About: 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.