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Nanyehi was born into the Wolf clan in 1738, in the Cherokee town of Chota to the sister of Attakullakulla (her uncle), an important Chief in the Cherokee Nation. Throughout Nanyehi's childhood, Attakullakulla pursued a path of cooperation with the British colonists who continually encroached on his people's land. He believed that the best chance for the Cherokee survival was for the two peoples to learn to co-exist. What they didn't know was his is beliefs had a profound impact on his niece, and she would continue on with his works.
Nancy "Nanyehi" Ward
“She who walks among the spirits”
Nanyehi rose to power in the Cherokee Nation when she was 17 years old. She was already married to a man named Tsu-la (“King Fisher”) and the mother of two children when she joined her husband on a Cherokee campaign against the Creek Nation. Nanyehi fought alongside her husband, reportedly chewing his lead bullets before he loaded them to make them more deadly. When Tsu-la was killed, she took up his rifle and led the warriors to a victory that expanded Cherokee territory in northwest Georgia.
For her courage and leadership, Nanyehi was named a Ghigau, a Beloved Woman of the Cherokee Nation. The Cherokee believed that the Ghigau spoke with the authority of the spirit world and honored them accordingly. Nanyehi was given a seat next to the war and peace chiefs at the ceremonial fire in Chota. She led the Women’s Council of Clan Representatives, one of the two political bodies that governed the Cherokee Nation. She was the only woman with a vote in the other governing political body, the Cherokee General Council. She also had absolute power over the fate of prisoners taken in raids and battles.
In the late 1750s, Nanyehi married an English trader named Bryan Ward, and took the anglicized name Nancy Ward. Together they had one daughter. This marriage may have been part of her uncle’s larger efforts to create lasting bonds between the Cherokee and white settlers. Nancy continued to build her legacy and fight to bring peace for her people and their land. she later became an innkeeper where her son cared for her until she died in 1822.
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