By BROOKLYN BROWN
One Feather Reporter
CHEROKEE, N.C. – Chris Hornbuckle, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), is an Anetsovsgi (Ball player) from the Kolanvyi (Big Cove) Anetso (Stickball) team. Hornbuckle works for Qualla Housing as a carpenter/crew leader.
Hornbuckle has been playing stickball for four years. “The cultural part of it is what drew me to it, and it was something that I wanted to be a part of. My grandma is a fluent speaker from Big Cove, so most of my family are from that area, and I wanted to play with my family,” he said.
Chris Hornbuckle in the Kolanvyi v. Wudeligv game at the 112th Annual Cherokee Indian Fair. (SCOTT MCKIE B.P./One Feather photo)
“I spoke with Pat Hill, we’d go run the track at lunchtime, and I told him it was something I wanted to be a part of it, and he told me to just get some sticks and practice and come out there and see how things go from there. The first couple days were pretty rough, but not too bad, but then as time went on and the season got closer towards Fair time, that commitment this time of the year is really something you’ve got to be willing to be a part of, but they accepted me and supported me and most of them being my family made it a lot easier.”
Hornbuckle said playing stickball is a commitment to a lifestyle, not just a sport, “It’s not just about picking up a stick and going after the ball. I mean, when you’re in the game it is, but to me, and for the team and the community, it’s a way of life for us and it’s how you carry yourself on and off the field. We try to be as respectful to the game as we possibly can be,” he said.
“A lot of the older ones, what I call veterans of the team, and the leaders, try to instill that in us and we try to carry that on with these younger ones. This time of year, it’s tough, but it’s something that I look forward to because of the way it shapes you and prepares you for that mental toughness, not just the physical.”
Hornbuckle said he felt the need to earn his spot on the team.
“I didn’t wear nothing with Kolanvyi on it for the longest time, even though my uncles, my great uncles, and a lot of family that I have played the game and were stick makers and they’ve passed on, it was important to go out there and try to earn a spot and do it for my family and my kids to be able to say that I played,” he said.
Chris Hornbuckle, fourth from left, participating in a traditional Cherokee challenge call during the 112th Annual Cherokee Indian Fair. (SCOTT MCKIE B.P./One Feather photo)
“What I was after wasn’t because I just wanted to go out there and learn how to hit somebody or just go score every time. It’s not just me out there. It’s the team. It’s that family that I’m going to battle with, and to be accepted into that was special to me. I think the first time that I felt comfortable and a part of a team was when we played an exhibition game at Mountain Heritage Day, and one of the guys that played years before I had, he brought me a pair of his blue shorts and he told me to put them on and from that day on I felt accepted.”
Because of that acceptance, Hornbuckle felt honored that his team trusted him to represent them in this article, “I wanted to represent not just myself but my team, my community, all the families and women that’s a part of the Big Cove team and community, and just to represent them well and say that our team respects the game and we try to do things the right way for our culture.”
