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Courtney Miller
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Gihli The Chief Named Dog: Book 3 of the Cherokee Chronicles
Literature & Fiction
Author Insight
Cherokee Justice
Comparing the ancient Cherokee Tribal Government to the U. S. Government, our Congress is similar to the General Council. The Executive Branch could be compared to the Chiefdom, except that the Cherokee had two "Presidents"--the Peace Chief and the War Chief. The Peace Chief presided over the tribe during peace time, the War Chief took over in war times. Our Justice Department compares to the Council of the Beloved Women. It was up to this council of women to decide the fate of prisoners of war and other domestic issues. Among the Cherokee, this appears to be the only time that sex mattered. A woman could be on other councils and could be a chief, but the women handed down justice. In Gihli, The Chief Named Dog, Kalona, the village Peace Chief, heads up the Council of Beloved Women comprised of representatives from each clan. Tagwa renegades kidnapped three Cherokee daughters and the Council must decide whether or not to return the corpses of the Tagwa to their village.
Book Excerpt
Gihli The Chief Named Dog: Book 3 of the Cherokee Chronicles
Beside the hearth, the two close friends were silent. As members of the Beloved Women of the tribe, they were responsible for judging prisoners of war and it would be up to the Beloved Women to determine the fate of the Tagwa corpses. Each was waiting for the other to ask the question that both knew the other wanted to ask. Kalona placed her hand on Wananahi’s hand. “Have you decided?”
Wananahi stared at the burning embers of the hearth. “I don’t know. I want to hear what the others say.”
Kalona hissed skeptically and shook her head. She wanted to be critical of her friend’s indecisiveness, but how could she? She was conflicted herself. Her head and her heart were at odds with each other. The hatred in her heart wanted revenge. The hatred in her heart remembered the losses she had suffered at the hands of the Tagwa: her husband; her son-in-law and consequently her daughter; that giant, funny cousin with a raven tattooed on his head that often came to visit her father; and now her little Ali.
But, her mind told her that war was not the answer. She knew that supporting vengeance was contrary to her role as Peace Chief of the tribe. Balance and harmony had been upset for some reason. Whatever she and the other members of the village had done to bring on this great tragedy had to be rectified to restore the balance. Taking the dark path could never lead to the white path. And her sensible side was empathetic for the family of the dead renegade Tagwas.
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