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Fay Yarbrough Summary

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In this article, Fay Yarbrough discusses the legislation passed by the Cherokee in order to control the marital options and choices of their women. Yarbrough begins by explaining the role of Cherokee women with regards to marriage, especially to non-Cherokee men, and the Cherokee laws policing sex and marriage. She then discusses the racial implications of those laws, specifically the laws regulating marriage with people of African descent. Yarbrough concludes by addressing Cherokee legislative provisions that include whites as viable marriage partners. She argues that through these marriage laws, Cherokee officials attempted to racially redefine the Cherokee people, aligning themselves closer to the white race and distancing themselves from those of African descent. …show more content…

The Nation had a system of matrilineal heritage, meaning that clan membership was passed down through the mother. “Cherokee women could also introduce new people into the Nation through their marital choices.” (Yarbrough 387) This gave Cherokee women the power to integrate outsiders into the Cherokee Nation, and thus made them key in treaties between Cherokees and Europeans/Americans. As a result, Cherokee lawmakers passed a multitude of laws to protect their women and regulate their marital choices. However, an alteration to Cherokee marriage law permitted patrilineal heritage of Cherokee membership. This made the children of Cherokee men and white women Cherokee citizens, and “weakened the position of Cherokee women who had formerly been necessary to reproduce the citizenry.” (Yarbrough 388) Although, the offspring of Cherokee men and free black women were not recognized as citizens. This exception reflects a larger trend in the racial thinking of the Cherokee

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