The ceremony at Guthrie was a gala event. On November 16, 1907 President Theodore Roosevelt signed a proclamation declaring Oklahoma a state and at 10:00 a.m. Governor Charles N. Haskall took the oath of office. A mock wedding ceremony followed involving Oklahoma businessman C. G. Jones Representing Oklahoma Territory and Cherokee Anna Trainer Bennett as Miss Indian Princess representing Indian Territory. Contrary to the “cowboy and Indian” myth perpetrated by eastern journalists, the bride wore a lavender satin dress, a large picture hat and gloves and carried a single mauve chrysanthemum. The groom was attired in formal, striped trousers and a black suit coat. Indian citizens, particularly members of the Five Civilized Tribes, were quite sensitive to image and wanted the rest of the nation to appreciate their long history of culture and refinement.
The Cherokee are a matriarchal society and the achievements of some of the women of the tribe have been known as long as American history has been recorded. In the early years, selected women, known as “beloved women” participated in council meetings, elections and even warfare. The legendary Nancy Ward (Nanyehi) came to prominence when, after her husband was killed in a battle with the Creeks, she picked up his rifle and continued the fight, leading her people to victory. Afterwards, at age 18, she was allowed to sit in councils and to make decisions with the chiefs. She believed in peaceful coexistence and served her people as a negotiator and ambassador. Nancy Ward Societies perpetuate her memory and may be found throughout the United States today.
As white missionaries from New England soon discovered Cherokee women were subservient to no one. That indomitable spirit undoubtedly accounts for most who survived the depravations of the Trail of Tears. Reverend Daniel Butrick, one of a handful of missionaries who chose to join the Cherokees on that terrible journey, kept a daily diary describing details of the journey and frequently mentioned the perseverance of women survivors. Traveling with Richard Taylor’s detachment north through Nashville and eventually to Springfield, Missouri Butrick and his wife Elizabeth witnessed the suffering that, in some respects, might be considered the Cherokee Nations finest hour. Time and time again he recorded the resoluteness and determination of women starving, giving birth, freezing and burying their children during the winter of 1838-39 until the end of their journey near Westville in Indian Territory.
Since the beginning of their assimilation in the mid-1700s education was always a dominant factor among the Cherokees. After removal to Indian Territory a school system was created for children while many older students were sent east for more formal education. Ten years later the first Cherokee Female Seminary was opened in Park Hill with a curriculum rivaling that of eastern schools. And, when that building burned in 1887 another was soon constructed in Tahlequah and remains today as part of Northeastern State University.
After the Civil War, many of the Cherokee Nation’s citizens maintained a strong southern affiliation. One family, recently relocated from a northern state after the war, made lavish preparations for the Fourth of July but noted that their neighbors remained indifferent. They soon discovered that celebrating Independence Day was “strictly a Yankee idea.” Too many Cherokee women had buried their Confederate husbands and sons during the conflict. Perhaps that incident explains why today there are so many chapters of the United Daughters of the Confederacy in what was once Indian Territory.
Their indomitable spirit and achievement continues. Contemporary musicians, artists, athletes and professional business women trace their roots to their Cherokee heritage, but perhaps none are better known contemporarily than Wilma Mankiller. The first woman to serve as Cherokee chief, Mankiller was re-elected to a second term with an enviable 83 percent of the popular vote. She also received national recognition, among others the Presidential Medal of Freedom and induction into the National Women’s Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, Chief Mankiller had multiple health problems and died in 2010.
While mention of these outstanding Cherokee icons and those martyrs from the Trail of Tears are highly noteworthy, perhaps the most representative is Anna Trainor Bennett, that Miss Indian Princess of 1907. Anna Bennett outlived four husbands, reared a sister, a brother, the son of a cousin and three orphaned children in addition to three of her own. The accolades for that accomplishment should not only place her among the ranks of icons, it also mirrors the lifestyle of countless numbers of “Cherokee Princesses.”
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