Black Fox (c. 1746-1811), also called Enola, was a
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...
leader during the
Cherokee–American wars
The Cherokee–American wars, also known as the Chickamauga Wars, were a series of raids, campaigns, ambushes, minor skirmishes, and several full-scale frontier battles in the Old Southwest from 1776 to 1794 between the Cherokee and American se ...
. He was a signatory of the
Holston Treaty, and later became a
Principal Chief of the
Cherokee Nation.
Early leadership
Named at birth Enola (also rendered Inali or Enoli), Black Fox was born about 1746.
[O'Dell, Larry]
''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''
; "Inola;" retrieved February 28, 2013 He was a brother-in-law of
Chickamauga Cherokee
The Chickamauga Cherokee refers to a group that separated from the greater body of the Cherokee during the American Revolutionary War. The majority of the Cherokee people wished to make peace with the Americans near the end of 1776, following se ...
leader,
Dragging Canoe
Dragging Canoe (ᏥᏳ ᎦᏅᏏᏂ, pronounced ''Tsiyu Gansini'', "he is dragging his canoe") (c. 1738 – February 29, 1792) was a Cherokee war chief who led a band of Cherokee warriors who resisted colonists and United States settlers in the ...
, and accompanied him on his migrations south to the
Lower Towns during the Cherokee–American wars. Black Fox was the "Beloved Man" (headman) of
Ustanali, an important
Native American settlement site which is located in what is today
New Town in northwestern
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
.
As the fight with the frontier Americans drew to a close, he was one of the signers of the Treaty of Holston (July 2, 1791), an attempt at ending hostilities in the
Holston River
The Holston River is a river that flows from Kingsport, Tennessee, to Knoxville, Tennessee. Along with its three major forks (North Fork, Middle Fork and South Fork), it comprises a major river system that drains much of northeastern Tennessee, ...
region.
Principal chief
In 1801 Black Fox was named by the council of chiefs of the Lower and Upper Towns to succeed
Little Turkey as Principal Chief of the original Cherokee Nation.
[Brown, John P. "Eastern Cherokee Chiefs." In ''Chronicles of Oklahoma'' Vol. 16, No. 1. March 1938. Retrieved February 28, 201]
The majority of Cherokee at that time lived in the Lower Towns. They were more isolated from European-American contact and tended to be more conservative, maintaining traditional practices and language.
During his term in office, Black Fox was the leading negotiator for the Cherokee people with the
Federal government of the United States, United States federal government. He is noted for relinquishing nearly of land in what is today
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
and Alabama (under the treaty of January 7, 1806), for which he was given a lifetime
annuity
In investment, an annuity is a series of payments made at equal intervals.Kellison, Stephen G. (1970). ''The Theory of Interest''. Homewood, Illinois: Richard D. Irwin, Inc. p. 45 Examples of annuities are regular deposits to a savings account, ...
of $100.
A controversial leader, Black Fox was deposed for a period, only to later be reinstated as Principal Chief in a compromise between two regional factions of Cherokees.
In 1807,
Doublehead, who was then speaker of the National Council, signed a treaty without the authority of the council, ceding all Cherokee land west and north of the Tennessee River to the United States. This was land which for centuries had been used for foraging by the Cherokee. A separate arrangement reserved certain parcels of land for use by Doublehead and his relatives. Black Fox confirmed Doublehead's treaty, however, after
Return J. Meigs, the United States Indian Agent, promised Black Fox he would receive $1,000 in cash and a regular annuity thereafter.
Doublehead was killed shortly thereafter for what many Cherokee viewed as a traitorous act.
Deposed
In 1808, Black Fox and
The Glass (''Tagwadihi''), another leading chief in the Lower Towns, were
deposed
Deposition by political means concerns the removal of a politician or monarch.
ORB: The Online Reference for Med ...
by the "young chiefs." These were men mostly from the Upper Towns, led by
James Vann and
Major Ridge
Major Ridge, The Ridge (and sometimes Pathkiller II) (c. 1771 – 22 June 1839) (also known as ''Nunnehidihi'', and later ''Ganundalegi'') was a Cherokee leader, a member of the tribal council, and a lawmaker. As a warrior, he fought in the ...
. The driving force of this revolt was due largely to the peoples' resentment of the National Council's domination by older leaders of the Lower Towns, as well as disagreement over the many recent land cessions. Some of the leadership of the Upper Towns were multiracial in ancestry; in addition, their communities were more closely engaged by trade and other links with those of the American settlers, whose frontier had continuously encroached on Cherokee territory. The Upper Town chiefs acquiesced to these territorial changes and desired to work more closely with the Americans.
Reinstated
Black Fox and The Glass were eventually reinstated in a compromise agreement between these two competing factions. This put an end to the councils of the Lower Towns meeting alternately in
Willstown (near
Fort Payne, Alabama
Fort Payne is a city in and county seat of DeKalb County, in northeastern Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 14,877.
European-American settlers gradually developed the settlement around the former fort. It grew rap ...
) and
Turkeytown (near present day
Centre, Alabama
Centre is a city in Cherokee County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 3,587. The city is the county seat of Cherokee County.
History
Cherokee County was created on January 9, 1836, and named for the Cherokee peo ...
), which were presided over by The Glass. Black Fox continued in the role of chief until the 1810 bureaucratic split with the "Old Settlers" then living in the west, remaining chief only of the people of the Cherokee Nation–East thereafter.
As the leading member of the National Council, and strongly influenced by the murder of Doublehead, Black Fox signed the law to end the Cherokee tradition of clan revenge in 1810. Upon his death the following year, he was succeeded by Principal Chief
Pathkiller.
Legacy
*Black Fox's early hunting camp was located on Lost Creek, in
White County, Tennessee
White County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, the population was 25,841. Its county seat is Sparta.
History
On September 11, 1806, an act of the Tennessee General Assembly created White County out of ...
. The first European-American settlers in the
middle district of Tennessee called one of the principal trails in the county "Black Fox Trail".
*They named a large group of springs at what is now
Murfreesboro, Tennessee "Black Fox Springs".
*The community of Black Fox in modern
Bradley County, Tennessee
Bradley County is a county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 108,620, making it the thirteenth most populous county in Tennessee. Its county seat is Cleveland. It is na ...
and its elementary school are named for him. Local historians say he had lived in the area but they are unsure of the dates.
*The historical Black Fox Crossing ford of the
Clinch River
The Clinch River is a river that flows southwest for more than through the Great Appalachian Valley in the U.S. states of Virginia and Tennessee, gathering various tributaries, including the Powell River, before joining the Tennessee River in Ki ...
between
Claiborne and
Grainger counties is now covered by the impounded waters of
Norris Lake in Tennessee.
*The community of
Inola, Oklahoma :''Inola'' is also a spider genus (Pisauridae).
Inola is a town in Rogers County, Oklahoma, United States. It is included in the Tulsa Metropolitan Statistical Area (TMSA). The population was 1,788 at the 2010 census, a 12.5 percent increase fr ...
was named for him. The town was designated as the site of Black Fox Nuclear Power Plant, but community opposition forced the Public Service Company of Oklahoma to cancel its plans.
References
Notes
*Brown, John P
"Eastern Cherokee chiefs" ''Chronicles of Oklahoma'' 16:1 (March 1938) 3-35 (retrieved August 18, 2006).
*
McLoughlin, William G. ''Cherokee Renascence in the New Republic''. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992).
External links
''Genealogies of the Cherokee Chiefs'' at AccessGenealogy.com
website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Black Fox
1740s births
1811 deaths
Chickamauga Cherokee
Year of birth uncertain
Principal Chiefs of the Cherokee Nation (1794–1907)
18th-century Native Americans