Bushyhead Memorial

Bushyhead Memorial. Who was Princess Otahki?. When this memorial was dedicated in 1961, legend said a Cherokee princess was buried here. Identified as the daughter of Reverend Jesse Bushyhead (left), a leader of a contingent of Cherokees on the Trail of Tears, a local group erected this pagoda to honor "Princess Otahki" and all who died on the Trail of Tears. , Recent research shows Otahki's real name was Nancy Bushyhead Walker Hildebrand and that she was the sister of Reverend Bushyhead. At the time, the local residents gave her the courtesy title of princess. The Cherokees have a democratic form of government and do not recognize royalty. , Nancy's Grave , This memorial marks the area believed to be near Nancy's grave. A wooden cross erected on her grave burned in a woods fire just 30 years later. Local residents mounded rocks and erected an iron cross., The Memorial Today , This memorial not only honors Nancy Bushyhead Walker Hilderbrand, but all Cherokees forced to march from their homelands to Indian Territory on the route known today as the Trail of Tears.