Chota, the City of Refuge, The Birthplace of Nanye'hi Beloved Woman of the Cherokee, and the Name of My Dog

Chota . . . the Cherokee town of refuge under a Tennessee lake 

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July 12, 2011

By welcoming refugees from throughout eastern North America, Chota grew to become known as the Cherokee “metropolis” in the mid-1700s. Chota’s story is often a forgotten chapter of American history.

KNOXVILLE, TN – (Examiner.com) – In the foothills of the Smoky Mountains in eastern Tennessee, the Little Tennessee River plunges out of a gorge in the Great Smoky Mountains into beautiful Lake Tellico. Beneath the indigo blue waters of Lake Tellico, 600 years ago, thrived an advanced Native American culture. The lower Little Tennessee River Valley was one of the most densely populated regions north of Mexico at that time. When the Hernando de Soto Expedition as it passed through the valley in 1541, it was under the government of the enormous town of Kusa in what-is-now northwestern Georgia.

Native American town names recorded show that its residents spoke several languages: Koasati, Itsati (Hitchiti-Creek), Yuchi, Mvskoke (Muskogee-Creek) Alabama and Chickasaw. However, the polyglot population seemed to get along well with each other. The Spanish chronicles do not mention any feuds between towns. Perhaps the towns tolerated annual tributes to the capital of Kusa because of the blessings of peace that its large army provided. The Province of Kusa was approximately 400 miles (840 km) long.

In the late 1500s, plagues caused by European pathogens swept through the Southern Highlands. Many of the towns were abandoned. Anthropologists suspect that the region’s population dropped by 90-95% because of this biological holocaust. When French and English explorers visited the upper Tennessee Valley in the late 1600s, only a few of the towns mentioned by the Spanish in 1541 were still occupied. These included Tali, Tanasi and Taskeke. There is a pre-Spanish mound at the Chota archaeologist site. This suggests that Chota may have been one of the towns visited by the Spanish, but had a different name at the time,

Chota, the town of refuge

In 1660 the Virginia House of Burgesses institutionalized human slavery and made vulnerability to enslavement to be based on race. Only Native Americans and Africans could be held in bondage. The economic and legal status of Virginia’s surviving Native Americans soon deteriorated precipitously. Unpaid debts could quickly result in perpetual slavery. Native American slavery spread to the Carolina’s when Charleston was founded in 1674. By 1710, Native American slaves composed 20% of the population of Charleston. The vast majority of Native American slaves were shipped to Caribbean sugar plantations, where they usually died within two years. It has been estimated by anthropologists that at least 600,000 Southeastern Native Americans were enslaved. Probably, almost as many died in slave raids. The Native American slave raiders typically killed all adult males, plus anybody who could not walk hundreds of miles to the coastal slave markets.

In small parties, consisting of unrelated individuals or families, the American Indians of Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina escaped actual or potential slavery by fleeing into the mountains. Escaped slaves traveled far enough to be out of range of the hated slave catchers. These travels often put them in the Tennessee Valley. Chota’s population had been decimated by past plagues, so it welcomed new residents. The addition of American Indians of Algonquian, Siouan and Yuchi heritage changed the character of Chota. Many of these newcomers could also speak English, which was an advantage in trade.

Origin of Tennessee’s name: In 1679 an expedition headed by Robert Holder was sent by the Governor of Carolina to open up trade with the Tanasa-ke (Tanasqui in the de Soto chronicles.) They were one of the major ethnic groups on the lower Little Tennessee River, but also had branches in the Piedmont of South Carolina and along the lower Tennessee River in Tennessee. Their capital, Tanasa Olamikko, was probably located on Bussell Island, where the Little Tennessee River joins the Tennessee River. Satellite towns of the main town of Tanasa were often called Tanasi, which means “children of Tanasa.” The word, Tanasi was also used to describe the region where the Tanasa lived.

Holder’s party passed over the Blue Ridge Mountains and then had trade talks with the native peoples of the Little Tennessee River near Chota in a village that was called Tanasi. Holder used Creek Indian guides for the journey because at that time the most of the peoples in the North Carolina Mountains spoke one of the Creek Indian languages. The Muskogee-speaking South Carolina Creek guides called the Tanasa, theTenesaw, and their province Tenesi. When the expedition returned to Charleston, the governor’s mapmaker recorded the name of the region as being Tenesee.

The first somewhat accurate map of the Southern Highlands was published in 1584. It showed the region occupied solely by speakers of the Creek, Yuchi and Shawnee languages. This continued to be the case throughout the 1600s. In the late 1600s, more accurate English and French maps (based on direct contact,) labeled the people of the Little Tennessee River Valley as speaking dialects of Creek Indian languages. These same maps showed the northeastern corner of Tennessee being occupied by Rickohocken Indians, based in SW Virginia. The Rickohockens spoke a language very similar to contemporary Cherokee.

Because Chota contained mixed-blood Indians, who could speak English, it soon became a destination point, then a headquarters of English traders. These English traders often married local women. Their children were usually bi-lingual AND had more immunity to European diseases. The village boomed.

The earliest document that labels the occupants of the Little Tennessee Valley as being “Cheraqui” was a map published in 1718 by the famous French cartographer, Guilliam DeLisle. The first English map to use the word Cherokee was published in 1725. It does not mention Chota.

A 1720 map by Dutch cartographer Hermann Moll showed the occupants of the Tennessee River downstream from the “Cheraqui” to be Koasati, Creek and Yuchi Indian allies of the French. There was even a short-lived French fort on Hiwassee Island. That situation was to change rapidly in the 1720s. Because of British encouragement, the Lower Little River towns selected a “war leader” from the town of Tanasi. His name comes down to us only as “Tanasi Warrior.”

With the help of the British, the new Cherokee Alliance was able to, one by one, capture the Koasati, Creek and Yuchi towns in southeastern Tennessee. Due to the intrigue of the English, Chief Moytoy of the town of Big Tellico was named “First Emperor of the Cherokee Nation.” Also by 1730, the Overhill Cherokees had captured all enemy towns southwestward to the Hiwassee River. However, by 1738 all of the Koasati, Creeks and Yuchi had been swept out of southeastern Tennessee as far as Chattanooga. This was the “high water mark” of Cherokee military expansion.

In 1753 the chief of Chota, Kanagatoga, became the second “Emperor of the Cherokee Nation.” The next year the Overhill Cherokees ended their four decade long war with the Upper Creeks, who were French allies. However, the French & Indian War soon started. The British and French dispatched their “client” Indian tribes against each other. Despite heavily publicized stories of a great Cherokee victory, the real history is that the Cherokees lost a third of their towns in 1754 and 1755 from Creek attacks until the British built Fort Loudon near Chota, and pressured the British-allied Koweta Creeks to stop destroying Cherokee towns.. Relations with the British soured, which eventually resulted with the garrison being massacred. The Overhill Cherokees quickly signed treaties with the British and the Upper Creek allies of the French, to effectively take their people out of this disastrous war.

Chota continued to be the most important Cherokee town for the next three decades. Most of the Cherokee towns were destroyed in the American Revolution and the Cherokee Chickamauga War that followed. Cherokee refugees streamed out of the mountains into the Tennessee Valley. Many settled around Chota. Few, if any, residents of Chota were among the Chickamauga renegades, but the town was burned, nevertheless, by Colonel John Sevier’s Tennessee Volunteers in 1784. Chota was rebuilt in the late 1780s, but never was its former size. By the late 1790s, the bulk of the Cherokee People were moving down into their new lands in northwest Georgia. In 1798, there were only five houses at Chota. It was during this period that the famous Cherokee scholar, Sequoyah, spent part of his youth in a cabin near Chota. That part of Tennessee was sold by the Cherokees in 1819 to the United States government.

Meaning of the name “Chota”

The original name of the village of Chota was Itsati. Chota appears to have originally been a “nickname” for the village. Later, when the town became a mother town, it was known as Echota. Most Cherokee sponsored history web sites either state that origin of the word, Chota is unknown, or else, it is a corruption of Itsati.

Cherokees tend to be unaware of how relatively late, there was such a thing as “Cherokees” in Tennessee, or the preponderance of Creek Indian place names that were incorporated into their language. State sponsored web sites typically give the impression that the Cherokees were in the Tennessee Valley for hundreds of years, and also erroneously state that Tennessee is a Cherokee word.

Itsati is the name that the Hitchiti-speaking Creek Indians call themselves. It is pronounced, It-jsha-tee. In English, Itsati means Itza People – referring the Itza Maya ancestors of that branch of the Creek Indians.

Chota is the Itsati word for “frog.” The site of Chota was a flat island in a wide expanse of marshes. This would certainly be a likely place for frogs to live.

The town name, Echota, displays a grammatical form used by the Itza Maya in Central America and theItza-ti Creeks in the Southeastern United States. “E” front of the word means “important.” The capital of a province would often have an “E” in front of the province’s name. Another example of this grammar is found in the De Soto Chronicles. The capital of the Itsati Province of Chiaha was recorded by the Spanish as beingYchiaha.

An alternative explanation of Echota has been proposed by a Yuchi scholar, David Woktela, who theorizes that it meant “sacred fire tobacco” and would have been written in the English alphabet as Ici-tso-tal.

Getting to the site of Chota

The actual location of Chota is now under Lake Tellico. However, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indianshas constructed a beautiful park and memorial to honor Chota. To reach the memorial from Knoxville, take I-40 West to I-75 South, exit I-75 onto Tennessee State Highway 72 East and follow to Vonore. Turn left on U.S.411 North and follow to Right Turn on Hwy 360 at Traffic Light. Continue on Hwy, 360 to the Sequoyah Birthplace museum and thence onto the Chota Memorial.

 Copied from the website http://www.examiner.com/article/chota-the-cherokee-town-of-refuge-under-a-tennessee-lake

Another Privilege I Had On April 14

Besides attending the play Nanyehi - Beloved Woman of the Cherokee as posted below. I had the opportunity to eat lunch and then attend the play with David Hampton and 5 other descendants of Nancy Ward, who had come from Oklahoma, Texas, and Florida. It was wonderful to meet and be with them. There were 11 descendants at the play. Before the play started, we had the honor  of standing and being introduced by Becky Hobbs. David is one of the foremost Cherokee researchers in the country and has been very kind and helpful  in my attempts at research. His book Cherokee Mixed Bloods has been invaluable to me. It was a real honor to be with David and the other Nancy Ward descendants. David K. Hampton  David Keith Hampton currently resides in Tulsa. He’s the son of Thomas Marion Hampton Jr. and June Louise (Young) Hampton. He graduated from Broken Arrow High School in 1967. His Cherokee grandfather was George Elihu Young enrolled on Dawes roll minor Cherokee #3056.  David began working on genealogy in 1961 and later attended the University of Oklahoma majoring in political science from 1967 through 1970.  In the U.S. Army from 1970 to 1973 he was a Military occupation specialist as a Lao language translator, stationed in Udorn Thani, Thailand.  After his military service he returned to OU majoring in accounting receiving a B.B.A.  David has worked as an accountant at various businesses and since 1994 at a Tulsa law firm specializing in immigration. David’s publications are: §        Descendants of Nancy Ward 1975 §        Cherokee Reservees 1979 §        The Nantz Family 1983 §        Old Cherokee Families: Notes of Dr. Emmet Starr, volumes 1-3 1988 §        Cherokee Old Settler 1993 §        Descendants of Nancy Ward: A workbook for Further Research 1997 §        Cherokee Mixed-bloods: Additions and Corrections to Family Genealogies of Dr. Emmet Starr, volume 1, 2005 §        Currently working on Cherokee Mixed-Bloods volume 2 Member: §        Oklahoma Historical Society §        Goingsnake District Heritage Association, currently Vice President, previously secretary §        Association of the Descendants of Nancy Ward, President since 1994 §        Oklahoma Chapter – Trail of Tears Association §        National Genealogical Society My Certificate of Descendancy from Nancy Ward As I mentioned in other posts, I knew I was part Cherokee and my Mother was born in Indian Territory in Oklahoma, but I had no idea (nor did she, I'm sure) that I was descended from Nancy Ward and other famous Cherokee. I am extremely delighted to have found out through my research.

What A Privileged and Great Day I Had Last Saturday

 April 14, 2012, I attended 

The FIRST PRODUCTION OF NANYE’HI  IN HARTWELL, GEORGIA

Savannah River Productions presented the World Premiere of the new musical by award winning

songwriter, Becky Hobbs and co-playwright, Nick Sweet, based on the life of Becky's 5th-great

grandmother, Nancy Ward. “NANYEHI” is a two-act musical with 17 songs. There will be six

performances of the initial production Additional information about the musical can be found on the website www.nanyehi.com. 

The Play Bill  

Nanyehi means "she who walks among the spirit people." Nanyehi was born into the Wolf Clan, one of the most prominent of the seven Cherokee clans. She was born in Chota, the capital of the Cherokee Nation, in an area that is now eastern Tennessee. She accompanied her husband, Kingfisher, to war against the Creek Indians in the 1755 Battle of Taliwa. As she knelt by his side, chewing the bullets to make them more deadly, Kingfisher was killed. Nanyehi took his rifle and led the Cherokee to victory. She was honored as a "war woman" and was given the right to sit on the War Council, and deemed the leader of the Women’s Council. She was also granted a power not even given to the Chiefs. She could determine the fate of captives, whether they are killed, enslaved, released, or adopted into the tribe.

Nanyehi then used her powerful position of War Woman to promote peace between the Cherokee and the white settlers, the British, the French, and other tribes. After years of leading her people, tending to the wounded and caring for the many orphans, she was elevated to the highest position a woman could have, that of “Ghigau,” or “Beloved Woman.” She was given a shawl of white swan feathers, which remained a symbol of her authority the rest of her life. Her second husband was Bryant Ward, a trader in Cherokee country of Irish descent. She became known as “Nancy Ward” to the American settlers. She played one of the most important roles in American history.

The play was wonderfully moving and incredibly powerful with one great song after another. After the play in talking with the cast, one of them mentioned to me they could see from the stage many members of the audience crying. I know I was. The play and Nancy Ward carries the message of how much we need PEACE. It is still so appropriate 250 years later.

Becky Hobbs, Songwiter and Playwright of Nanyehi

As a Child

Ever since I was a young girl growing up in Bartlesville, OK, I dreamed that one day I could pay tribute to my 5th-great grandmother, Nancy Ward, Beloved Woman of the Cherokee. After many years of writing songs, recording albums, and performing all over the world, that day has come! I have written 17 songs, and have co-written the script with Nick Sweet, for a musical based on her life. At long last, Nancy Ward’s voice will be heard!

Becky's Bio

Whiskey-voiced Becky Hobbs is one-of-a-kind. She is a gifted songwriter, as well as a captivating entertainer. On stage, she plays some rockin’ keys, yet she can rope you in like an Oklahoma cowgirl with her from-the-heart ballads.

Becky has performed in over 40 countries, including nine in Africa. Her songs have been recorded by Alabama, Conway Twitty ("I Want To Know You Before We Make Love" went to #1), George Jones, Loretta Lynn, Emmylou Harris, Glen Campbell, Wanda Jackson, John Anderson, Janie Fricke, Lacy J Dalton, Moe Bandy, Shelly West, Helen Reddy, Shirley Bassey, Jane Oliver, Ken Mellons, and others. She is the co-writer of Alabama’s hit, “Angels Among Us,” which has been used by many charities throughout the world, including St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

"The Beckaroo," as she is called by her friends, was born and raised in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. She is a citizen of the great Cherokee Nation. She started playing piano and writing songs when she was nine years old and formed her own all-girl rock band in high school, which has since been documented as the first all-female rock band in the state of Oklahoma. She spent 2 years in Baton Rouge, LA playing in southern rock band, “Swampfox,” before her dreams took her to Los Angeles, where she lived for 9 years. During the “Urban Cowboy” craze, Becky started writing songs for Al Gallico Music. Thanks to Al, Becky got her first major deal with Mercury Records, and had chart success with “I Can’t Say Goodbye To You,” “Honky Tonk Saturday Night,“ and others.

In 1981, Becky headed for Nashville, and shortly thereafter recorded a Top 10 duet with Moe Bandy, "Let's Get Over Them Together." In 1988, her critically acclaimed All Keyed Up album (MTM, then BMG), brought us "Jones On The Jukebox," "Are There Any More Like You," and "Do You Feel The Same Way Too." In 1988, Becky's co-written song "You Are" (recorded by Glen Campbell & Emmylou Harris) was nominated for a Grammy in the "Best Country & Western Vocal Performance -Duet category. In the early 90's, Becky's "Talk Back Tremblin' Lips" video (Curb Records) went to #6 on CMT. In 1994, she released The Boots I Came to Town In album (Intersound), which included the haunting "Pale Moon," "Mama's Green Eyes (And Daddy's Wild Hair)" and Becky's own version of "Angels Among Us." Becky was named Cashbox Magazine's Independent Country Music Female Artist of the Year for 1994.

In 1996, Becky married guitarist/ producer/songwriter Duane Sciacqua. Duane played guitar with Glenn Frey for 14 years, and also played with Paul McCartney and Joe Walsh, among others. He produced Becky’s 1998’s From Oklahoma With Love, which got a rave review in PEOPLE Magazine. Swedish Coffee & American Sugar was released by popular demand in Scandinavia in 2000, and in 2004, Becky released Songs From the Road of Life (also produced by Duane). Best of the Beckaroo-Part 1 was released in 2005. It contains 21 of Becky’s most popular recordings.

Hartwell County Georgia Where "Nanyehi" was Put On

Center of the World

Ah-Yek-A-Li-A-Lo-Hee” in Cherokee means “Center of the World”. This was the place where the Cherokee Indians would assemble and Indian traders would meet to exchange their goods; items such as hides, furs, blankets and many other types of articles that could be used for barter or trade were brought. Various councils would also meet at this designated place.

The Center of the World is located three miles southwest of the city of Hartwell, is the Cherokee Indian assembly ground where trails radiated in many directions. A granite marker as well as a plaque is in place to pay tribute to the Cherokee Indians who once occupied this territory. The ""Center of the World"" historic site/monument honors the location of the Cherokee Indian assembly ground. The area was inhabited by Native Americans until a treaty with the Cherokee Indians was signed.

One of the trails that traders transported their goods upon pack horses to their Indian settlements is where Cedar Creek Church is now located. Pigeons also migrated annually in the autumn on their quest for acorns, which were in abundance. People would gather at this location to shoot down numbers of pigeons that weighed down the branches while they were roosting in the large forest pines.

Several meetings also were held at this historic place being attended by citizens of the country who desired that the country seat be held at the “Center of the World.

We now can pay tribute to the Cherokee Indians and the legacy they left by the marker that stands on the south side of the highway, three miles southwest of the city of Hartwell. It keeps the memory alive of what was once a very well traveled place and where much trade and history took place.

James Tidbits

Girls and Boys
In the 1910 census Alfred and Lucinda had 7 children. One Baby, Haskell, had died in 1907 in infancy. Of the 6 other children only 1 was a boy. As a farmer, was Alfred disappointed he didn't have more farm hands? Interestingly and finally, there was a total of 14 kids born - 7 boys and 7 girls.

JAMES Surname Meaning and Origin:
James is a patronymic name derived from "Jacob" and usually meaning "son of Jacob." In English, Jacob and James are distinctly separate names, but throughout the rest of the world, the two are often used interchangeably.

James is the 80th most popular surname in the United States. James is also popular in England, coming in as the 41st most common surname.

Surname Origin: English

Another Mystery - I Need A Flow Chart

I noticed a discrepancy in the different census about where Grandpa Alfred and Grandma Lucinda said their parents were born as follows:

Alfred said in the 1900 qnd 1910 census his father was born in Tennessee, his mother in Kansas
Alfred said in the 1920 census his father was born in Kentucky, his mother in Kansas
Alfred said in the 1930 census his father was born in Oklahoma, his mother in Oklahoma

Lucinda said in the 1900 census her father was born in Georgia and her mother in Arkansas
Lucinda said in the 1910 census her father was born in Tennessee and her mother in Arkansas
Lucinda said in the 1920 census her father was born in North Carolina and her mother in Arkansas
Lucinda said in the 1930 census her father was born in Oklahoma and  her mother Arkansas

Did they not know? Did they distrust the government and for some reason didn't want them to be able to trace them? We'll probably never know. They certainly had no reason to trust anything the government ever did.


Indians Were Not Citizens

Indians on reservations were not considered citizens until 1924; therefore, they were only included sporadically on most nineteenth and early twentieth-century U.S. federal census records.

The Indian census schedules started after an act of Congress on 4 July 1884 said, “That hereafter each Indian agent be required, in his annual report, to submit a census of the Indians at his agency or upon the reservation under his charge.” Besides other things, these censuses were taken to help the government keep track of who was eligible for land or money allotments.

Artist Mary Adair

A Depiction of the Events in the Life of Nancy Ward

What a wonderful picture!!!! The Beloved Nancy Ward is my 6 g grandmother.

Nancy Ward

Nancy Ward 1738 - 1822 My 6 g Grandmother (Tame Doe3Raven, Anaway2 Moytoy, Amatoya1Moytoy)

Nancy Ward from the Cherokee Registry First Light on Line

Nanyehi Nancy Ward "The Ghi Ga U"

She was a Full blood of the Wolf Clan, born in Chota, the City of Refuge and Capitol of the Cherokee Nation. Her Great grandfather was Moytoy of Tellico Supreme Chief 1730 --1760. Moytoy's second daughter, born about 1663 and her husband, The "Raven" of Chotawere Nancy's grandparents.

Nancy holds a position of great significancein Cherokee history.
In 1738, Tame Do (the sister of Attakullakulla) and her husband, thought to be a Delaware Indian brave or Chief ( who died early in her life) gave birth to a daughter named Nancy, who in time became the last true Ghi Ga U or Beloved Woman of the Cherokees, and in who, in her views regarding Cherokee and white relationships, was an ally of Little Carpenter (Attakullakulla).

In the early 1750's, she married the noted war leader, Kingfisher of the Deer Clan, and was at his side when in 1755 he was killed by Creek warriors at the battle of Taliwa. She immediately picked up his weapons and rallied the Cherokee warriors to overwhelming victory. Back at Chota, she was chosen to fill the vacant position of a Beloved Woman. It was believed that the Supreme Beings often spoke to the people through the beloved women, and they were given absolute power in the question of what to do with prisoners taken in war, a power exclusive to Ghi Ga U. Nancy did not hesitate to use the power. She was also head of the influential woman's council that consisted of a representative from each clan, and she sat as a voting member of the council of chiefs.

In the late 1750's, about 1759, she married an already wed white trader named Bryant Ward, who before 1760 left her and returned to his white wife and children in South Carolina. In 1772, an English diplomat named Robertson visited Nancy's home at Chota, which he described as being furnished in a barbaric splendor that befitted her high rank. She was then thirty - five years old and he pictured her as "queenly and commanding"(Mooney -Myths of the Cherokeepg. 204 )

In June 1776, Dragging Canoe, Abraham and Raven , Cherokee War Chiefs, with 250 warriors each, at the instigation of the British, planned to attack Western settlements. Ghi Ga u warned the settlers of the impending attacks, then on July 20, 1776, Abraham, marching to attack Watauga in East Tennessee, captured Mrs. William Bean, mother of the first white child born in Tennessee. When the war party returned to Cherokee Country, Mrs. Bean was condemned to be burned at the stake. She was conducted to the top of a mound that stood in the center of Tuskeegee, which was located just above the mouth of the Tellico or Little Tennessee River. Bound at the stake, faggots piled around, torch about to be applied, GhiGau appeared , cut the thongs and took the captive to her home, where Mrs. Bean taught her how to keep house and make butter. As soon as it was safe, Ghi Ga u sent her brother, Tuskeegeeteehee, or Longfellow of Chistatoa and her son Hiskyteehee, or Fivekiller sometimes called Littlefellow, to escort Mrs. Bean to her husband. Numerous settlements had been made on Cherokee land, in direct violation of royal decree from England.

When the Revolutionary War broke out, the Cherokees again sided with the English. In 1776, the Cherokees prepared to attack simultaneously the frontier settlements of Virginia, the Carolinas, andGeorgia. The responsibility assigned to 700 warriors from chota was to strike the settlers who lived in the Watuga area. As much for theCherokees' sake as for that of the settlers, Nancy Ward helped IsaacThomas, William Fawling and another white man to escape from Chota to warn the Watugans in time to build fortifications. This act established Nancy's reputation as a friend of the settlers. When in October 1776 Colonel William Christian led nearly 2,000 troops in a devastating raid,out of respect for Nancy Ward he spared Chota, while most of the other Cherokee towns were ravaged. In 1780, at a time when most of the Wataugamen were away from home and engaged in the King's Mountain campaign, at the same time, the frontier rear guards became short on rations and NancyWard agreed to supply beef and had some cattle driven in, the Cherokees again prepared to attack the settlements in the Watauga area. Nancy Ward warned the whites a second time, but when the soldiers returned from King's Mountain and learned of the threat, they were enraged, and set out to teach the Cherokees a lesson they would never forget. Despite NancyWard's pleas for mercy and friendship, Chota was destroyed along withother towns, and for a short time she and her family were placed in protective custody. When they were released, they returned to help rebuild the town, and on July 20, 1781, she was the featured speaker for the Cherokees when the reeling people reluctantly accepted a peace treaty with the Wataugans.

When the Treaty of Hopewell was made in South Carolina in 1785, she offered another dramatic plea for continued peace between the Indians and the whites. Once the unhappy war years were ended she lived in Chota, where although it was no longer the capitol of the nation, it was still a city of refuge, and from all over the nation she took into her home orphaned and homeless waifs, including mixed breeds.

Nancy Ward died in 1822, a truly remarkable woman who learned a permanent place of honor in Cherokee and white history"( The CherokeePeople pp. 193 - 194) Ghi Ga u conducted an inn at the Womankiller ford of the Ocowee River for many years and became quite wealthy; her property consisted of livestock, slaves and money. Travelers called her "Granny Ward" because of her age and that she was the widow of Bryant Ward Nancy grew too old to meet with council and other chiefs, she sent her servant to take her walking stick, her badge of authority, to her appointed seat in the council building to assure that her spirit was there, most notably the council at Amoah, May 6, 1817, the renunciation of her delegated rights and in favor of the first Constitutional Enactment of the Cherokees. Nancy Ward died at her home at the Womankiller ford, in the spring of 1822. Her grave site, a designated state park, is located on a knoll next to U. S. Highway 411, just South of Benton, Tennessee. Buried beside her son, Fivekiller, a veteran of the War of 1812, and her brother Longfellow. Her grave site overlooks the site where Nancy ran her inn, where the old Unicoy Pikecrossed the Ocoee River.( the Pike was the main road from Knoxville intoNorthern Georgia and was a popular resting place for travelers)

Speech 1817
What follows was perhaps not a speech, but rather a written document which was not found in the Amovey Council memorandum. Dated May 2nd, 1817, it was found in the Andrew Jackson Papers, Book 29, No. 17, Volume 1, pages 6452-3:

The Cherokee ladys now being present at the meeting of the Chiefs and warriors in council have thought it their duty as mothers to address their beloved chiefs and warriors now assembled.
Our beloved children and head men of the Cherokee nation we address you warriors now assembled.

Our beloved children and head men of the Cherokee nation we address you warriors in council we have raised all of you on the land which we now have, which God gave us to inhabit and raise provisions we know that our country has once been extensive but by repeated sales has become circumscribed to a small tract and never have thought it our duty to interfere in the disposition of it till now, if a father or mother was to sell all their lands which they had to depend on which their children had to raise their living on which would be indeed bad and to be removed to another country we do not wish to go to an unknown country which we have understood would be like destroying your mothers. Your mothers your sisters ask and beg of you not to part with any more of our lands, we say ours you are descendants and take pity on our request, but keep it for our growing children for it was the good will of our creator to place us here and you know our father the great president will not allow his white children to take our country away only keep you hands off of paper talks for it is our own country for if it was not they would not ask you to put your hands to paper for it would be impossible to remove us all for as soon as one child is raised we have others in our arms for such is our situation and will consider our circumstance.

Therefore children don't part with any more of our lands but continue on it and enlarge your farms and cultivate and raise corn and cotton and we your mothers and sisters will make clothing for you which our father the president has recommended to us all we don't charge anybody for selling any lands, but we have heard such intentions of our children but your talks become true at least and it was our desire to forewarn you all not to part with our lands.
Nancy Wart to her children Warriors take pity and listen to the talks of your sisters, although I am very old yet cannot but pity the situation in which you will hear of their minds, I have great many grand children which I wish them to do well on our land.
Attested

Newspaper Article

The Cherokee Beloved Woman; Wild Rose of the Cherokee; Pocahontas of the West; War Woman; Prophetess; Granny Ward, these are a few of the names and titles given to Nancy Ward, the most powerful and influential woman in the Cherokee Nation during recorded history. She ruled over the powerful Council of Women and had a voting seat in the Council of Chiefs. During her lifetime the Cherokee moved from a matriarchal, clan-type of government to a republic much like our own.

She was born in 1738 at Chota and was loved and respected by the settlers as well as the Cherokees. She had absolute power over prisoners and on numerous occasions saved the lives of white people. On at least two occasions during the Revolutionary War period she sent warnings to John Sevier at the Watauga settlements of planned Indian attacks, thus giving them time to prepare a defense or counter-offensive.

She participated in the Treaty of July 20, 1781, and the Treaty at Hopewell, November 28, 1785, as a principal speaker. She alluded to her never ending desire to seek peace for her people and to hold on to as much of their land as possible. After the Hiwassee Purchase of 1819, she left Chota and settled on the Ocoee River near Benton, Tennessee. She operated an inn at Woman Killer Ford on the Federal Road until her death in 1822. She is buried on a hill nearby. In 1923 a monument was placed on her grave by a Chattanooga Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.