grabbed hold of a large tree limb and held on as best she could, but the current was strong. Seeing what had happened, Bruce reached out as far as he could for his sister but lost his balance and fell into the river. Bridget lost her grip on the branch but managed to grab onto Bruce as both children were swept toward the middle of the river.

Parents, especially mothers, have an uncanny ability to know when their children are in danger. Though they were too far away for her to hear their screams, Meredith awoke, saw the children were gone and immediately roused Jim and headed outside to search. Quickly joined by Jim, the couple decided to first check the river with Jim heading upstream and Meredith heading downstream.

In the middle of the river, Bruce and Bridget were struggling to keep their heads above water and were quickly exhausting their strength. They held to each other as best they could but were pulled beneath the river’s surface.

Meredith and Jim had agreed to meet back at the campsite if they had not found their children after thirty minutes of searching. When they arrived back, fear and concern were written on their faces.

Meredith hugged her husband and said, “Jim, I’m scared. Where could they be?”

“They’re OK,” Jim said with a confidence he did not feel. They are close by. We only have to find them. Look at me Meredith, we are going to find them.”

As if on cue the next sound that Meredith and Jim heard, were shouts of “Mom! Dad!” that could only have come from their children. Turning around and looking out onto the river, the parents saw their children aboard a canoe paddled by a Native American headed in their direction. The children looked disheveled as if they had been swimming in their clothes and were covered in bearskin blankets.Neither Mom nor Dad waited until the canoe touched the shore. Both waded in and grabbed a child; and hugged them with all the love their hearts could hold. Moments passed before the family y turned to the Native American who had pulled the canoe up on the riverbank and stood quietly while the parents reunited with their children. Jim was the first to turn to the Native American and say, “Thank you, where did you find them?”

The Native American replied, “They had sunk beneath the surface of the river and were near death. They are brave children, and I knew from hearing you speak with them last night that you and your wife are raising them as they should be raised. I knew that I should save them. We need more people willing to work together and make a peaceful world for all who inhabit the earth.”

Meredith and the children had come to stand beside Jim with Meredith holding a hand of each child.

Meredith said, “You are the voice that spoke to us last night. Who are you?”

“I am called Light for the Darkness, and this area has been my home and the home for many Cherokee People and other Native Americans for many generations.

Bridget spoke quickly, “Why are you called Light for the Darkness?”

“In the darkest days of my people, my grandfather believed that I was able to see the light and teach others even through the darkest of times. He changed my name to Light for the Darkness. I was then blessed by the Great Spirit to live a special life. I was gifted with the ability to speak to those deserving and teach them the true history of my people.”

Meredith asked, “Would you come and sit by our fire and tell us more?”

Jim restarted the fire and put on coffee while Meredith helped the children change into dry clothes and, at their insistence, place the bearskin blankets back around their shoulders as they walked back to the campfire.

As the family sat, Light for the Darkness began to speak. “It was on this very spot that I was born many generations ago. It was here in this river that I learned to swim and to fish. Where you now see forests, there were fields where my sisters cultivated our crops. We grew beans, corn, squash and pumpkins in abundance. We were good farmers, and we shared our harvest with other tribes and later with the settlers that came here. I learned to hunt the elk, deer, and bear that roamed here. We used their meat for food and the hides to keep us warm. We killed only what we needed and like our crops we shared with others.

Our elders formed a government so that we could settle our differences with other tribes peacefully. We were good to the land and to the people around us. Like you have today, men and women both held positions of authority. There was respect for all people.

When the European settlers arrived, we welcomed them and taught them how to grow crops and to care for the land. We considered them our friends. It was not until your President Andrew Jackson forced us to leave our home to make more room for settlers that we faced the severe hardships of the Trail of Tears. I walked the Trail with my family, but I was the only one to survive. The trail was brutal to many of my people. Many died of starvation and disease. My mother and my brothers and sisters, all perished before we made it to the new land called Oklahoma where your President put us on a reservation.

Bruce, fascinated by the story being told by Light for the Darkness, asked “If you were in Oklahoma how did you come back here.”

“I lived in our new home in Oklahoma until the last of my family was gone. I then prayed to the Great Spirit to let me return to the home of my ancestors. The Great Spirit answered my prayers, and I returned to this land. The Great Spirit only asked that I do what I could to protect this land and to teach the people that come here the truth about the Cherokee People.”

“We are very grateful to you for saving the lives of our children. Is there anything we can do to repay you?” asked Jim.

“Continue to raise your children as you do now. Teach them to honor the land and work in harmony with their fellow man. Teach them the ways of peace. At times they will find that very difficult, but it is the only way that mankind will survive the darkness of the world. Help others to understand that the Cherokee People and other Native American People now hold important positions in the world. They once lived a wonderful life in the woods and some still do, but many have come out of the woods. They are doctors, engineers, business owners, and educators. They have taken a different place in the world and deserve to be respected for that.

Light for the Darkness stood and said, “Thank you for listening to my story. It is now time for me to go.”

The family walked down to the river’s edge where Light for the Darkness had left his canoe. Both Bruce and Bridget hugged the Cherokee and thanked him with tears in their eyes. Jim helped push the canoe into deeper water as Light for the Darkness paddled toward the middle of the river. The family watched as the current carried the canoe downstream. They were still watching as Light for the Darkness turned and raised his hand to say goodbye. The entire family waved back and then suddenly he was gone. There was no lightning strike or roar of thunder; he simply was gone.

The family made their way back to the campsite in silence. It was Bruce that first asked the question that all of them were thinking. “Dad, will we ever see him again?”

“I don’t know, son. We were truly blessed to see him this one time. We should remember him and keep him in our thoughts.”

The family enjoyed the remainder of their vacation along the banks of the Oconaluftee River. The kids and Meredith even convinced Dad to let them stay an extra day before climbing into the SUV for the ride home. They explored all the surrounding area with a new perspective. They now saw it as the home of Light for the Darkness and the many generations of his people.

They never saw Light for the Darkness again, but the family saw just about everything else that they could that taught them much about the history of the Cherokee People.

In later years, whenever the family began to talk about future vacations, it seemed that camping was almost always the choice and frequently it was to areas where Native American history was plentiful. When the children were older, the family returned to the same campsite where they had first met Light for the Darkness. Though they all seemed to feel his presence he never appeared or spoke to them.

That vacation by the Oconaluftee River had a profound impact on Bruce and Bridget. They both earned degrees at prestigious universities. They felt at least in some small way this repaid Light for the Darkness for saving their lives. They also continued his mission of teaching about Native American Heritage and caring for the land that once belonged to the Native Americans. Bruce earned a degree in forestry and became the U.S. Forestry Service’s most prominent authority on the conservation and restoration of Native American ancestral lands. Bridget earned a PhD in Native American History and taught for many years on the subject at universities throughout the United States. She later left teaching and became a bestselling author and the United States’ foremost authority on the subject.

Light for the Darkness still lives in his ancestral home and continues to teach the truth about the Cherokee People and other Native Americans.