Paper 2

Melissa Freitas

Writing 101

Paper #2 revision

December 16^th 2012

A Fight worth Fighting For

Sapelo Island is a unique Sea Island located off the coast of Georgia. Besides its beautiful terrain Sapelo is distinct because it is home to the only remaining Geechee community. The Geechee people have a very interesting culture that has reigned over the island for generations upon generations. Cornelia Walker Bailey illustrates her people’s unique physical ties to Sapelo throughout the book “God, Dr. Buzzard, and the Bolito Man”. In her book Cornelia also points out the current issue facing Sapelo, which is that the state of Georgia seeks to obtain complete ownership of the whole Island. Kim Severson goes on to support this accusation in the article “Taxes Threaten an Island Culture in Georgia” by illuminating the huge property tax increases that are being imposed on the lasting Geechee residents of Sapelo Island. The Geechee community serves as an asset in preserving the natural resources on Sapelo Island through their strong land valuing beliefs; however the state of Georgia is focused on discriminatorily eliminating their existence.

The Geechee people’s African slave descendants have been working the land of Sapelo since the mid-1700s; with such a long history on the island they have become part of Sapelo Island. African descendants came to Sapelo with an understanding of the worth land holds already instilled in them. In Africa their survival directly depended on the land and what they could produce from it. In her book Bailey mentions that “It was in Africa that I learned that our ancestors had the tradition of growing rice, not the slaveholders, and that they were brought to the New World because they could cultivate rice. That our ancestors built the canals and dikes and reshaped the coast into thousands of acres of rice fields” (page 310). African people had growing skills that were very valued and they were sought after specifically for this ability. Learning how influential their African ancestors were strengthens the Geechee people’s pride in their heritage. The Geechee people have a great respect in the agricultural skills passed down through their African predecessors. This important characteristic never left them; it still exists today as a driving force in the Geechee’s fight to preserve their land and the farming tradition it represents.

The Geechee people value the land they inhabit so highly. Land for the Geechees is similar to a supermarket for Americans. In today’s society everything comes from the supermarket; for the Geechee people whatever they needed they grew. The Geechee people survived on everything they could produce from the land. Bailey illustrated this in her book by explaining planting time on Sapelo, “We depended on those crops.” “What we grew was what we ate,” and “So Mama and Papa were careful to do everything just right with our crop” (36). With so much dependence on a good crop season it is clear why the Geechees took planting so seriously and valued the soil so greatly. Today’s culture can learn from the Geechee’s respect for land and possibly appreciate the Geechee people’s fight to keep the property they have been working for generations. Cornelia also mentioned how her people knew it was time to drop the seeds “We relied on signs from nature that the soil was ready to receive new seed and our beliefs about our bonds to the earth” (36). Cornelia displays how her people identified themselves with the land and believed wholeheartedly in the guidance it gave to them. They placed their lives in the land and the land never let them down, creating a permanent bond. Modern Americans surely don’t hold the earth’s worth as highly as the Geechees, land is just property that is labeled by price tags. Most Americans do not develop a personal connection to any specific terrain; land is regarded simply as a possession. In general Americans don’t enjoy working the soil but instead focus on what grand structure can be built on it. Placing land on a high pedestal is not seen in other cultures, this unique trait of the Geechee community will end with them if their existence ceases.

Not only did Sapelo Island provide the Geechees with plentiful harvests it also produced their cherished herbs. Bailey states “We had roots and herbs growing all over Sapelo, and we used them for everything” (page 201). She goes on to explain the mullein plant was used for swelling, and collard green leaf soaked in vinegar was used for a headache. The Geechees also had several teas including Life Everlasting, which dated all the way back to the slavery days on Sapelo Island. The earth gave them these herbs to treat their aliments but the Geechee people believed the earth itself had healing powers. They believed they were created from earth “so the earth was special, it had special healing properties” (page 204). These people got their food and healing remedies solely from the earth, with so much reliance on the land it is understandable how their deep relationship to it formed. For the Geechee people the natural benefits the soil offers definitely outweighed the damaging effects the resources would face in modernizing the island. This community seeks to protect the earth in its pure undeveloped form; it is within this rawness that the Geechee’s connection to the land exists.

The Geechee people felt they were bonded to the earth they inhabited, they believed the land was part of them. Cornelia exhibited this when she described the burial of a woman’s afterbirth “This was the first part of you that went back to the earth. The rest of you would follow later, when you died, but the afterbirth went first, and that connected you to the earth then and to Sapelo. Wherever else you might go, Sapelo would be your true home” (page 77). This is a very interesting belief of the Geechee people; it is not seen today’s culture. In Present time afterbirth is considered trash and disregarding accordingly.  This distinct practice of the Geechees represents their physical tie to Sapelo Island from birth and later through death. Originating from Sapelo Island was an identifying characteristic for them.  A Saltwater Geechee’s life began with the land and ended with the land.

It is evident that the Geechee people felt they were actually tied to the land they occupied. Each Geechee’s circle of life started with the burial of afterbirth and ended with their dead bodies being put to rest in the soil of Sapelo Island. The land represented the heart of their being, it was everything to them. They have a long line of ancestral ties to the Island going all of the way back to slave trading. Their people worked its soil for generations, their sweat and blood run through it. Having vested so much of themselves into Sapelo, they are questionably the rightful landowners of the island. Through expert respectful land labor and genuine compassion for the pristine natural environment of Sapelo the Geechees have exhibited their intentions for the future of the Island are ideal. The Geechee community functions as the caretaker of Sapelo Island; they would never damage something that they believe they are united with.

Instead of granting the Geechee people their land ownership rights the state has been an aggressive force fighting against them. In 1969 the state acquired the north end of Sapelo which posed a threat to the Geechees because they were purposefully kept unaware of the sale. Bailey states that “The Geechee and Gullah people were being pushed off land they’d owned since Reconstruction all through the Sea Islands, so that fancy new developments could be built” (page 272). The state has already displayed its intentions through the development of vacation destinations on other sea islands. The Geechee people were justified in feeling threatened. Their vulnerability continued to be exploited as the state pushed for ownership of the south end where Hog Hammock  is. Bailey also mentions that by the eighties “we felt like a special list of endangered peoples had been drawn up and that our names were on it” (page 266). The Sapelo natives are facing forceful extinction efforts by the state of Georgia. The Geechee people only have private real state ownership left in Hog Hammock. In the article “Taxes Threaten an Island Culture in Georgia” Kim Severson states that 97% of Sapelo Island is owned by the state. She goes on to illustrate that the Geechee people fear they are succumbing “to cultural erosion” (page 1). The state is demonstrating racial discrimination against the Geechee culture; these people have been conditioned to believe they cannot fight the white man. Their unique customs have begun to diminish as their number of residents on the Island decreases. The state of Georgia has deliberately taken advantage of this and fraudulently attained much of Sapelo Island. Severson places a spot light on the immense property tax increases issued by the state and the lack of justification for it, one specific case she provides is a resident of Sapelo whose property taxes jumped 540%.  This fuels the Geechee’s suspicion that the state aims to eliminate their culture and deceitfully force them off of Sapelo.

Georgia appears to have its focus set on establishing Sapelo Island as a desirable vacation destination as demonstrated by the state’s track record and the unreasonable tax increase. If successful this change may serve as a significant source of income for the state but at a great cost. That expense would be the loss of a sacred cultural treasure, the Geechee community. The Geechees represent the ideal environmentalist society in their great consideration for land, which is not something that exists in today’s culture. The Geechee people may not be a financial asset to the state but they are a crucial asset never the less. Georgia should shift its focus to embracing and supporting its unique citizens of Sapelo. The Geechee people are very strong willed in maintaining the remnants of their culture and are not to be underestimated. They are fighting for their past, present, and future.  Sapelo Island holds their heritage within its soil; having such deep roots in the land validates them as having been and continuing to be the entitled land owners of Sapelo Island.