Voices of Cherokee Women

by Carolyn Ross Johnston (Editor)

Voices of Cherokee Women is a compelling collection of first-person accounts by Cherokee women. It includes letters, diaries, newspaper articles, oral histories, ancient myths, and accounts by travelers, traders, and missionaries who encountered the Cherokees from the 16th century to the present. Among the stories told by these “voices” are those of Rebecca Neugin being carried as a child on the Trail of Tears; Mary Stapler Ross seeing her beautiful Rose Cottage burned to the ground during the Civil War; Hannah Hicks watching as marauders steal her food and split open her feather beds, scattering the feathers in the wind; and girls at the Cherokee Female Seminary studying the same curriculum as women at Mount Holyoke. Voices of Cherokee Women recounts how Cherokee women went from having equality within the tribe to losing much of their political and economic power in the 19th century to regaining power in the 20th, as Joyce Dugan and Wilma Mankiller became the first female chiefs of the Cherokee Nation. The book’s publication was timed for the commemoration of the 175th anniversary of the Trail of Tears. Carolyn Ross Johnston has a B.A. from Samford University and a Ph.D. in history from the University of California–Berkeley. Her previous publications Cherokee Women in Removal , The Civil War , and Allotment, 1838-1907 ; Sexual Feminism and the Family in America ; Jack An American Radical ; and My Father’s Fighting with the Buffalo Soldiers in World War II . A recipient of Woodrow Wilson and Danforth fellowships and a Pulitzer-prize nominee, Johnston teaches at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida, where she is professor of history and American studies and the Elie Wiesel Professor of Humane Letters. "In her spirited and well-sourced collection, Johnston...unfolds history through the voices of people who remembered terrible events....An academic account that respectfully resurrects long-dead voices from a people who still have a lot to tell us." - Kirkus Reviews"

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Indigenous, Native American, Feminism

256 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2013

Reviews

[Diz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading the accounts by Cherokee women. The Cherokee were a matrilineal society originally, but with the pressure to assimilate into white culture, Cherokee women lost the power that they previously had. In recent times, they have been able to reclaim some of their power and influence. That gives this collection a sense of completion, but of course more progress can be made.

One thing to note is that this book starts off with a section of Cherokee mythology, and many of the early accounts of Cherokee women were actually written by men, so this weakens the theme of this collection being about the voices of Cherokee women. Also, I was hoping to learn more about Cherokee culture, but many of the sources are written by Cherokee who were fully committed to assimilation, so there is more about Christianity than about native culture in this collection.

[SDestinie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-written chronicle, from pre-contact to modern times, of how Cherokee women went from respected voices in the community to silence, and back again. Telling many stories again from another perspective (particularly Mooney and Lt. Timberlake, whose accounts look different when viewed through the lense of women's history), this book shows another side of the story. Our story.

Acceptance of the Gregorian system of time-measurement, which came with more quickly produced (manufactured) goods, led to rejection of a more feminine calendar, and thus eventually to acceptance of European religion (at the point of trader debt and guns, admittedly), loss of the Tsalagi language in favor of English, and a forced acceptance of the 'Civilizing' program: an attempt to erase the Cherokee way of thinking, respect for mothers and honored women, with the domestication of obedient ladies: a European way of thinking.

These essays show more than just how Cherokee women went from equality to inequality and back again. They show how the imposition of calendar, religion, language and 'civilization' led to the loss of a more open and flexible way of thinking.
Peace,
Shira (Destinie)
Universal Date (aka MEOW Community Cooperation Date):
Sunday, 24 September, 12014 H.E.
(Holocene/Human Era)

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughter and I read this simultaneously. Beautifully curated collection of Cherokee women’s history, stories and speeches.

[Brett · Rating 5 out of 5]

VOICES OF CHEROKEE WOMEN is an important book that adds to undestanding the legacy of the Cherokee people. It is important that we don't fall into the trap of seeing others from only our viewpoint; it is essential that we walk in another man's shoes. I was interested to learn that the Cherokee Woman's Seminary used the 'Mount Holyoke Model'; my oldest cousin Sandra Burton was a 1968 graduate of Mount Holyoke College. The author aptly closes the book w/ the testimony of Principle Chief Wilma Mankiller and her memory of what she calls 'bless-your-little-hearts-ladies': "Even at an early age, I understood that these women thought they were better than us and that they would accept us if only we were more like them."

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will have the opportunity to participate in a book group discussion of this book with the editor. This is what motivated me to read it and I'm glad I did. Although I have not read The Trail of Tears, I am very familiar with it and I don't think I can endure the tragedy of how we mistreated our indigenous culture when we first discovered America. This is a compelling collection of first-person accounts by Cherokee women. It includes letters, diaries, newspaper articles, oral histories, ancient myths, and accounts by travelers, traders, and missionaries who encountered the Cherokees from the 16th century to the present. I learned so much about Cherokee culture and values from these stories. They highly prized education for one. A quote from one of the women elders addressing a group of young women of the Cherokee Nation: "Once more I urge you to attend some Public school, be studious and persevering, and then after awhile you will probably be well prepared to enter our institution. If you should not succeed the first time, 'try, try again'". They also held women in very high regard and as equals to the men in the Nation before the colonialists began imposing colonial values on the Nation. The following is a quote from Wilma Mankiller who was the first female deputy principal chief in Cherokee History. She was elected principal chief in 1987-the first woman to hold that position. "My mother never sat me down and said this is how you should live or this is what it means to be a woman. I remain grateful to both my parents for never telling me, "Girls can't do that," and for letting me define for myself what it mean to be a woman.

In my reading of Black History, WWII and Nazi Germany and some reading of the history of Indigenous people in our country, I am amazed by the resilience of people to overcome so much adversity and continue to have faith that they can survive and succeed. They epitomize the value of accepting that which we cannot change and changing that which we can and moving forward in any way possible. These different groups are certainly an inspiration.

[Joan Warren · Rating 5 out of 5]

How important it is to have a verbal record—straight from the person who experienced such a pivotal historical event. With all that humankind lost by natives in this land being oppressed, robbed, killed and belittled, I am grateful some of their precious voices remain. We need these voices. We need the lessons they bring. I celebrate their spirit—their tenacity, their cultural individuality and their vision, with appreciation for their goodness.

[Rochelle Kaplan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not sure how to rate the book. The scholarship and depth of research is clearly impressive. But I am not sure I understand Cherokee women’s voices or heard them. The first 50 pages were white men’s voices. Then there was a long passage from a woman who assimilated. The trail of tears and civil war sections seemed disjointed. The only essay I really like was that of Wilma Mankiller.

[Leah Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great historical read to learn more about Cherokee women. Definitely voices that need to be heard! Being Cherokee myself the book aided in my own journey of learning about my culture and the historic women who aided in weaving the culture together.

[Robyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of overlap between Voices of Cherokee Women and Cherokee Women in Crisis, but I prefer the latter for context and history and the former for individual voices (mostly letters and diary excerpts). Voices is a more personal account of Cherokee women than its predecessor.

[Caran Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book that looks at the tragic experiences of the Cherokee people.