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Facts and Events
Died on Trail of Tears relocation of Cherokee Nation from eastern Tennessee to reservation in the Oklahoma Indian Territory. Buried in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, a memorial to her called her Princess Otahke, but the Cherokee Nation did and does not recognize royal titles and thus she was not a princess, but the name still is used to memorialize her.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Otahki, in Find A Grave: Trail of Tears National Park, Cape Girardeau, Cape Girardeau County, Missouri
Memorial# 8646, Mar 04, 2000.
Birth: unknown
Death: 1839
Burial: Trail of Tears National Park, Cape Girardeau, Cape Girardeau County, Missouri, USA
Cherokee Folk Figure. Born in what is today western Tennessee, Otahki, also known as Nancy Bushyhead, was the sister of Baptist Minister, Jesse Bushyhead. She became the secondary wife to John Walker with whom she had two children. Walker was killed in 1834 during intertribal feuding. When the Cherokee were forced to move west to Indian Territory, they endured appalling conditions and many died as a result. During the winter of 1838, as they reached the Mississippi River, ice delayed their crossing. When they finally ferried across, legend relates that Otahki died following the crossing. She was buried in what is now the Trail of Tears State Park in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri. Her grave was maintained throughout the years by locals who replaced the wooden marker with an iron cross in about 1870. In 1962, the Rotary Club of Cape Girardeau erected memorial monument dedicated not only to Otahki, but to all the Cherokee who died on the Trail. The memorial's inscription which reads: "Princess Otahki, daughter of Chief Jesse Bushyhead one of several hundred Cherokee Indians who died here in the severe winter of 1838-39" is unfortunately highly inaccurate. The Cherokee do not recognize such titles as princess, nor was she the daughter of a chief; further, research indicates Jesse Bushyhead was her brother, not her father and that he was a minister rather than a chief. Bushyhead descendants accepted the tribute on behalf of all Cherokee who suffered and died during the Trail of Tears.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Cherokee Registry, in Facebook
23 Nov 2016.
The Otahki Memorial to Nancy Bushyhead Walker Hildebrand. Most recent research suggests that she was the sister of the famous Cherokee Reverend Jesse Bushyhead and cousin to Whitepath (Nunnahitsunega). They were all on the Trail of Tears but only Bushyhead survived.
She was the second wife of John Walker Jr. Before the Cherokee removal they lived near Cleveland, Tennessee, and had two children, Ebenezer and Sara.
On his way home from a council meeting in 1834 Walker was ambushed and killed. Nancy then married Lewis Hildebrand, a courier for Chief John Ross.
Chief Whitepath was a member of the Elijah Hicks Detachment that left the first week of October 1838, with Whitepath serving as assistant conductor. By the time they reached Nashville, the Chief had become ill; upon reaching Gray’s Inn at Guthrie, Kentucky, water from the Inn’s well seemed to revive him. While camped along the south fork of the Little River outside of Hopkinsville, Whitepath died. He was buried beside Fly Smith who also died during the night.
After the detachment crossed the Mississippi River and camped, Nancy died. Her husband and Jesse Bushyhead erected a wooden marker on her grave. In 1962, the Rotary Club of Cape Girardeau erected this memorial to Otahki and all the Cherokee who lost their lives on the Trail.
- Bushyhead, Nancy 18ll NC, Mo, in Genealogy.com: Bushyhead Surname Forum
Note #3, 6 Jan 2000.
The story of Otahki is not a legend. Her English name was Nancy or Nanny Bushyhead Walker Hildebrand. Some history books list her as the daughter of Jesse and Eliza Wilkerson Bushyhead, other books list her as a sister of Jesse Bushyhead. Recent research suggests however, that she was the sister of Reverend Jesse Bushyhead, an ordained Baptist minister.
She was married to John Walker, Jr. while living near Cleveland, Tennessee. Since Walker was married already to a woman named Emily Stanfield Meigs, Otahki was a second wife and continued to live with her brother, Jesse Bushyhead. She was the mother of two children by Walker, Ebenezer and Sara, both of whom made it to Oklahoma.
It should be noted that plural marriages were not illegal at this time, and such arrangements were not unknown among the Cherokees or whites.
After the death of Walker, who was ambushed and killed on the way home from a council meeting in 1834, she married Lewis Hildebrand. Lewis always went by the name of "Lew" and was a courier for Chief John Rose. They were both on the Trail of Tears and after crossing the Mississippi River and while camping in the now Trail of Tears State Park, she died.
Her husband and Jesse Bushyhead erected a wooden marker on her grave. After the Cherokees had been removed to Oklahoma, this marker was maintained by l.ocal people.
About 30 to 35 years later the wooden marker was burned in a woods fire. Local people then mounded rocks and erected an iron cross, made of welding rods to mark the spot.
In 1962, the Rotary Club of Cape Girardeau erected a pagoda not only as a memorial to Otahki, but to all the Cherokee who lost their lives on the Trail.
The Otahki Memorial is known as the "Princess Otahki Crave". Since the Cherokee do not recognize royalty, the title of "Princess" is not authentic. It was a courtesy title given her by those who lived in the area where she was buried. All the chiefs were and still are elected.
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