This is a book about the Cherokee man named Corn Tassel who lived in Tennessee and was murdered in 1788, not another Cherokee man named Corn Tassel who lived in Georgia and was hung in 1830. The subject of this biography was a “chief” in that he was a leader and participated in negotiations with the white American government. He was never a Principal Chief. Corn Tassel was murdered by a Cherokee party because he signed the Treaty of Coytoy, a minor treaty that gave whites jurisdiction over Cherokees accused of murdering whites. Some of Corn Tassel’s speeches were transcribed, and this book utilizes his own words extensively. “It's a shame the story of Corn Tassel is not already familiar to us, because, in a way, it sums up the history of that era. Trust, negotiation, greed, deception, and trying to adjust to inevitable new realities are all elements of modern life we can relate to in this broadly researched and excellently told story of our ancestors, showing us we are not so different today.” -Danny Kuhn. The author is a free-lance writer who lives in upstate New York.
Georgetown, Kentucky: Finishing Line Press, 2022. 128 pages with color illustrations. Trade paperback.