Scrabble resident Katherine Hutson, left, asks Appalachian Writer-in-Residence Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle to sign a copy of her debut novel for Hutson’s aunt, in the Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History & Education on Sept. 25. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — Annette Clapsaddle is proud of her indigenous heritage — so much so that she is an enrolled citizen of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the former executive director of the Cherokee Preservation Foundation, the president of the North Carolina Writers’ Network’s Board of Trustees and a member of the Museum of the Cherokee People’s Board of Directors. Yet, she made it clear, while presenting the Scarborough Society Lecture in the Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History & Education on Sept. 25, that she considers herself just as deeply connected with her Appalachian roots.

The Cherokee, N.C. resident was selected as the Appalachian Writer-in-Residence for her debut novel, “Even As We Breathe,” which centered around the story of a character who shared a similar heritage to herself. This enabled Clapsaddle to draw from her own challenging experiences, as an indigenous person from Appalachia.

“In particular, the challenge that tribes on the East Coast has had to face, is that there is this very Hollywood image of what a Native American is. It’s a monolith,” Clapsaddle said. “Cherokees in North Carolina are very different than Lakota in South Dakota. We do share some similarities, but we are not the same and should not be forced into the same box.”

Appalachian people, on the other hand, tend to share more of the same culture and history, as well as a connection to the same land. For this reason, Clapsaddle often experiences a stronger sense of belonging in Appalachian author circles than in Native American author circles.

“Being among Appalachian writers is where I’ve found my home,” Clapsaddle said.

For Scrabble resident Katherine Hutson, listening to Clapsaddle’s perspectives, as an author with both Cherokee and Appalachian heritage, was incredibly beneficial, as she herself has similar roots and has dreamed of writing a book.

“My mother’s father was of Cherokee descent,” Hutson said. “He was born in 1898 in a place called Olive Ridge, Illinois, which was about five miles away from where the Trail of Tears went through southern Illinois.”

Hutson said that, if she were to write a book, it would feature her great-grandfather’s story, from being orphaned to growing up with his abusive uncles to fighting in the trenches in France during World War I to being stationed at Fort Monroe in World War II to marrying her grandmother, who it was illegal for him to be married to at the time.

“I didn’t know he was Cherokee until I was 30 years old, because he and my grandmother lived in Virginia, where it was against the race laws for a person of color to be married to a white woman. It was a family secret that I didn’t know about, until my aunt told it to me. Then, a lot of things started making sense,” Hutson said, mentioning her great-grandfather exhibited many of their tribe’s core values, such as a strong connection with the land, integrity, perseverance, courage, honor and humility. “My great-grandfather absolutely emulated the values of the Cherokee.”

She noted that the story in Clapsaddle’s debut novel reflected her great-grandfather’s, in some ways, and gave her more insight into the challenges he must have faced throughout his life.

“I was laughing and crying at the same time, when I began reading the book,” Hutson said.