
Following on where ‘Thief of Time’ left off, ‘Valley of Coincidence, is a song about a love affair between a Cherokee maiden and an indentured Irish slave from the Caribbean. A deeper drift into the “Dark Folk” fold, this new song is set in the Appalachian Hills circa 1766, and is written about the turbulent period prior to the American revolution.
‘Valley of Coincidence’, documents European settlement in the America’s, referencing land plunder by the white man, as well as the decimation of indigenous peoples and their trees. Based on the plight of the Cherokee and the ‘Trail of Tears’; love in a time of greed, is the songs main driving force. The single is available now on all streaming sites.
Lessons in Light: The New Album
Recorded between Dublin (Ireland), Passau (Germany), and Vienna (Austria), ‘Lessons in Light’ contains twelve new songs along with two old time covers. Partnered with Arge Music Austria & Sad Opera Entertainment Ireland, Shane’s fifth studio album takes Shane and the band down the Appalachian trail. Through songs in stories, they delve deeper into Irish-Appalachian traditions; a relationship and culture that has been fostered across continents and the Atlantic Ocean.
The Cherokee: Heart of the Hills
The origins of the Cherokee people are lost in the mists of time. Oral tradition has the ancestors of the Cherokee migrating south from the Great Lakes region. The language of the Cherokee is of the Iroquoian language family, shared with many of the Native American tribes in what is modern day New York, Michigan, Ontario, and Quebec. Pockets of other Iroquoian languages are found in Pennsylvania and Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina, and with the Cherokee homelands of western North Carolian, northwestern South Carolina, northeastern Georgia, and eastern Tennessee.
The ancestors of the Cherokee are considered part of the later Pisgah Phase of the South Appalachian Mississippian culture, a period where ceremonial mounds were built in a town with numerous smaller villages around it.
Trail of Tears:Gifts of Betrayal
The Indian Removal Act, passed by the American government in 1830, began the Trail of Tears for the Choctaws, Muscogee Creeks, Seminoles, and Chickasaws, many of whom initially resisted the forced relocation from their homelands to the Indian Territory of what is today Oklahoma.
The Cherokee were a torn people over the issue, with the majority wanted to stay on the land which was legally theirs. The minority, known as the Treaty Party, wanted to avoid bloodshed and relocate – they signed the Treaty of New Echota without, surrendering Cherokee lands east of the Mississippi for lands in the Indian Territory. This resulted the killings of many of the Treaty Party leaders but, ultimately, the Cherokee people either had to choose becoming citizens of the American state in which they lived (and losing some of their rights in the process) or packing up what they could carry and leave their ancestral homeland.
Cherokee: A Rich Tapestry in Appalachia
The Cherokee people have an incredibly rich and long-lasting connection with these hills and hollers, and despite attempts throughout history to disband their communities, eliminate their language, and destroy their culture, the Cherokee influence on the larger Appalachian culture can still be felt to this day. Sounds familiar.
Cherokee Art: Looking To The Past
An inspiring and thought-provoking part of their history is arts and crafts. For thousands of years, artisans from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians tribe have been creating masterpieces, and they’re still carrying on these traditions today. Visit the Qualla Boundary and you’ll find people practicing arts like pottery, basket-weaving, finger-weaving, carving, and beadwork.
The Cherokee: Further Reading
THE CHEROKEE PEOPLE
TRAIL OF TEARS
REVOLUTION: THE IRISH CONTRIBUTION
LIVING IN APPALACHIA TODAY
Valley of Coincidence: The Socials
VAllEY OF COINCIDENCE – ALL LINKS
LISTEN ON SPOTIFY
WATCH ON YOU TUBE – LIVE IN DUBLIN
Helping Us: Helps
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Five Friends Forward
VALLEY OF COINCIDENCE- THE NEW VIDEO
Coming soon!
In the Valley of Coincidence. I asked you for this last dance.
And our song it rang out in a reverie. For the glory of love and peace.