0\ (ancy ‘Ward:
“War Woman " of the Cherokee
By Emily Herring Wilson
If you had been born to a
Cherokee mother and father in
what is now North Carolina, before
the Cherokee had any contact with
European settlers, you would have
been a member of your mother's
clan and you would have lived in
your mother's house. Property
belonged to the women, and they
had a great deal of freedom in
choosing their partners and in
managing their families. Some
women even spoke in meetings and
helped decide tribal matters,
including whether to go to war.
The Cherokee had a matrilineal
society, which meant a person traced
his or her kinship through the
mother's side of the family. Indian life
was also matrilocal, which meant that
the family lived in the woman's
house. After marriage a husband
moved in with his new wife.
When British explorers began to
settle in the New World they introduced
a different model for society, one which
was patriarchal. This meant that men
held all legal authority, such as
owning property and making laws. By
the beginning of the 1700s, Indian life
had been so dramatically altered by
white control that the role of Indian
men and women within their own
villages had been changed forever.
We find in one Indian woman's life
some ways in which she upheld her
native culture and some ways in
which she adapted to the new. She
was Nanye'hi. whose own people
called her War Woman and, later,
Beloved Woman because of her
leadership within the Cherokee
Nation. She was also highly
regarded by white scouts, hunters,
and government agents who valued
her friendship and advice. They
called her ;‘the famous Indian woman
Nancy Ward.”
Nanye'hi was born around 1738 in
the Cherokee town of Chota on the
Little Tennessee River. Her mother's
brother was the famous Attakullakulla.
He was called the Little Carpenter
because he was good at putting
together treaties. Before Nanye’hi
was born, Attakullakulla had gone
with several Cherokee chiefs to
England, where they had met the
king. When Nanye'hi was a little girl,
she likely heard stories about her
uncle. Perhaps she was influenced
in this way to become a friend of the
new settlers.
Nanye'hi's childhood was spent in a
very confusing time. There were
many different kinds of conflicts going
on. Indian tribes often went to war
against each other, as they had
throughout their history. Also. France
and England fought each other for
control of North America in the French
and Indian War (1754-1763). Later,
the American colonies fought the
English in the American Revolution
(1775-1783). Many Cherokee
favored the British, but Nanye'hi took
the side of the colonists.
When Nanye'hi was in her teens,
she married Kingfisher, and they had
two children — Fivekiller and
Catherine. Kingfisher was a member
of the Deer clan, but the children
became members of their mother's
Wolf clan. When the children were
small, Nanye'hi must have lived like
many other Cherokee women —
tending her own small garden,
working in the community fields,
preparing food for her family, and
participating in village life. Nanye'hi's
life changed dramatically when she
joined Kingfisher in a war party to
fight the Creek Indians in Georgia.
She was probably along to help
prepare food for the warriors, but
when the battle began, Kingfisher
was killed. Nanye'hi seized his gun
and helped defeat the Creek Indians.
The Cherokee recognized Nanye'hi
for her bravery in battle and called
her War Woman. This title meant
that she could speak in council
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