Edward and Hannah Bompasse are my fore-parents in an all-male line except myself. And as many have suspected, Hannah is native American. My family oral tradition as young as I can remember, was that we were Narragansett of the Turtle Clan. My mother would say that I was very instinctively native at a very young age.

We are documented to have Narragansett, Wampanoag and from several leads towards Cherokee. In addition, we have learned that some Bump families have oral tradition that there was Cherokee membership in the family as well. I have two incidents as a child that convince me that we do, in fact, have Cherokee as our latest native line.

The first incident I was about 2 1/2 years old in the time of the year when the leaves fall, and I was outside with my dad. The geese were flying and honking and my dad told me they were going to a new home for a while. I started to cry. I didn't want the geese to move away. I liked to hear them honk and see them fly! He comforted me and told me they would only be gone for about 12 Sundays, - two hands and two more fingers - and they would come back. He told me to wait for them. It made me very happy and I distinctly remember I would remember them when they came back.

The cold months passed and spring of the year was approaching our California area. I was playing in the bedroom. Suddenly, I heard the geese honking. I remembered and went tearing through the house calling, "Ni, ni! Sa Sa!" repeating it as I ran to the outside. Mother came running with me in awe that I remembered the geese, and I stood in wonder as I looked up at the geese again with joy! They had come back just like daddy said! I pointed to them and repeated, "Ni, ni! Sa Sa!" (Nee, nee. Saw Saw.) My mother thought my partically developed language was saying "Neat, neat! I saw it!"

With my adopted daughter being Cherokee by confirmed descent and the Bump/us family on the Cherokee rolls, I decided for us to learn Cherokee. One of the CDs we had was children's songs in Cherokee. I gasped when I heard the one song about the Sa Sa...the geese! Then I realized as my Cherokee language developed, I was saying in clear Cherokee, "Look it there! Look it there! Geese!"

I had one more time that my ancient language surfaced. I was about three during this time. I went to my mother and told her something. She said she could clearly tell I was speaking native but couldn't tell what I wanted. I finally tried to climb the countertop and pointed to the tap (faucet). I repeated the word, "Ah-ma." She got me the drink and then I asked for "Gah-doo." She said again, she didn't know what I wanted and to point to it. I pointed to the bread box. What I wanted was water and bread! She later told my dad, she wished she had a recorder to have recorded me. She said I was clearly speaking native but my parents knew no other language but English. Dad tried to get me to say the words I had told Mom, but it had gone back into the recesses of my mind and I was unable to recall the words again. As I have Cherokee heritage I am motivated to return to my ancient languages - for I have found that, yet in my 60s, my mind draws blanks for an English word. English is truly my second language. God made my mind native and for the native languages!

Are you of Bumpus lineage and have a "native moment?" Send me a message through Tribalpages.com. I'll compile them as an article. Let me know if you want your name attached or no.