Black Fox

Who was Black Fox?

Black Fox was a brother-in-law of Dragging Canoe. He was a signatory of the Holston Treaty. Black Fox was chief of Ustanali town and was the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation from 1801 to 1811.

He was the leading negotiator for the Cherokee with the United States federal government during his term of office. Black Fox was noted for relinquishing nearly 7,000 square miles of land in what is today Tennessee and Alabama, under the treaty of January 7, 1806, for which he was given a lifetime annuity of $100. A controversial leader, he was deposed for a period, only to later be reinstated as Principal Chief, in a compromise between two regional factions of Cherokees. Black Fox initiated the tribal law putting an end to the Cherokee blood law tradition of clan revenge for infractions by individuals.