Cherokee values show us the way in Schon Duncan’s “Ahyoka”

By ANN TOINEETAOne Feather InternSchon Duncan, a member of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, reminds us of Cherokee values and the true meaning of community with their new short film “Ahyoka” (ᎠᏲᎧ), a portrait of Ahyoka Youngdeer. “Ahyoka” will be screened at The Way We See The World, an event spotlighting Indigenous pop culture organized by the Museum of the Cherokee People. The following is a brief synopsis of the film:“ᎠᏲᎧ is a portrait of Ahyoka Youngdeer, Cherokee culture bearer, teacher, and two-spirit activist. “She carries our culture in her everyday life, and she shares it in a deeply Cherokee way,” they said. “There’s a way of understanding Cherokee identity that rises above the politics of recognition, and Ahyoka is an exemplary, important example of that.”