Wonder Woman of the Week: Nanye-hi

Literacy rates in 18th Century North America were practically non-existent compared to today (although it is worth noting US literacy rates today are below the international average), but there are a handful of journals and written records that have survived to today. Unfortunately, only a tiny fraction of these come from women and an even smaller fraction from women outside of European heritage. That means most of our records of the daily lives of women of color during the era mostly come from the point-of-view of white men. This week's Wonder Woman however is one of the few women who refused to allow history to silence her.

Nanye-hi was born to the Cherokee Nation in 1738 in their capital of Chota in modern-day Tennessee- potentially to a Lenape father whose family would have migrated across the Appalachians after losing land to European colonization on the East Coast. Nanye-hi married as a teenager and had two children by the time she was seventeen. In the 1755 Battle of Taliwa, Nanye-hi accompanied her husband into battle against their traditional enemy- the Muscogee. When her husband fell in battle, Nanye-hi took over leadership of the Cherokee warriors and led them to victory.

For her leadership in battle, Nanye-hi's fellow Cherokee gave her the nickname Ghigau or "Beloved Woman" and made her the only voting member of the Cherokee General Council and gave her the power to represent the Cherokee as an ambassador to foreign powers. In the late 1750's Nanye-hi married an Irish trader and took on the name Nancy Ward, but her Irish husband left his young Cherokee wife after having one child to return to his European wife in the Carolinas. During the French and Indian War, Nanye-hi and other Cherokee ambassadors negotiated an alliance with the British that included long-term goals of protection against rival Creek and Choctaw Nations and from westward colonial expansion. Turns out the British weren't able to keep their word. During the war, colonial militias raided a Cherokee settlement- incurring a violent response from Cherokee warriors; and issues with American colonists continued to get worse.

During the American Revolution, the Cherokee once again allied with Great Britain, and Cherokee warriors frequently raided rebel settlements. Nanye-hi- as an ambassador- had tremendous political power during the war. This included- among other powers- the right to decide the fate of war captives. Nanye-hi used this power on multiple occasions to spare women Cherokee warriors captured on raids including a woman named Lydia Bean. The two women developed a close friendship during Bean's captivity as the two taught each other different crafts from their respective cultures. This included Bean teaching Nanye-hi how to raise and care for dairy cattle- something Nanye-hi would later introduce to her people as a major source of income.

That captivity early in the war also had serious repercussions for the rest of the conflict. Accounts claim that while the Cherokee wanted to ally with the British during the war, Nanye-hi fought hard to convince the Cherokee to aid the rebels. One account even claims she secretly warned one town about an imminent Cherokee raid to save the town's civilians. What is known is that in 1781, Nanye-hi successfully negotiated a peace treaty between the Cherokee and the American colonists and helped negotiate the Treaty of Hopewell with the new United States.

By 1817, Nanye-hi had become seriously ill, and her ability to negotiate with foreign powers had largely become ceremonial. Some claim that her absence from important political discussions may have led to the loss of Cherokee lands and their eventual forced removal west to modern-day Oklahoma. In her old age, Nanye-hi opened a travelers' inn in modern-day Tennessee before dying in 1822 before seeing her people forcibly removed in the 1830's. Whether a hallucination or a fair prediction, Nanye-hi spent her final years warning her fellow Cherokee of a recurring vision she had of seeing her people marching in a long, barefoot line to their dark future- a vision that would become true during the Trail of Tears.

Although a capable warrior and military leader, Nanye-hi was an adamant advocate for peace. She advocated for peaceful negotiations with the Cherokee's greatest rivals- the Muskogee. During preparations for negotiations with the United States, she reminded her fellow delegates to appeal to the Americans' sense of compassion and empathy. She took her role as an ambassador seriously and used her power as a warden of prisoners of war to treat her captives with respect and courtesy. Today, Nanye-hi is remembered as a heroine of the Cherokee Nation, a voice for 18th Century women, and a Daughter of the American Revolution.