Wahnenauhi

Wahnenauhi (born Lucy Lowrey Hoyt Keys; c. 1831 - 1912 ) was a Cherokee woman whose writings on the history and culture of Cherokee Indian people were published by the Bureau of American Ethnology in 1889. Her collection of writings, entitled Historical Sketches of the Cherokees, Together with Some of their Customs, Traditions, and Superstitions, features historical accounts, legends, traditional practices, and stories that highlight aspects of Cherokee culture. Whanenauhi wrote the manuscript at a time when Cherokee acculturation into white society was heavily encouraged by her peers, and her work is often considered a backlash against that attitude.

Early life Wahnenauhi was born September 26, 1831 in Willstown, Alabama to Dr. Milo Hoyt, and Lydia Lowrey, daughter of Cherokee chief George Lowrey. As a member of a Cherokee family with an elite social status, Wahnenauhi was well educated, and became one of the first students to ever graduate from the Cherokee Female Seminary in February 1855. This personal conflict had a major influence on her writings later in life, and Wahnenauhi joined other female indigenous activists like Nacissa Chisholm Owen and Sarah Winnemucca to reclaim traditional Indian practices through education and literature.