Reading “Cherokee Women Address Their Nation” | A Primary Source Close Read

0:02 Hello, and welcome to another edition of the Bill of Rights Institute’s Close Reads. We’re really glad you’re here. My name is Kirk Higgins. For those of you who are new to our Close Read format. Every other Thursday, we work through different primary sources for American history and just get excited about what they are and what they have to talk about. And this week is no different. We’re taking a look at a document. It’s called Cherokee Women Address Their Nation.

0:23 To help me unpack this incredible address I am fortunate to welcome my BRI colleague, Liz Evans. Hello Liz. Hi. This document was one I wasn’t familiar with until fairly recently, but in reading through, it’s really stuck with me. And I think it’s a really powerful example of looking at an incident in American history from a different perspective,

0:45 but particularly looking at the involvement of women in a political process in an era when typically we’re not thinking about how women are involved in a political process, particularly in the American context. Here we’re looking at this address from May of 1817 involving the Cherokee Nation. May of 1817.

1:05 James Madison is president, and we are talking about an incident of Indian removal. I think a lot of times we think about the Indian Removal Act in 1830. But in fact, there were incidents and removal things that were taking place well up until that sort of landmark moment involving Andrew Jackson.

1:27 It’s also something because, again, just putting it in place thomas Jefferson had already had the Louisiana Purchase. So the nation is moving west into a lot of these lands. And like you said, Indian displacement has been happening as European colonists have come.

1:48 So this is something that has been a slow boil for a while. But I agree. I think people think Trail of Tears, whatever else. But this happens beforehand, and that’s important to note. Absolutely. So the lands that they’re talking about in this instance are in sort of present day Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee. And there’s been increasing pressure

2:10 because of economic reasons and other reasons that. The. United States government is looking to acquire and have more land available in this area. And the Cherokees are in possession of it. And so they were looking at this just incredible address that was written by several Cherokee women, notably Nancy Ward.

2:32 And we’ll talk about her name a little bit in the future here. But she was what was known as a beloved woman among the Cherokee, which was an honorific title, but one that also carried weight within their society in a particular role in a civic kind of a sense, which we’ll also get into a little bit. But this was submitted as a part of these

2:54 negotiations to the Cherokee National Council in May of 1817. So throughout the spring of 1817, these discussions were happening. It was coming on the heels of a war with the Creek Indians that the Cherokee had been involved with on the side of the United States government. But again, here they’re trying to now acquire more lands from the Cherokee.

3:16 With that, let’s dive into the document itself. And so it starts off in noting here at the top, the council on the second May, 1817 is where this address was delivered to. And, Liz, I think before, when we were talking, you mentioned something about how who had delivered the document. At this point.

3:36 Nancy Ward is elderly. So it’s written, these women sign it. And her son, who is named Five Killer, actually delivers it too. So it’s not necessarily I think sometimes when we hear address, we think that it’s been read out loud. It was actually delivered to the council by her son.

3:58 Yeah. And I think their opening line here is it really struck me, again, thinking reading about documents in the 18 teens this isn’t typically the way that the first thing that would jump out of me. But the Cherokee ladies now being present at the meeting of the chiefs and warriors and council have thought it their duties as mothers to address their chiefs and warriors now assembled. And immediately, what struck me in my typical area

4:22 of expertise is thinking about American government. So immediately I’m thinking, okay, Republican motherhood kind of a movement which was taking place at this time. But this is something very different. I think Republican motherhood is seen as more of this passive that women work to raise sons who are civically oriented and thinking about good civic things.

4:42 And then they go and work in the body politic. And here we’re seeing something different. We’re seeing authority coming from that motherhood. And because they are mothers, they’re in a position to address this council. And it’s not the typical because I think a lot of times when we. Think about American history it is very. Much the sex hierarchy of the European kind of colonists that in Cherokee

5:04 culture, the gender roles were separate, but they were equally as important. There wasn’t one that was more important than the other because there had to be this balance. Again, gender roles are clear and separate, but women are not inferior. They are just a big part of society as the men. And that, to me, again, we’re talking about 1817.

5:27 When I think of women in American history at this time, that is not what I’m thinking. It was a fun discovery for me to see women in American history in 1817. There were different groups and Cherokee women had political power. Yeah. And again, it screams out the importance of perspective.

5:48 Right. This is coming not from sort of the American tradition, but coming from the Cherokee tradition. And that’s playing out here. And I think keeping that in mind, reading through this shows a really powerful example of a different way this different way that a challenge is being approached through that different tradition. And in this idea of motherhood,

6:09 I think continues through in this idea of matrilineal authority. And I think it bears out here at the beginning of the dress, which I found really powerful. Our beloved children and headmann of the Cherokee Nation, we address you warriors and council. We have raised all of you on the land which we now have, which God gave us to inhabit and raise provisions. We know that our country has once been extensive, but by repeated sales has become circumstride to a small tract

6:33 and never thought in our duty to interfere in the disposition of it till now. So a couple of things. One, from a historic sort of context point of view here, I’m seeing them talk directly about the shrinking size of the land that they are in possession of, but also an assertion of their natural authority and right over the ownership of that land, which I think is really interesting. But also that it seems here that their role in society is a gift being

6:59 reinforced and saying, you are our children. So the idea of them being mothers here is, at least in my reading of this, is being asserted as they have authority because of this relationship that they have with their children. Well, and one of the things we had brought up that Nancy Ward was a beloved woman.

7:19 One of the things in the Cherokee Nation is beloved women were responsible for decisions about justice and vengeance. And at this point, in 1816, some Cherokee leaders gave away. They did kind of a land swap with the United States government, saying, the United States government can have this land, but we want this land in Arkansas.

7:41 And some people in the Cherokee Nation council thought that was treasonous. And this is a plea, especially as. A mother and as a woman with political power that they’re talking about. Land is sacred to them. This isn’t like we inhabit the land. It’s our property. It is. This land is sacred to the Cherokee Nation as a whole.

8:04 And I think that’s really the thing she’s trying to get at here, or the women as a whole as authors, is this land isn’t for sale. This is inhabited by us. And we’ve raised you on it. And it’s not a replaceable thing, because at this point, they’re starting to see the land that they had being sold off, being taken

8:30 in that political position, trying to say this is not right. Yeah, absolutely. And they build on that too. In the next port of the next section here, and I should say, a lot of times in these close reads, we don’t have the opportunity to go through an entire document. I’m excited today that this is a shorter document, so we get to see the whole thing. So I’m not skipping over anything here.

8:51 So the immediate next section talks again about that land right. And about the relationship to it. And like you were just saying that there’s more to the land than just the ownership and property of it. But there’s something about them investing in it and them living on it that is a part of their lives.

9:14 And it says, if a father or mother was to sell all of their land, which they had to depend on, which their children had to raise their living on, which would be indeed bad and to be removed to another country. We do not wish to go to an unknown country, which we have understood. Some of our children wish to go over the Mississippi. But this act of our children would be like destroying your mother. So here they’re speaking directly about that idea of a supposed land swap,

9:40 which doesn’t materialize in the way that it was offered to them. But it’s this idea, too, that this is where we live. This is where we were raised. To go to an unknown land would be to do something completely foreign and not in line with the way that we’ve lived our lives, in the way where we

10:02 find value and nourishment sort of in this community. Well, and that’s the whole point, right? They’ve cultivated this land. This land is just so much more and these sacred grounds, and you want to go to this other place that doesn’t have us there.

10:22 And when I say us, I’m not talking about the physical person, but I’m saying these centuries of cultivation of the land. And you understand it and you work with it. I think that this because there are so many differing opinions in the Cherokee Nation because we talk about the Cherokee Nation, we’re not necessarily talking about a racial group. The tribe here is a political group

10:45 and the nation that they belong to, and some people are swapping. You mentioned it. Land swaps actually never happened because the US. Government did not hold their end of the bargain. People who just want to live beyond the reach of white encroachment selling lands, things like this.

11:05 It is they’re watching this land be kind of parceled out and pieced away. And as mothers, you cultivate things and you cultivate your children and you raise this. And this is heartbreaking to see. Yeah absolutely. And they build on that too, again. Right.

11:27 And it’s this idea of motherhood, but also. Though, the importance of that motherhood being present within their political society. So within the society of the Cherokee Nation that you were just alluding to Liz. They say you mothers, your sisters, ask and beg of you not to part with any more of our land. We say ours, our descendants, and take pity on our request, but keep it for our growing children,

11:48 for it was the goodwill of our creator to place here. And you know, our Father the great President will not allow his white children to take our country away. Only keep your hands off paper talks. For is our own country. For if it was not, they would not ask you to put your hands to paper, for it would be impossible to remove us

12:09 all, for as soon as one child is raised, we have others in our arms for such as our situation, and we’ll consider our circumstance. So there’s a few things there that really stood out to me. One, it seems it’s reinforcement of saying, look, they’re coming to us to ask us to sign this land over because they can’t take it without that, which I think is there’s a lot to unpack there.

12:29 But I think that it’s a really powerful kind of assertion. But also, I think this reminder of sort of the position and role that women are having in their society and the importance of stability to that, but also, again, asserting the importance of this land, this land in particular, that they’re living on. It’s interesting because as you read that out loud and I think that this is

12:52 sometimes when we read early documents or when they’re transcribed, when you say them out loud, it’s hard to make sense of things. And so as you’re reading that and I read this document multiple times, but when she’s talking about the paper, it’s almost as if, again, these separate gender roles that are equal.

13:12 As the men in our nation, you have the choice to sign this over. You have the choice to take this money, and we’re asking you not to do it, because if you say no, they can’t do anything. And we understand through study of American history that unfortunately was not true. That land was stolen and people were killed and there were genocide.

13:37 But this is almost to me the asking of I understand my role, my political role in the society. I understand yours. As the men, we’re asking you not to sign these papers. We’re asking you not to take this money, because if you do that’s it it’s gone.

13:59 Yeah. They’re not going to give it back to us, right? Yeah. Be mindful of our perspective, understand where we’re coming from. But more than that, again, thinking about sort of how this happens in context, it’s an assertion of their authority as mothers and then saying, this is our considered position as equals,

14:21 which I think is really important because this isn’t an address that’s simply hey, we just want to let you know about our opinions, right? Or we just want to let you know what we think. It’s more than that. It’s really a true assertion of that equality and of their role in society. We’ll see that a little bit more when we get further in the letter.

14:43 But they’re making, I think, a stand here as political equals, which is, or at least as maybe not political equals in the sense that we would think about it, but as coming from a place in society that’s of equal importance and trying to get to a place where they can come to a common understanding. And here too, we see again.

15:04 So therefore, children, don’t part with any more of our lands, but continue on it and enlarge your farms and cultivate and raise corn and cotton. And we, your mothers and sisters, will make clothing for you which our father, the President has recommended to us all. We don’t charge anybody for selling our lands, but we have heard such intentions of our children. But your talks become true at last and it was our desire to forewarn you all not to part with our lands.

15:27 So again, it’s the same assertion. It’s this idea that they’re sharing their perspective and also saying what they can continue to do with this land if they stay enlarging it, raising cotton, things that were becoming more profitable during this period, which is one of the economic pressures which is driving along with lots of other considerations, but racial and otherwise,

15:52 but one of the factors that are driving these changes. And they’re saying we can be a part of that. And I found that just really powerful and interesting. It is interesting because it’s almost showing, yes, there’s just so much value in this land and if you continue to sell it off, we don’t know what we’re going to have left.

16:13 And if we have to talk about moving, if we have to move, we don’t know that this can occur there. And we want you to do this so that we can make close and we can do all of these things and we can continue to work as a nation and as a society, men and women in all portions of this nation to continue to be prosperous with the land that we have.

16:39 Absolutely. And then they conclude again with Nancy Ward to her children, warriors, to take pity and listen to the talks of your sisters, although I am very old, yet cannot but pity the situation in which you will hear of their minds. I have great many grandchildren which I wish they to do well on our land.

16:59 And then it’s signed by Nancy Ward and the other women who also signed this position. And so Nancy Ward herself. So we mentioned that she’s a beloved woman in the Cherokee people and her story is actually really interesting. We were chatting about that before we started recording. So at this point, she’s 80 years old. And I do want to point out, too,

17:21 that her daughter and her granddaughter were one of the signers. So as she’s talking about this, but Nancy Ward, her name is Nanyahi. So she’s born into one of the mother towns of the Cherokee. She is married within the tribe. During a conflict, her husband dies. She picks up arms and continues to fight.

17:43 And so she was known as this is how she gets her title beloved Woman or War Woman. And it was the only title that a Cherokee woman could have. She ends up then marrying an English trader, which is why her name is Nancy Ward. And we see this. But her I feel like we could do a whole another thing on just Nancy Warden and her

18:07 story, but she was often at meetings with US. Officials, which US. Officials, they’re not used to seeing women. But it’s like, I mean, this is my duty and my political opportunity. I’m not here for looks. I’m here because I’m responsible for making decisions about justice and vengeance.

18:30 And it’s important. Yeah. And I think here, too, we see the importance of that kind of figure in Cherokee society, at least as I read it again, with her name being so boldly placed here and with her concluding with her name.

18:51 I mean, that’s an assertion of authority. It’s an assertion of her saying that her word carries weight. Her position in society carries weight. And that is something that is being directly put here for the men who are now receiving this petition as a way of saying, hey, this is a serious concern,

19:15 this has authority, this has weight, and it needs to be considered that way. Well, I think that’s important, too. And even looking at the names, like, now I want to do a deep dive into these names, like noticing that you see the people who are married, you see the people who are widowed, and some of these look like English names. And again, remembering that Cherokee Nation is more

19:38 of a political group, not necessarily a specific race. It’s an interesting thing. And I want to know more about these women, because, again, these women had to have held some sort of I don’t want to say office, that’s the wrong word, but some sort of position where they were in that the people who are making

20:02 decisions are listening to them because we know the story of Nancy Ward. But now I want to know more about the rest of them. Yeah, I feel the same way every time I see a list of names, it’s hard to not think about that. Each one of those names represents a life, represents a story, represents a perspective. Right. And it’s truly incredible.

20:26 So next time, maybe we’ll just keep taking deep dives into each one of these things. Well, and one more thing, too, because we had brought up Andrew Jackson and Nancy Ward actually ends up dying before Andrew Jackson goes into office. So just placing her in that context, she was around in 1776 and all of these things, but she dies before Andrew Jackson

20:49 and before the Trail of Tears and a lot of things that we really know about American history as it relates to treatment of indigenous persons. This is, again, one story of this horrific incidents of forced removal that takes place throughout American history.

21:11 But I think it’s important to keep in mind, too, that it was something that was taking place throughout this time and that there are lots of debates and conversation around it. And being able to dive in and see these different perspectives, I think helps to make more clear how that played out in American history and the different ways it was thought about and talked about and is even now relevant today.

21:34 I know we were again chatting before our recording about a recent Supreme Court case that is dealing directly with lands of indigenous persons in Oklahoma that was just decided, I think, in the last session of the Supreme Court, or recently anyway. It was very recent. Carpenter versus Murphy is the Supreme Court case, and it’s about lands in eastern Oklahoma,

21:56 part of those lands being Cherokee Nation land. Yeah. Well, thank you, Liz, so much for joining me. I really appreciate it. It was a lot of fun. I hope we can do this again soon. And thank you, everyone else for joining us as well. As I mentioned before, we do these Close Reads every other Thursday.

22:17 I believe that our next one will be coming out on March 25. We’ll be taking a look at the famous Mr. X article, which should be a lot of fun. If you like this video, please be sure to subscribe to our channel. We put out new videos every Tuesday and Thursday on all things concerning US. History and civics, including these closely videos, but lots of other stuff, too. And we really also love to hear from you.

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