From the English rendition of Nanye-hi, "One Who Goes About,"
named from the mythological Spirit People, she was a major Cherokee figure
of the Southern frontier who became an almost legendary person due largely
to her queenly manner and resolute personality. She was born into the
Wolf clan about 1738 at Chota, near Fort Loudon, Tennessee; her father
was Fivekiller, a Cherokee-Delaware man, and her mother was Tame Deer
(Tame Doe) the sister of Attakullakulla, known popularly as Catherine.
In her youth, Nanye-hi had the nickname Tsistunagiska, "Wild Rose,"
from the delicate texture of her skin which was likened to rose petals.
She married Kingfisher, a Cherokee of the Deer clan, and showed her
mettle early. In a skirmish against the Creek forces at the Battle of
Taliwa in 1755, she aided her husband as he was firing from behind a
bulwark, chewing on the bullets to make them more deadly; he was killed
and she seized his musket, continuing the fire. Her participation was
credited by the Cherokee with helping to turn the tide of battle in
their favor, and she was given the title Ghighau (or Agigau), "Beloved
Woman." This title traditionally gave her a lifetime voice in the
tribal councils, as well as the power to pardon condemned captives.
Yet she was not a bloodthirsty person; she went behind her people's
backs to warn the settlers in the Holston and Watauga Valleys that they
were going to be attacked by the pro-British Cherokee. When the Whites
mounted a devastating counterattack, her home was among those pared.
She followed the same pattern in 1780, although this time she met the
White attackers and urged them to talk peace with the Cherokee chiefs.
They refused to halt their advance, however, and went on to defeat the
Indians. The "queenly and commanding" Nancy Ward took an active
role in the peace talks of the 1780's continually exhorting the two
groups to friendship and peaceful coexistence.
Although there were many on both sides who thought her ideas were foolish
and even dangerous, there were few, if any-of either race-who did not
respect her. As more and more settlers came into eastern Tennessee,
she apparently became disenchanted with her views on friendship with
Whites. She advised the Cherokee Council of 1817 not cede any more tribal
lands to them, but they rejected her counsel, and within a few years
she and many other Cherokee people were forced to move away from their
homes.
She married Briant (Bryant) Ward, a White trader, and moved to Womankiller
Ford, on the Ocowee River, where she conducted a well-known inn for
many years. The inn prospered and she became a wealthy person before
her death in the Spring of 1824. She had three children: Catherine,
Fivekiller, and Elizabeth. For many years after her death she was the
center of many legends known for her friendship, beauty, power, and
wisdom. Even today she is remembered with deep affection by the Cherokee
people.
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