Beloved Mother: The Story of Nancy Ward

Ellington recreates the life of Cherokee heroine Nancy Ward (1738-1822) in this mild-mannered historical novel. Ward led a remarkable life during a turbulent period in Cherokee history. The niece of Attakullakulla, the great ``peace chief'' of her people, and the cousin of Dragging Canoe, one of the greatest Cherokee warriors, she was catapulted into prominence when, during the Battle of Taliwa, a border skirmish with the tribe's Creek enemies, she seized the gun of her fallen husband and rallied the Cherokees to victory. For her bravery, Ward (who was called ``Wild Rose'' as a youth) was given the epithet ``Ghigau,'' or ``Beloved Woman,'' and allowed to sit on the Cherokee councils. She became respected by whites and Indians alike. Remarried to a white trader (hence the surname ``Ward''; ``Nancy'' was the name white traders gave her), she counseled her people to accept the ways of the whites--but she also saw the great Cherokee lands dismembered by greedy white settlers. A few years after her death, the tribe was removed to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). Here, Ward's story is told through the eyes of a fictional daughter, Dancing Leaf, whom Ward adopts after the girl is orphaned. Drawing on the known facts of Ward's life, Ellington produces a brisk read, credibly filling in the gaps with imaginative fiction. Her approach and prose are a bit stilted and simplistic, however, and the book might better serve young adults than its intended, older readership. (July)