Hi N'nako,
Laura here, and I love stories. I am privileged to share the fantastical mermaid tale of one of our most dedicated members, N'nako Kande.
N'nako is a civic poet and founder of Silent Hour™, a land‑rooted mindfulness practice born in Chattanooga
The Creek That Claimed Me
If the legend of the Mermaid of South Chickamauga Creek were ever confirmed true, you could say with confidence that she once wrote to you, that you read her words, and that you lived during her time. Before the myth grows legs — or a tail — let me begin with my name.
My name is N’nako Kandé. I was born in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, La Perle des Lagunes, a tropical city cradled by lagoons, the Gulf of Guinea, and the Atlantic. To say I love water would be an understatement. |
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My spirit was born in Africa, but it was activated in Chattanooga. I crossed an ocean and found myself here: not in my birthplace, but in the place that awakened and expanded me.
I have lived here for twenty-four years, longer than I lived in Côte d’Ivoire and France combined. Chattanooga is not where I was born, but it is where I was reborn — as a mother of four, as a multidisciplinary artist, and as a civic poet whose voice is now preserved as a marker at Renaissance Park. |
But more precisely, it is the South Chickamauga Creek, the arm of water that runs through a small urban forest, that claimed me. This land is sacred. Sacred to the Native peoples whose tears watered it, whose presence remains in traces we are responsible for honoring and preserving. |
The forest I speak of is Audubon Acres, an arboretum that protects the trees that once fed, healed, sheltered, and guided the Cherokee. For me, it has been a refuge, a sanctuary, and yes, a healing machine. I use that word intentionally. I do not write as someone who has had an easy life. I write as someone who has survived traumas that still resist language. And this “machine” of trees, birds, and flowing water has tended to me with a maternal tenderness: the beech, pine, and oak filtering light like medicine, the creek holding my body as if returning me to the womb. |
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And this is where the rumors of the Mermaid began.
A few summers ago, I was sitting on a rock in the creek, absorbing the quiet, when I heard children rustling behind the bushes. Little heads peeked out, whispering and giggling. Eventually, a girl stepped into the water and approached me with questions until an adult gently told her to give me space.
When I finally stood to leave, the entire group fell silent. As I walked toward my bag, one of the instructors said, “You looked resplendent in the water, with your long braids and that flower in your hair. The kids think you’re a mermaid.”
A little girl in pink, with glasses and a ponytail, stepped forward and placed a small rock in my hand. “What is that?” the teacher asked. “Gold,” she said.
She gave me more, tiny offerings from the kingdom of childhood, until I laughed and told them not to mess with my gold. As I walked away, they called out in unison: “Bye, Mermaid!” |
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I still carry those stones. To me, they symbolize the gold this forest has given me — the kind of wealth that cannot be taken.
But Audubon Acres holds more than childhood imagination. It holds the memory of displaced Native peoples, the stewardship of those who protect the creek for forest school and forest bathing, and the knowledge preserved in the Cherokee syllabary tree markers. |
This place is my healing machine, not because the land boasts of its medicinal history, but because it has held me through invisible battles. Sitting at the base of trees has felt like being connected to IVs of ancestral medicine. As an immigrant, this forest is the only place that feels like home, echoing the somatic memory of La Forêt du Banco from my childhood in Abidjan.
This land has given me gold in the form of creativity: countless poems, multiple books, and programs like my Silent Hour™ Hike, now adapted into an app so others can share this healing practice.
To honor this land, my poem “The Land Remembers / La Terre Se Souvient” will be installed at Renaissance Park in June 2026 as part of Chattanooga’s Civic Poetry Pathway for America’s 250th anniversary. |
You may or may not believe in the Mermaid of South Chickamauga Creek. You may forget my name or this story. But the land remembers.
“If you protect the earth today,
you will be the ancestor
your grandchildren are proud of.”
And perhaps you will wonder how an immigrant, separated from her homeland by an ocean, became so deeply attached to this place. But the real question is:
“Will you become the listeners and stewards to whom we can entrust our lands, our families, and our future?” |
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N’nako Kandé is a civic poet and founder of Silent Hour™. Learn more on my Linktree, N'nako Kandé Official: TikTok, Instagram | Linktree download the Silent Hour™ app, book a Silent Hour™ Hike at Audubon Acres, and follow my Trail Life series on http://nakivoire.com.
Since writing this, Silent Hour™ has grown in a lovely way. In addition to the app, there is now a Silent Hour Facebook page where people can follow the practice. And recently she launched Silent Hour™ Adventures, a small storytelling series that highlights quiet moments from nature and everyday life. |
Thank you for reading and for your support! If you love what we are doing, please consider supporting us by becoming a monthly donor, purchasing a membership, or donating a gift. We couldn't do this without you!
With appreciation,
Your friends at Chattanooga Audubon Society |
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