Person:Utsidsata Moytoy (1)

About Old Tassel

Utsi'dsata (or Corntassel), known to history as Old Tassel, was "First Beloved Man" (the equivalent of a regional Cherokee chief) of the Overhill Cherokee after 1783. He continuously tried to keep the Cherokee people of the Overhill region out of the Chickamauga Wars being fought at the time between the American frontiersmen and the Chickamauga warriors under Dragging Canoe. He was murdered defending his tribe.

Family

Old Tassel's brothers were the warriors Pumpkin Boy and Doublehead. His maternal nephew was John Watts, also known as "Young Tassel." Cherokee Chief Chad Smith is also a relative of Tassel.

Known History

Old Tassell became "First Beloved Man" of the Overhill, and other like-minded Cherokee, in 1783, after the tribal elders removed his predecessor, The Raven of Chota (also known as Savanukah). Being a strong advocate of peace, Old Tassel strove (with only some success), to keep the people of the Overhill towns out of the Chickamauga wars which were being fought at the time between the white settlers and the Chickamauga in what is now East Tennessee.

Notorius Death

He and another pacifist chief, Abraham of Chilhowee, were murdered under a flag of truce during an entreaty to the State of Franklin in 1788. The act was considered an atrocity by the Cherokee, and briefly brought all the Cherokee to support the hostile actions of the warriors following Dragging Canoe.

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Old Tassel Reyetaeh (sometimes Corntassel) (Cherokee language: Utsi'dsata), (died 1788), was "First Beloved Man" (the equivalent of a regional Cherokee chief) of the Overhill Cherokee after 1783, when the United States gained independence from Great Britain. He worked to try to keep the Cherokee people of the Overhill region out of the Cherokee–American wars being fought between the European-American frontiersmen and the Chickamauga band warriors led by Dragging Canoe. He was murdered in 1788 along with another chief at Chilhowee by white settlers under a flag of truce.

Link to the Cherokee Heritage Project Page

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 Ancestry.com. Public Member Trees: (Note: not considered a reliable primary source).

   http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/21299310/person/19998761057