Great Woman: Nancy Ward of the Cherokee

In some Eastern tribes, particularly those with matrilineal inheritance and ownership structures, women could and did assume leadership positions in their own right.  Nanyehi (1738-1822), whose Cherokee name meaning "one who goes about", is more often referred to by the Anglicized version of her name, Nancy.  She was born in the Cherokee town of Chota, in what is now Monroe County, Tennessee, as a member of the Wolf Clan.  Her mother's name has been given in some novels as Tame Doe, but history does not record her real name.  Nancy's uncle was war leader Attakullakulla, whose example would later inspire his niece both in war and diplomacy.   Despite stories to the contrary, her father was Native, most likely a Delaware, not a White British officer or trader.  At around age fourteen, Nancy was married to a Cherokee warrior named Tsula, or Kingfisher.  The couple had two children, Ka-ti (Catherine) and Fivekiller.

Nancy was eighteen when war broke out between the Creeks and Cherokees (1753-55).  She followed her husband to war and, at the Battle of Taliwa, she lay behind a log, chewing on lead bullets for his gun.  She believed that giving the bullets jagged edges would cause them to do more damage on impact.  After Tsula was killed and his men began to fall back in confusion, Nancy picked up the weapon and rallied them to victory.  As this final phase of the war with the Creeks wound down, Nancy may have been present and fought at other battles, as well.  Now a widow with two small children to care for, Nancy was appointed to the most prestigious honor the Cherokees could bestow.  She was named a Beloved Woman or Ghigau. 

Beloved Women, sometimes called War Women, had an important place in Cherokee society.  To become a Ghigau, a woman had to either prove herself in battle, as Nancy had done, or come from a family of warriors and herself be the mother of noted warriors.  The Ghigau presided over the women's counsel, which had oversight in matter such as marriage, settling disputes and punishing wrongdoers.  She also had a voting seat on the council of chiefs, and acted as a liaison between the women and the male leaders of the Cherokee.  The Ghigau had the final say on whether the tribe went to war or remained at peace.  She also had the final say over the life, death and disposition of any captives taken.  Nancy would be the youngest known woman to hold this high honor. 

 As Ghigau, Nancy had much responsibility in the turbulent period of the Seven Years War (1755-1762).  The Cherokee had entered an alliance with the American colonists, who were fighting the French and their Native allies during the War.  This brought the wrath of Britain down on the Cherokee, who also faced widespread death and destruction at the hands of British troops during the so-called Cherokee War (1759-1761).  Whenever she could, Nancy tried to counsel peace and cooperation with the Cherokee's chosen allies, the Settlers.  She also showed her compassionate side on several occasions when it came to prisoners, sparing the lives of women taken captive.  One White woman was so grateful that she taught Nancy loom weaving and brought her some cattle from her farm.  Nancy became a successful rancher and taught the loom weaving to other women.  An Irish-born trader named Bryant Ward fell in love with her and the two became a couple, having a daughter, Betsy.  Bryant also had a wife in South Carolina but these alliances between White traders and agents working among the Natives were not unusual.  Many men had a wife back East, and a Native companion on the frontier.  Later, Bryant would return to his wife, but he remained in contact with Nancy and their daughter. 

Nancy's opportunities to aid her people further came during the Revolution.  While some leaders, such as her cousin Dragging Canoe, wanted all Whites out of Cherokee territory, Nancy saw the futility of this.  The Settlers were there to stay and the Cherokees' best hope of survival lay in cooperation with them.  Dragging Canoe formed an alliance with the British in an attempt to force the Settlers to leave.  Nancy disagreed.  When Dragging Canoe planned raids on settlements in Tennessee, Nancy warned the local commander, John Sevier, so that he could be prepared.  On one occasion, in July, 1776, Cherokee forces threatened Fort Caswell, on the Sycamore Shoals of the Watauga River.  Nancy warned a local trader, who took the news to Col. Sevier.  The Settlers were able to meet and defeat Dragging Canoe's advance.  There were other instances when her timely warnings saved the lives of Settlers.  In 1781, she was chosen to accompany a Cherokee delegation to meet with Sevier to discuss White settlement along the Little Pigeon River.  Sevier expressed surprise that a women would be sent to treat with men.  Nancy was ready for him,  "You know that women are always looked upon as nothing," she said.  "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 cry for peace."  Whenever she could, she served as a mediator between her people and treaty negotiations with the Settlers, trying to preserve peace and the integrity of Cherokee lands.

After the Revolution, Nancy continued to busy herself with the needs of her people.  In addition to teaching the weaving and promoting cattle ranching and dairy farming, she also encouraged her people to become more proficient in agriculture.  She once wrote to President Washington, telling him that if he would send the Cherokees farming implements, she would make certain they put them to good use.  She visited a local Moravian mission to learn something of their teachings and how they could benefit the Cherokee

 Nancy opposed the sell of Cherokee lands to White settlers, and this was one of the few areas in which her influence did not carry weight.  Cherokee leaders continued to sell tracts of land to Whites, encouraging more of them to come into Cherokee territory.  In 1817, too ill to attend a council meeting, she sent a letter again urging her people to stop selling their land.  Her plea was ignored.  Lands north of the Hiwassee River were eventually sold, forcing Nancy in her older years to move. 

Nancy opened an inn on the Ocoee River.  Her son, Fivekiller, cared for her during her final years.  She was often worried by a reoccurring dream.  Her people marching somewhere, White soldiers guarding them, as many along the infernal trail starved and died by the wayside.  She died in 1822, or possibly 1824, the last woman to hold the title Ghigau until it was revived by the Cherokee Nation in the 1980's.  There are several local memorials to her in Eastern Tennessee.  Her gravesite is maintained as a state park, and the Daughters of the American Revolution placed a commemorative plaque near where her inn stood.  A statue carved by a possible descendant in 1906 was later stolen in the early 1980's, its current whereabouts unknown.