Victoria Advocate (Victoria, Texas) , August 14, 2009
Summary:
Kathy Lynn Copeland’s ancestors were Cherokee royalty, and her culture and her faith are something she has made it her life to share.
“I feel like all my life it’s led up to this,” she said. “To many people you have two sides. It’s part of who you are.”
Copeland will talk about her heritage and her faith Saturday at a service called Native American Sunday at the Port Lavaca First United Church.
The service, which is a nationwide celebration for the First United Methodist church established in 1988, will make its debut in Port Lavaca with Copeland as a guest of honor.
“You don’t hear that much about Native American people,” Copeland said. “Our history book talks about the Trail of Tears in one sentence. There’s so much history about the Trail of Tears that people are blown away when they learn the real history.”
Copeland is the author of a number of books that chronicle the stories of Cherokee people. A tattered history she says is still not mended.
“What most people don’t know is there’s still stuff going on with Native Americans,” she said. “For so many native American people, there’s a lot of scars, from losing your traditional homeland, and the way we feel about animals and broken treaties.”
Subjects Covered: diversity