"Simple Gifts"

Indigenous Americas By Brian Wilkes

Years ago in Oklahoma, I was taught to make Cherokee-style corn husk dolls. Scraps of leftover cloth form simple aprons and headscarves. They are made without facial features, since making one with the features of a recognizable person could be misinterpreted as the first step to black magic. Somehow, they seem to develop faint features over the years. This is a lesson that while we may resemble our parents, our true face develops from what we do with our lives. Sprigs of white dogwood blossoms complete the composition. In much of rural America, far from splashy commercial stores, hand-made gifts are still highly valued.