Portfolio of America Meredith

Spokecards are laminated cards that can be held in place by the spokes of a bicycle wheel, which bike messengers create as souvenirs for bike races and other messenger events. The international bike messenger community is a surprisingly close-knit network spanning major cities on six continents, so I have enlisted the aid of couriers and other cyclist to stage an international art exhibit on spokecards, the Cherokee Spokespeople Project.

Cherokee is the southern branch of the Iroquoian language family and is the native language of the Cherokee Nation, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and the United Keetoowah Band. The language has a unique writing system developed by Sequoyah in the early nineteenth century that is still in use today in a modified form. With less than 10,000 native speakers primarily in North Carolina and Oklahoma, Cherokee, like all other Native American languages, struggles to survive as the social and economic impetus to speak English only drives out smaller languages. According to Cherokee Nation tribal leadership, our current generation, the fourteenth generation since European contact with the Cherokees, is said to be the generation that decides whether the language grows or dies.

My spokecards carry Cherokee words or phrases both in syllabary and Roman letters to aid in pronunciation, as well as images to illustrate the words.

After receiving a spokecard, the participating cyclists who sent me documentation – a photograph, digital image, or video – of the card on their bike featuring their city – could request a hand-drawn spokecard with a word of their choice, as long as its a word could be illustrated. For words that don't exist yet in Cherokee, I sought out the help of native speakers to create new words and phrases, using traditional Cherokee methods of description. For instance, I asked David Scott to invent a word for "Swedish," and he created Aniuganasta or "they are sweet." After several native speakers drew a blank for magpie, requested by no less than three bikers, Beverly "Mooney" Squirrel invented the new phrase, uwonidi tsisqua, or "chatty/outspoken bird" to mean "magpie."

To survive Cherokee cannot be regulated to the past or isolated in one geographical area. Cherokee Spokespeople is a small step towards introducing new people to the language and recontextualizing the language in an international, urban setting.

This project continued from 2004 to 2011. I distributed hundreds of spokecards by hand, at SFBMA meetings, at cycle courier races, and through the mail. The Cherokee Spokespeople Project has been exhibited at the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada; IAIA Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico; the Euphrat Museum in Cupertino, CA; the City Arts Center in Oklahoma City, OK; and was finally exhibited as a solo show at the Ho-Chee-Nee Chapel on the grounds of the Cherokee Heritage Center in Park Hill, OK.

I'm mostly out of the spokecard business, but my friend Samuel White Swan-Perkins has started making custom-designed Cherokee spokecards featuring illustrations, Cherokee syllabary, and Roman transliteration. His Etsy page can be accessed here.

–America Meredith
^ left: Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota phoyo by Gunnar Soroos
right: Bremen, Germany photo by Till Lienhoop

This project is dedicated to the memory of Eli Nofire, who was unfailing in his
generosity and dedication for sharing his native language to the world.

^ Albany photo by Seng Chen

Words and Phrases:

^ Burnaby, British Columbia photo by David MacDonald

• adalesgiyisgi ale alasdulo - monkey and fez
• adalisgiyisgi diliyo digotlvna - sock monkey*
• adanhdo - heart*
• adawadvisdi tasdi - umbrella drink
• adayonedi - bigamy
• adolanvsdi - praying mantis / walking cane
• agatihnawidisgv - abduction
• Agetadisdi - Monopoly
• alasdulo - fez
• alawisdisgi - Zeppelin / blimp
• Ama Yeli - United States
• Amegwo Ageyuja - mermaid / Yoko Ono*
• anelohvsgi - player*
• Aniquilii - Philipines
• anitsilvsgi - flowers*
• asdaya anuwo - corset
• asegi - queer / glbt*
• asegi yona - queer bear*
• asgitsga tsuola - dream weaver*
• asusdi - gravy
• atseluhisdi - saxophone
• awohali - golden eagle
• ayeli dinigitilegi - anarchy
• dalala - woodpecker
• Dalonigesdv - Asia
• danalihv gitli - pit bull*
• danisvnadvsgv - barbecue
• digaliyanvhida - pack mule*
• digoksdi - cigarettes
• dihlinohehdi'i - telephone
• dilisdayohihi - bomb
• dison'sdodi - typewriter
• ditloladi - rollerskates
• dohiyi - peace*
• dotsuwa - cardinal (red bird)
• gadugi - spontaneous communal work crew*
• gahliha - sleep*
• galuyidohi - chopper
• Ganagati Gado - Doctor Who
• ganulv - weed*
• gesolini - gasoline
• giga gvnawoi tawodi - red shouldered hawk*

• gigage sudi - red hook*
• gitli - dog
• gule - dove / acorn
• Gvhnadesdv - Africa*
• hawiya siqua - pork (lit. pig meat)*
• Hia kla ganvnawa yiga. - This is not a pipe.
• hlvwaligi uquatliga - maple leaf
• igvyi - ace
• jitaga - chicken
• jiyu - helicopter
• Joe Biden - Jo Quaiden'
• kaliwohi - integrity*
• kanunu - bullfrog
• kawi - coffee
• kawoni - duck (April)
• kolanv - raven*
• kuli - raccoon
• noksi - meadowlark* (star)
• nuhlisdi gvnisdisgi - microwave
• nvnohi - path, road
• quanena - banana
• Sagei Gili Adv - Skinny Puppy
• sakonige awi - blue deer
• saloli - squirrel
• Sedani - Satan
• svdoni - barrel / tub
• Svladitla - Australia
• svgi-yusdi - garlic (lit. onion-like)*
• tasti - beer
• Tlameha-Asgaya - Batman
• tsanela diganvsdgeni - octopus
• tsaquolade - bluebird
• tsigalili - chickadee
• tsilali - bubble gum
• tsiqualisda / tsiquilisda - blackbird*
• tsisquaya - sparrow*
• tsisdu - rabbit
• tsitsi - thistle*
• tsiyu ganohilidohi - airplane
• Tsudatihnai Mao - Chairman Mao
• Tsuganawv Amayeli - South America
• tsola - tobacco
• tsulasgi - iron pot / alligator
• tsulunuhi - feathers
• Tsunesdalv - Antarctica
• tsunitlvgi digalvdodi - ambulance
• Tsuyvtlv Amayeli - North America
• Tsuyvtlv anehi yvwi - an Inuit person
• udliada - s/he is wearing an earring
• uganawu - Democrat
• uganasisgi - addict
• uhnasuga - possum grape*
• unisdiyalvsdi jutana - indigo plant*
• usdi soquili - pony*
• utsiya - earthworm
• uyohusv galvdv - hearse
• uwonidi tsisqua - magpie*
• uyvtlv ganolvsgv - blizzard*
• wadulisi - honey / bee
• walela - hummingbird*
• wes' studi - cat door
• Yuladv - Europe

* by request

*Locations:*	^ Walker Art Center, Minneapolis photo by Seng Chen • Houston, Texas • Huntington Beach, California • Indiana, Pennsylvania • Indianapolis, Indiana • Ithaca, New York • Kagoshima, Japan • Kearney, Nebraska • Kenwood, Oklahoma • Kingsport, Tennessee • Lansdowne, Pennsylvania • Lawrence, Kansas • London, England, UK • Los Angeles, California • Las Vegas, Nevada • Lyndhurst, Ohio • Madison, Wisconsin • Marquette, Michigan • Mechanicsville, Virginia • Melbourne, Australia • Merry Hill, North Carolina • Mesa, Arizona • Mexico City, Mexico (Ciudad de México) • Minneapolis, Minnesota • Mission Viejo, California • Montclair, New Jersey • Montreal, Quebec, Canada • Mount Pleasant, South Carolina • Moweaqua, Illinois • New Brunswick, New Jersey • New Haven, Connecticut • New York City, New York • Newark, New Jersey • Newport Beach, California • Newtown, New South Wales, Australia • Niwot, Colorado	• Norfolk, Virginia • Norman, Oklahoma • North Bay, Ontario, Canada • Oak Park, Illinois • Oakland, California • Okemos, Michigan • Orange, California • Orleans, New York • Oxnard, California • Paris, France • Pensacola, Florida • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Phoenix, Arizona • Pine City, New York • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Placentia, California • Port Chester, NY • Portland, Oregon • Rahway, New Jersey • Red Hook, New York • Redmond, Washington • Reno, Nevada • Richmond, Virginia • Rochester, Minnesota • Roseville, California • Sacramento, California • Saint Paul, Minnesota • Salt Lake City, Utah • San Diego, California • San Fernando, California • San Francisco, California • San Jose, California • Santa Barbara, California • Santa Cruz, California • Santa Fe, New Mexico • Santa Monica, California • Santa Paula, California • São Paulo, Brasil • Savannah, Georgia • Seattle, Washington • Somerville, Massachusetts • South Orange, New Jersey • Skutskär, Sweden • Stockholm, Sweden • Swannanoa, North Carolina • Swarthmore, Pennsylvania • Sydney, Australia • Tacoma, Washington • Tahlequah, Oklahoma • Taipei, Taiwan • Tallahassee, Florida • Tallulah, Louisiana • Tampa, Florida • Temecula, California • Tokyo, Japan • Toronto, Ontario, Canada • Tucson, Arizona • Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada • Valencia, California • Venezia, Italy • Ventura, California • Washington, District of Columbia • Watsonville, California • Waynesville, North Carolina • Whittier, California • Westerly, Rhode Island • Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada • Zürich, Switzerland
• Akron, Ohio • Albany, California • Albany, New York • Allston, Massachusetts • Arcata, California • Atlanta, Georgia • Auckland, New Zealand • Austin, Texas • Baltimore, Maryland • Bangor, Maine • Basel, Switzerland • Berkeley, California • Berlin, Germany • Beverly Hills, California • Boise, Idaho • Boston, Massachusetts • Bremen, Germany • Brooklyn, New York • Brownsville, Texas • Brussels, Belgium • Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada • Buellton, California • Calgary, Alberta, Canada • Camden, Delaware • Carmel, Indianapolis • Casselberry, Florida • Centerport, New York • Charlotte, North Carolina • Chicago, Illinois • Christchurch, New Zealand • Columbus, Ohio • Copenhagen, Denmark • Cordova, Alaska • Corvallis, Oregon • Dallas, Texas • Daytona Beach, Florida • Denver, Colorado • Dieppe, New Brunswick, Canada • Doylestown, Pennsylvania • Dublin, Ireland • Durango, Colorado • East Lansing, Michigan • Edmonton, Alberta, Canada • Encinitas, California • Essen, Germany • Essex, England, UK • Farmington, New Mexico • Flushing, New York • Fort Worth, Texas • Franklin, Wisconsin • Fresno, California • Gainesville, Florida • Gardnerville, Nevada • Geneva, Switzerland • Glasgow, Scotland, UK • Glendale, California • Grand Rapids, Michigan • Hangzhou, China • Haymarket, Virginia • Helsinki, Finland • Honolulu, Hawaii

^ Lincoln Battalion Memorial, Madison WI photo by Bob Hague

^ San Francisco photo by Judah Mendez

Useful Links:

Remember the Removal - a group of Cherokees are biking the 900-mile route of the Trail of Tears from Rome, Georgia to Tahlequah, OK
download the official Cherokee font free
Intertribal Wordpath Society - nonprofit dedicated to saving Oklahoma's native languages
Directory of Cherokee Artists Online
Cherokee Society of the Greater Bay Area (CSGBA)
International Federation of Bike Messenger Associations (IFBMA)
San Francisco Bike Messenger Association (SFBMA)
Old Skool Track - track bikes on city streets
Seng Chen photography
Fixed Gear Gallery
www.ahalenia.com

The Three Federally Recognized Cherokee Tribes:

Cherokee Nation, Tahlequah OK
Eastern Band of Cherokee Nation, Cherokee NC
United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians,
Tahlequah OK

Articles about the Project

Indian Country Today - "Cherokee artist America Meredith put words on wheels" by Lisa Garrigues
Momentum - "Artist America Meredith Gives Spoke Cards a Cherokee Spin" by Amy Walker
Daily Oklahoman - "Cherokee Spokes Woman: Oklahoma native gives voice to many in San Francisco" by Ann DeFrange

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