Cherokee Clans: An Informal History

Cherokee Clans: An Informal History

This unique book introduces the reader to the seven Cherokee clans, found in no other American Indian tribe. They are Wolf (Ani-Wahiya), Bird (Ani-Tsiskwa), Deer (Ani-Kawi), Twister (Ani-Gilohi), Wild Potato (Ani-Gotegewi), Panther (Ani-Sahoni) and Paint (Ani-Wodi). In each section of notes appear the etymology of the Cherokee name, synonyms and related clans, the clan’s in-born strengths and character, mitochondrial DNA types, symbols and iconography, famous people, ceremonies, art and monuments. Illustrated and solidly documented, this down-to-earth guide by Paint Clan member Donald Panther-Yates, author of Old World Roots of the Cherokee, is the first and last word on an ancient matriarchal kinship system that began at the dawn of human history and lives on in contemporary times.

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Notes on the seven Cherokee clans, their history, famous representatives and traditional strengths, as first published in Ancient American magazine.

Cherokee Chapbooks #2

Cherokee Clans and Their Strengths
Wolf Ani-Wahiya Elders, teachers, warriors, beloved men and women
Bird Ani-Tiskwa Speakers, heralds, news bearers, messengers, singers and dancers
Deer Ani-Kawi Runners, ball players, clothes makers, tanners and intellects
Twister Ani-Gilohi Workers, priests, teachers and keepers of ancient lore, storytellers
Wild Potato Ani-Gotewewi Keepers of religious customs, writings and games, scribes
Panther Ani-Sahoni Medicine people, magicians, herbalists, fire keepers, cooks, sorcerers
Paint Ani-Wodi Doctors, hunters, peace chiefs, keepers of history and prophecy, masters of protocol and diplomacy, music and ceremony

 

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DONALD PANTHER-YATES was born in Cedartown, Georgia, and earned a doctorate in classical studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is the author of a new history of the Cherokee people, Old World Roots of the Cherokee (McFarland, 2012) and other works on American Indians. He lives in Colorado.

 

Series: Cherokee Chapbooks # 4
Paperback: 52 pages
Publisher: Panther’s Lodge; 2 edition (April 4, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0615798276
ISBN-13: 978-0615798271
Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.1 x 9 inches


The Wolf Clan is related to, but not the same as, the Warrior Society of the Cherokee, the Shalokee or Eshelokee (with a soft sh, as distinct from the tribal name Tsalagi or Cherokee), a word that means “volunteer settlers” in the Greek language. Clan members excelled supposedly at warfare and were noted for their fierce loyalty and protection of family. A famous Wolf Clan matriarch was Nancy Moytoy, daughter of Quatsi (Patsy) of Tellico, who named one of her sons Big Dog, another White Dog, and was the mother of Tame Doe, whose daughter by the Arabicized Englishman Francis Ward (Wardiyah, “the Rose”) was Nancy Ward, the Beloved or War Woman, also called the Cherokee Rose (d. 1824). Nancy Moytoy adopted Attakullakulla, an Algonquian boy, into the Wolf Clan. Nancy’s two brothers, Motoy II and Old Hop, were chiefs, and it was she who adopted the British agent John Stuart into the Wolf Clan. Charles Hicks was another chief from the Wolf Clan.