ᎾᏅᏰᎯ Nanyehi
The Warrior Woman Who Fought For Her People
Nanyehi was born in 1738 in the Cherokee capital of Chota. While the exact identity of her parents are unknown, she was a relative of the powerful Chief Attakullakulla, so it's likely her mother was a younger sister of the great Cherokee chief. Since Cherokee people place importance on the line of the mother, this meant great things for Nanyehi's future as the neice of a powerful chief.
21st century depiction of what Nanyehi may have looked like.
Nanyehi has a very long list of accomplishments that make her famous but here are just a few of the many things she did in her role as a diplomat for her people.
- Nanyehi managed to make initial peaceful relations with many white settlers encroaching on Cherokee territory by marrying a settler named Bryant Ward. their daughter Elizabeth ended up marrying a general; named Joseph Martin, who, because of his status as Nanyehi's son-in-law, drew many Cherokee people to the American cause and helped them win the revolutionary war!
- Because of her title of beloved woman, nanyehi had the authority to pardon captives. On one particular day, she spared the life of an English settler named Lydia Bean, who stayed in the Cherokee capital for many years. Lydia Bean was the person who taught Nanyehi about dairy production, after which Nanyehi introduced it to her whole tribe as a new form of farming that many still practice today.
- Nanyehi had to face multiple issues during the Revolutionary War. Most Cherokee were allied with the British against the rebel colonists. The Cherokee wanted to expel the settlers from their lands, and the British offered to help with that. Nanyehi's cousin, Dragging Canoe, wanted to ally with the British against the settlers, but Nanyehi was trying to support the rebels because she believed she could make peaceful relations with them. Nanyehi began to warn Patriot soldiers of attacks, trying to prevent retaliatory raids against her people. According to Harold Felton, she sent cattle to the starving militia many times during the war.
- After the revolutionary war, Nanyehi was very central to many peace negations on behalf of her people. She helped negotiate the Treaty of Hopewell in 1785 and tried her best to keep white settlers from buying Cherokee land, which unlimatiley failed as settlers slowly took over the nearby territory.
- Nanyehi's position as a diplomat was not unusual in Cherokee culture; however, she was a huge shock to American and British diplomats, who could not believe any Cherokee would let a woman run their affairs. at a meeting with American diplomats, she commented:
"You know that women are always looked upon as nothing; but we are your mothers; you are our sons. Our cry is all for peace; let it continue. This peace must last forever. Let your women's sons be ours; our sons be yours. Let your women hear our words."
Despite her continued efforts to promote peace between the Cherokee and the rising power of the United States, it began to get worse as time went on. As Nanyehi aged she watched as America ignored treaties and forcibly moved into Cherokee territory. when she did finally die she had a vision of......
"great line of our people marching on foot. Mothers with babies in their arms. Fathers with small children on their backs. Grandmothers and Grandfathers with large bundles on their backs. They were marching West, and the 'Unaka' (White Soldiers) were behind them. They left a trail of corpses, the weak, the sick who could not survive the journey."
Whether real or not, this vision predicted the eventual "Trail of Tears," which removed the Cherokee entirely from their lands and sent them west, killing many people along the way. nanyehi is often blamed by some for letting settlers in instead of fighting them; however, this is a very poor conculsion. It is unlikely that Nanyehi could have known anything like the trail of tears would ever happen. All she wanted was to make peace and have all live in harmony no matter a person's country of origin; for that, she is a true hero!
Promotional Art for a Musical written by one of Nanyehi's decendants
Nanyehi left an incredible legacy behind for her people, both good and bad. Not only that but many of her descendants are still making an impact to this day! It's estimated that she has over 40,000 people descended from her three children, Fivekiller, Ka-ti and Elizabeth.
One of her most prominent descendants is a fifth great granddaughter through her daughter Ka-ti named Becky Hobbs
Becky Hobbs is a country music star from Oklahoma who has had the pleasure of performing and working with some of the industry biggest names, as well as having some smash hits of her own through the late eighties and early nineties.
Despite most of her immediate ancestry being white, she is an enrolled member of the Cherokee nation and is a very active member of her community, especially in getting the story of Nanyehi out in the world through her love of music.
