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BOY'S DEATH MARKS END OF TRIBAL BLOODLINE
| disaster capitalist | 11/12/25 |
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Date: November 12th, 2025 8:51 PM Author: disaster capitalist An eagle feather lay across the chest of Michael Joseph Bullard, a medicine bag was next to his right shoulder and a dance stick was propped against the lid of his casket.
The 15-year-old, who attended Rule High School last year, died Tuesday as the result of an accident at a swimming pool in Smyrna where he was visiting his sister. His death essentially marks the end of the bloodline of Cherokees who did not walk the Trail of Tears to Oklahoma.
"It's the last of a bloodline", said Richard Dykes, head of the American Intertribal Association. "That's why he was so important to the other Indian tribes", added Jerry Wetzel, a Comanche Indian who will participate in Bullard's traditional ceremonial burial today at New Gray Cemetery.
Bullard was the great-great-grandson of Micajah Bunch, who was the last known King of the Melungeon people. Bullard's mother, Sandra, was the granddaughter of Guy Bunch, who lived in Hancock County and was the grandson of Micajah Bunch. The Melungeons were a people of mysterious origins who had swarthy complexions, straight black hair, black or gray eyes and were found by the first pioneers.
The Melungeon, who called their leaders "king" instead of "chief," intermarried with the Cherokee Indians and were considered a branch of the tribe. Micajah Bunch was part Melungeon and part Cherokee. Bullard was the (current) king, he just hadn't evolved to claim that right," Dykes said. |