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The Real People #9
The Peace Chief
In The Peace Chief, one young Cherokee must be reborn to lead his people through the difficult early days of sixteenth-century European expansion into America. Conley tells the story of Young Puppy, a member of the Long Hair Clan who mistakenly kills his best friend, Asquani. To avoid being killed--the usual remedy for restoring balance between the two clans--Young Puppy flees to the sanctuary of Kituwah, where, after a year in exile, his offense will be forgiven. Spiritually reborn as Comes Back to Life, he becomes the ceremonial leader of his the Peace Chief.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
About the author
Robert J. Conley
81 books36 followersRobert J. Conley was a Cherokee author and enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, a federally recognized tribe of American Indians. In 2007, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers' Circle of the Americas.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 4, 2026
Conley merits high praise for many elements of The Peace Chief. One of these is the impressive insight and empathy with which he depicted Young Puppy’s maturation into becoming Comes Back to Life. Another is the extent to which the author informed readers about many of the ceremonies which were part of Cherokee life in the early 16th century. These highly textured descriptions provided a very thorough and engaging portrayal of the food, clothing, dances and the social context in which these community sustaining rituals took place. The spiritual beliefs and practices underlying these ceremonies and a wide array of other circumstances of their lives were also effectively integrated into the narrative. The role which dreams play in Cherokee life was included as well.
The author did some other things very well to enhance my engagement with this novel. The conversational prose which largely consists of direct, declarative sentences is readily readable. While a great deal of Cherokee vocabulary was introduced, he was very careful to provide translations. The names of animals, foods, and clothing as well as greetings in the Cherokee language heightened the book’s authenticity. And there is a 7 page Glossary at the end of the book.
It is important to note that TPC is much more than the story of Young Puppy. In addition to their ceremonial and spiritual life, love, marriage, family and the tribe’s sociopolitical dynamics were nicely integrated into the novel. Other young men and women and a soothsayer played significant roles. The tribe’s interactions with French traders trying to facilitate peace between the Cherokee and the Seneca nations, with the Seneca and the Shawnee, and with slave catchers were informative and engaging. The struggles with the latter towards the end of the book are actually quite dramatic.
I found two modest flaws with this book. First, some of the descriptions of the ceremonies were so thorough as to become slow going in places. At times it felt like an academic ethnographic study rather than a novel. Second, some of the author’s descriptions of a character’s inner workings were redundant.
Overall, however, TPC is both an engaging and informative book about Cherokee life in the early 16th century shortly after the Spanish and French ‘discovered the New World.’ This is one of a 10 part series Conley wrote called The Real People (how the Cherokee described themselves). As I plan to read more of these in the coming months one cannot recommend it more highly than that.
Finally, I would like to express my appreciation for my friend Diane, the NAS professor whose friendship inspired me to learn about these nations. TPC would have been a great supplemental text to the course on Native American spirituality which she taught so skillfully. It is almost one year since she died. But I miss her and will always be grateful for her generosity in sharing so much with me.
The author did some other things very well to enhance my engagement with this novel. The conversational prose which largely consists of direct, declarative sentences is readily readable. While a great deal of Cherokee vocabulary was introduced, he was very careful to provide translations. The names of animals, foods, and clothing as well as greetings in the Cherokee language heightened the book’s authenticity. And there is a 7 page Glossary at the end of the book.
It is important to note that TPC is much more than the story of Young Puppy. In addition to their ceremonial and spiritual life, love, marriage, family and the tribe’s sociopolitical dynamics were nicely integrated into the novel. Other young men and women and a soothsayer played significant roles. The tribe’s interactions with French traders trying to facilitate peace between the Cherokee and the Seneca nations, with the Seneca and the Shawnee, and with slave catchers were informative and engaging. The struggles with the latter towards the end of the book are actually quite dramatic.
I found two modest flaws with this book. First, some of the descriptions of the ceremonies were so thorough as to become slow going in places. At times it felt like an academic ethnographic study rather than a novel. Second, some of the author’s descriptions of a character’s inner workings were redundant.
Overall, however, TPC is both an engaging and informative book about Cherokee life in the early 16th century shortly after the Spanish and French ‘discovered the New World.’ This is one of a 10 part series Conley wrote called The Real People (how the Cherokee described themselves). As I plan to read more of these in the coming months one cannot recommend it more highly than that.
Finally, I would like to express my appreciation for my friend Diane, the NAS professor whose friendship inspired me to learn about these nations. TPC would have been a great supplemental text to the course on Native American spirituality which she taught so skillfully. It is almost one year since she died. But I miss her and will always be grateful for her generosity in sharing so much with me.
December 18, 2009
Interesting picture of Native American-French-Spanish relationships. Much emphasis on ceremonies.
May 7, 2012
I loved it, it gave a clear picture of what my people were like. It especially focused on the ceremonies, very interesting. I will be looking for more of his books when I go to the library.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews