Lucy Tayiah Eads
Lucy Tayiah Eads | |
|---|---|
| Cha-me[1] | |
 Lucy Tayiah Eads | |
| Kanza people leader | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 4, 1888[1] Indian Territory[1] |
| Died | October 11, 1961 (aged 73)[1] Pawhuska, Oklahoma |
| Resting place | Pawhuska, Oklahoma |
| Spouse(s) | Herbert Edward Kimber John Eads |
| Known for | First female tribal chief of the Kanza |
| Nickname | Chief Lucy[1] |
Lucy Tayiah Eads or Cha-me[1] (also known as Chief Lucy[2]) (1888–1961) was elected the first female tribal chief of the Kanza Indians in 1922.[3][4] She was the first chief of the Kanzas since 1908.[2]
Personal life
Lucy Tayiah was born in 1888 in Indian Territory, along Beaver Creek. Her parents were Lezitte Betrand (also known as Mo Jan Ah Hoe) and Little Tayiah. Her mother, Lezitte Betrand, was Kanza and Potawatomi. Little Tayiah, her father, was Kanza. Taiyah also had one brother, Emmett (also known as Ki He Kah Mah She).[1]
Around 1892, both of her parents died of starvation.[1] Tayiah and her brother became orphans. They were adopted by Chief Washunga. Their adoption by the Kanza tribal chief was part of tribal tradition.[1] She attended Haskell Indian College in Lawrence, Kansas, where she studied nursing.[4] She moved to New York City.[1] She married Herbert Edward Kimber around 1908. They had three children, all girls. Eventually they divorced. She married John Rhea Eads around 1913. They would have six more children.[1]
After serving as tribal chief, Eads returned to working as a nurse at Haskell Indian College. She, with her family, eventually relocated to Pawhuska, Oklahoma. She died in 1961.[1]
Chief Lucy
Chief Washungah died in 1908. It was not until 1922 that the Kanzas would have another tribal leader. Eads was elected in November of that year. She was the first woman to become tribal chief of the Kanza. She was voted in by eight council members.[1] Eads went by the name Chief Lucy during her tenure as chief.[2] She tried to gain recognition for the tribe from the federal government, in 1924,[1] but this was said to be contrary to the Allotment Agreement and denied.[5] In 1929, she attended the Inauguration of Herbert Hoover, representing the Kanza Nation. In 1928, after Eads was reelected, the Kanza government was abolished[1] until its restoration under the Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act of 1936.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Lucy Tayiah Eads". Kansas Historical Society. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
- ^ a b c The Scranton Republican › 2 July 1923 › Page 10 – Newspapers.com
- ^ Isabelle Chouteau Bain, Sister Eads and Lucy Eads – Kansas Memory
- ^ a b Ad Astra: First female head of Kaw Nation ‘finest example of what an Indian should be’ | Wichita Eagle
- ^ The official site of Kaw Nation » History of the Government of the Kaw Nation Since 1902
External links
- 20th-century Native Americans
- 1888 births
- 1961 deaths
- Kaw people
- Native American leaders
- American women in politics
- People from Pawhuska, Oklahoma
- Haskell Indian Nations University alumni
- Female Native American leaders
- 20th-century American women politicians
- 20th-century American politicians
- 20th-century Native American women