Nancy Ward Cherokee Chieftainess: Dragging Canoe Cherokee-Chickamauga War Chief

by Pat Alderman

This is a documented, capsuled, contemporary story of two outstanding Cherokee personalities. Nancy Ward was a Cherokee Chieftainess and Most Honored Woman of the Cherokee Nation. Her cousin, Dragging Canoe, was Cherokee-Chickamauga War Chief.

90 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

Reviews

[Christy Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I purchased this book to read about Nancy Ward. I read about her and her counterpart, Dragging Canoe in this authentic history of both. Nancy Ward was a peacemaker, the niece of Attakullakulla or LIttle Carpenter who visited King George in 1730, and was an advocate for the British who were coming to the Americas in large numbers. Nancy Ward sat in on many councils where she was able to influence her people to work with the settlers and try to establish relationships with them. Her opposite was Dragging Canoe, the son of Attakullakulla. Dragging Canoe was angry about the white encroachment and sought to defend the rights of his people thru war and alliance with other tribes. This is a good book and interesting and easy to read. I found it to be a historically accurate summation of the two characters who were cousins but on opposite sides of a horrible time for the Cherokee people.

[Gregg Wingo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a bi-biography of two Cherokee leaders from the Late Colonial era through the early years of the United States. It is a tale of two strong personalities who fought for the preservation of their people. It is also a story of superpowers and revolutionaries manipulating the fates of those being crushed between their forces. It is a story about America's Palestine.

Nancy Ward was powerful female in a matriarchal society. She was both a warrior and a peacemaker and became the Beloved Woman of the Cherokee and the wife of a European American. She was an advocate of the Westernization of her people and made possible the development of the inclusion of the Cherokee among the Five Civilized Tribes.

Dragging Canoe was a warrior first and foremost. He sought to maintain the independence of the Cherokee through military opposition. He was a prominent chief of the war party and the leader of a multi-tribal army against the American revolutionaries and settlers. His efforts enabled the Cherokee to have breathing space to survive the transition to Westernization.

The impact of competing foreign powers, broken treaties, and the steady encroachment by settlers is vividly captured in this book. It allows one to understand the frustration and outrage of all marginalized people.

[Becky Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent historical documentation of Cherokee history.