Attakullakulla
| Attakullakulla | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1708 |
| Died | c. 1777 |
| Residence | Chota |
| Nationality | Cherokee |
| Title | First Beloved Man |
| Predecessor | Standing Turkey |
| Successor | Oconostota |
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Attakullakulla or Atagulkalu (Cherokee, Ata-gul' kalu, meaning Little Carpenter)(ca. 1708–ca. 1777), adopted as an infant into the Cherokee tribe, became their First Beloved Man, serving from 1761 to around 1775. His son Dragging Canoe became the war leader of the Cherokee during the Chickamauga wars.
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[edit] Names
According to the anthropologist James Mooney, Attakullakulla's Cherokee name could be translated "leaning wood", from ada meaning "wood", and gulkalu, a verb that implies something long, leaning against some other object. His name "Little Carpenter" derived from the English meaning of his Cherokee name along with a reference to his physical stature.
[edit] Biography
Attakullakulla was born to a subtribe of the Algonquian-speaking Nipissing to the North. He was captured as an infant during a raid and adopted by a minor Cherokee chief, making him a member of the Cherokee.[1] He married Nionne Ollie, a Natchez captive adopted as the daughter of his cousin Oconostota. The marriage was permissible because they were of different clans; he was Wolf Clan and she was Paint Clan.
He was a member of the Cherokee delegation that traveled to England in 1730. In 1736, he rejected the advances of the French, who sent emissaries to the Overhill Cherokee. Three or four years later, he was captured by the Ottawa, allies of the French, who held him captive in Quebec until 1748. Upon his return, he became one of the Cherokees' leading diplomats and an adviser to the Beloved Man of Chota.
In May 1759, following a series of attacks between colonists and Cherokee, Attakullakulla joined a delegation that went to Charleston to try to negotiate with South Carolina authorities for peace. The colonial governor William Henry Lyttleton seized the delegates as hostages until the Cherokee responsible for killing white settlers were surrendered. Having raised an expeditionary force of 1700, Lyttleton set out for Fort Prince George with the hostages in tow and arrived on December 9, 1759.
Freed soon after, Attakullakulla returned to Fort Prince George to negotiate for peace, but his efforts were thwarted by the hawkish Oconostota. The Cherokee gave up two individuals and negotiated the release of a few hostages, including Oconostota. He lured Lt. Richard Coytmore out of the fort; waving a bridle over his head, the chief incited Cherokee warriors hiding in the woods to shoot and kill Coytmore. The garrison in the fort killed all the Cherokee hostages. Hostilities continued between the Cherokee and Anglo-Americans.
Attakullakulla is believed to have died in 1775/1777. He was succeeded by his cousin Oconostota (who was also his father-in-law).
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Klink and Talman, The Journal of Major John Norton, p. 42
[edit] Sources
- Entry from the Tennessee Encyclopedia
- Kelly, James C. "Notable Persons in Cherokee History: Attakullakulla." Journal of Cherokee Studies 3:1 (Winter 1978), 2-34.
- Klink, Karl, and James Talman, ed. The Journal of Major John Norton. (Toronto: Champlain Society, 1970).
- Mooney, James. "Myths of the Cherokee" (1900, reprint 1995).
- Litton, Gaston L. "The Principal Chiefs of the Cherokee Nation", Chronicles of Oklahoma 15:3 (September 1937), 253-270 (retrieved August 18, 2006).
| Preceded by Standing Turkey |
First Beloved Man 1761–1775 |
Succeeded by Oconostota |
