By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Asst. Editor
A few years ago, I had the idea of starting a new feature for the Cherokee One Feather called “The Good Stuff” where we’d highlight whatever people deemed as good stuff. Starting this week, I’m going to start a weekly column where I’ll highlight a person, group, or program that embodies the spirit of “The Good Stuff”, and I’m starting with Onita Bush who is always happy, always smiling, and always sharing knowledge.
Onita Bush, an elder of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians from Tutiyi (Snowbird), is shown at the Annual Fading Voices event in Tutiyi on May 25, 2024 where she was sharing her Cherokee traditional plant knowledge. (SCOTT MCKIE B.P./One Feather photos)
Onita, an elder of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) from Tutiyi (Snowbird), is a first language Cherokee speaker. She frequently shares her knowledge of the language with others and encourages everyone to learn.
She is also an incredible resource in the area of traditional Cherokee plant knowledge.
In 2019, she was presented the Community Treasure Award by One Dozen Who Care, Inc. The award is given annually to “tear down walls that divide and build bridges within our far western counties”, according to ODWC Founder Ann Miller Woodford.
Building bridges is exactly what Onita does with her knowledge and pleasant demeanor. She shares much as a member of the organization, Spirit Aligned Leadership (SAL).
Information from SAL states, “Onita’s knowledge of native plants for medicinal purposes and nutrition has made her an invaluable resource in her community. She teaches others how to use native plants to complement modern medicine to improve overall health and wellness. Onita is deeply connected to the traditions of her Cherokee heritage and home. Known locally as a root doctor, Onita is recognized for her knowledge of community heritage and medicinal plants.”
Onita has presented at the Rooted in the Mountains symposium hosted by Western Carolina University. In a press release on the event from WCU in 2018, she noted, “We didn’t take medicines from a doctor,” she said of growing up in remote Snowbird in the 1950s and 1960s. “We didn’t have a doctor. Doctors were far away. The only medicine we got was from plants.”
Bush, left, shares her Cherokee traditional plant knowledge with students during the Kuwohi Connection Days event at Kuwohi, in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, on Sept. 10, 2024.
In that same release, Onita gave some great advice. “I got here by listening to what my parents and elders said. They walked the walk before you and know the path.”
In 2019, she was selected as one of SAL’s Legacy Leaders. Gail Small, SAL program director, was quoted in an article at that time in the National Observer (Canada), “These Legacy Leaders are a gift of knowledge who carry teachings which could impact the trajectory of the world – knowledge relevant to climate change, human rights, environmental justice, and international peace movements.”
Last week, I was able to interview Onita which is always a pleasure. She is working with the Center for Native Health (CNH) to help establish a doula program for the EBCI. The Center received a $500,000 grant recently, and Onita will be working with Kristina Hyatt, CNH maternal and child health program officer, and others to get the program going. In our interview, Onita said, “The doula project is going to be amazing. And I can’t wait to get it started because once it gets started it’s going to be bringing that to our culture, our traditions – foods and different stuff, and the plants and what was used, that’s going to be amazing.”
Onita is a shining example of the importance of sharing knowledge and a shining example of being an outstanding elder.
