By ROBERT JUMPER
Tutiyi (Snowbird) and Clyde, N.C.
“Women warriors were known as ‘pretty women’ who, with age, might become ‘beloved women,’ and men who were renowned warriors became ‘beloved men,’ beloved because they risked their lives for the people.”
“Men’s power as war chiefs, peace chiefs, and priests was balanced by women’s power as clan mothers and beloved women. A ‘beloved woman,’ who was acclaimed by consensus for her outstanding service to the tribe, decided the fate of captives and prisoners; she could decree death, slavery, or adoption.”
(“Cherokee Heritage Trails Guidebook”. Barbara R. Duncan & Brett H. Riggs. Museum of the Cherokee Indian & University of North Carolina Press. 2003.)
We, in our history, have had great leaders, both male and female. As Drs. Duncan and Riggs pointed out in their book that historically, particularly women were documented as being called upon to be beloved people who had a critical role in the governance of our tribe. It wasn’t a submission process or competition that produced a community’s interest in having a person hold the designation as a beloved person.
Take this account in The Memoirs of Lieut. Henry Timberlake. For the uninitiated, Lieut. Timberlake reportedly spent a year as an emissary to the Overhill townships of the Cherokee from 1761 to 1762 and accompanied three Cherokee leaders on a trip to London to meet King George III. His documentation and observations of Cherokee life in the 18th century are considered to be some of the most detailed and significant.
“There were some honorary titles among (the Cherokee people), conferred in reward of great actions; the first of which is Outacity or Man-killer; and the second Colona, or the Raven. Old warriors, likewise, or war-women, who can no longer go to war, but have distinguished themselves in their younger days, have the title of Beloved. This is the only title females can enjoy; but it abundantly recompences them, by the power they acquire by it, which is so great, that they can, by the wave of a swan’s wing, deliver a wretch condemned by the council, and already tied to the stake.
“The ‘War-Women’ probably had a vote on questions relating to peace and war and were arbiters of the fate of captives in certain circumstances. Judge Haywood says, ‘The Cherokees had the law or custom of assigning to a certain woman the office of declaring what punishment should be inflicted on great offenders; whether, for instance, burning or other death, or whether they should be pardoned. Mrs. (Nancy) Ward exercised this office when Mrs. (William) Bean, about the year 1776, was taken from the white settlements on the upper parts of the Holston. Being bound and about to be burned on one of the mounds, the Pretty Woman (Beloved Woman Nancy Ward) interfered and pronounced her pardon.” National Aboriginal History of Tennessee and James Mooney’s Myths of the Cherokees)
On March 2, Dinilawigi (Tribal Council) had a work session on Beloved recognition. Some in the community had concerns about the process of lifting tribal members to be considered for the bestowing of the title of Beloved on tribal members.
Based on the history of the position or title, it is hard to make a case that what we considered as the role of the Beloved person is what it was in the history of the Cherokee people. These members of our tribe were held in such high regard as to give them the power over life and death.
Not so today. Beloved people are certainly honored, but very much in the way most tribal elders are honored. But Beloved people have no governmental status, having powers to make or execute law at their discretion, or as Timberlake said, “by the wave of a swan’s wing”. Apparently, Beloved Women’s authority in certain situations was final and absolute. It just doesn’t work in the system of governance that we have chosen. It’s nobody’s fault, nor is it necessarily wrong, specifically. We all, as tribal members, either chose or acquiesced to the style of leadership we have. But it is different, and that seems to be a source of turmoil for those attempting to put up nominations for the position of Beloved person.
Times have changed. We struggle with attempting to capture the essence of our history and culture in a world that doesn’t resemble what we were at all, not in modern society and definitely not in Indian Country. If we go based on the history of the Beloved, modern-day tribal members will have a tough row to hoe to attain the status of Beloved. The Cherokee people have not been at war with anyone for quite some time, and that seems to be the genesis of the status of the Beloved Women. While we do have men and women who have honorable service, some with great distinction, in the United States military, I do wonder what that would look like compared to the Beloved’s of old who gained their distinction by battling against the United States (and other indigenous tribes).
The work session seemed to be a battle between members of the tribe who waited for recognition for years to be recognized through a committee established in approximately 2018. The committee had been established by the Dinilawigi to set guidelines and vet candidates through a submission process. The committee would then bring back recommendations via resolution to the Dinilawigi for a vote (that would decide who would be a Beloved person). However, the Dinilawigi didn’t say that resolutions couldn’t be submitted by other members of the tribe and, in fact, had considered others for Beloved recognition without the vetting or recommendation of the Beloved committee.
Either way doesn’t seem to be the traditional way. In the book written by Duncan and Riggs, it says, “acclaimed by consensus”. That doesn’t sound like a vote of Dinilawigi. That sounds like a vote of the people. I’m just saying that if we are going to stay true to the traditions of the tribe, then let’s stay true to the traditions of the tribe, not our modern interpretation of the traditions.
The work session had an ugly tone that turned something that should have been a reverent and honorable consideration of Cherokee people who have dedicated time and life to our tribe into a hot debate over who should be able to submit their names. A turf war.
At least two of the committee members suggested that they were ready for the committee to be dissolved if that was the will of Dinilawigi. At least one accused the Council of “going behind the back of the committee”, a statement that the Dinilawigi Chairman took exception to and flatly disputed. I have my disagreements with the government, but in this case, I do agree with the Chairman. The Dinilawigi, according to the Charter, entertains lawful submissions of legislation to them, and it is their sworn duty to make law. It was a poor choice of words and exceptionally bad timing to make a presumption of that nature, especially in public and in front of the body that will decide the issue.
Members of the committee also insinuated that the approval by Dinilawigi of the resolution for the most recent nominee was politically motivated, or appeared to be, because it did not go through the committee and was submitted by a member of a community directly to the Council. One member of the Beloved Woman Committee challenged that the most recent Beloved Man being accepted through resolution (a person who is now deceased and died before he was recognized) was not well-known enough to be considered and compared their qualifications to be beloved to his. Even the chairperson of the Beloved committee said that the decision to approve or reject people for the title rests with the Dinilawigi, and the committee’s job is to research and recommend. Would that preclude tribal members from doing vetting and making a recommendation to the Council, especially if we all agree that the current law is that the Council has the final word?
If the government must approve the candidate, whether from a committee or an individual, it will always be political. Unless our tribe is willing to take these names to a referendum so that a nominee can be “acclaimed by consensus”, which is closer to the traditional way, there will always be an element of politics in the selection.
Even those in disputes with the Beloved Committee stated that they are helping with making the process better, but the committee has challenges communicating with submitters and bringing a final recommendation to the Council. It was stated in the session that only one person has been brought to Dinilawigi by the committee for appointment through resolution since 2019. The Committee stated clearly that they are doing this to select people who can be held up as examples for generations. That too does not seem to be the traditional place of a Beloved person. In fact, it looks to have been bestowed on someone so that they could serve in a political position with a purpose for the tribe. Surely, the position should be seen as revered, but it had a practical purpose foremost.
I hope that more productive discussions are ahead on the issue of Beloved Men and Women. Ideally, it would be proper for the community to vote for or against a person put forward for consideration. Barring that, and assuming the Dinilawigi wants this process to continue in its current form, there should be an overhaul of the scope of work for the committee, with timelines established for workflow. Criteria for being a Beloved should be discussed with the community and, yes, as one committee member said, once the community approves the criteria, it should be codified, if we are going to say that this position of recognition is a position of tribal honor. One speaker at the meeting suggested that the vetting and recommendation could come from the Community Club Council. That would be a step closer to the traditional way.
Sadly, the work session was very contentious, and people were referred to disrespectfully, including people who serve our community. The committee says that their efforts are to protect the sacredness of the title or position of a Beloved person. Hopefully, that translates into honoring the sacredness of the person or persons being considered. I’m not just speaking of the committee’s responsibility, but for all of us.
