Sharon Ewell Foster: Defending Black Cherokees

The news March 3 that the citizenship of 2,800-plus freedman descendants of African-American slaves in the Cherokee Nation will be revoked came as a personal blow to Bethany House novelist Sharon Ewell Foster, who is an unofficial descendant. The double RITA-award finalist's newest book and seventh novel, Abraham's Well (2006) is the little-known story of the black Cherokees, who walked the Trail of Tears in 1838-39, and were included in the death toll that has been estimated as high as 7,000. They were adopted into the tribe in 1866.

"I think we have come to this place because most of my brothers and sisters—Cherokee, African and white—don't know this history," Foster told RBL. "Even the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation has admitted that he did not know the Freedmen's history. This is not the Cherokee way. This is not the American way. We do not break promises simply because they are inconvenient." It's expected the ruling will be appealed.

Writing Abraham's Well was a personal journey for Foster, who spent the first year of her life on a Navajo Indian reservation in Arizona where her mother and father were schoolteachers. As she researched her novel, she also delved into her own ethnic roots, finding a mixed bag of Irish, Cherokee and African-American ancestors. Foster said she discovered her own paternal grandmother, Emma Erwin, was Cherokee, and Emma's father and grandmother most likely walked the Trail of Tears.

Although she is not officially included as a descendant, Foster said she sees this ruling as a "heart issue." "As black people in America, few of us have roots that we can trace back more than a few generations," Foster said. "It was astonishing to find my great-grandmother and her father and his grandmother. They are my people. On a personal level, when the Cherokee Nation rejects them, it's not about money—it feels like abandonment."

The news comes as Romantic Times recently named Abraham's Well Best Inspirational Novel for 2006. (Foster's only other historical novel, Passing By Samaria, won the Christy Award in 2001 for Best First Novel). Bethany House's v-p of editorial Carol Johnson said she plans to send copies of Foster's book to key players in the Cherokee citizenship debate, as well as campaigning to "get the word out." Public relations director Brett Benson said Bethany House has 22,000-plus copies of Abraham's Well in print after a second print run in February.