History Commons^™

Making Herstory: Cherokee Women's Stickball, Natalie M. Welch, Jessica Siegele, Zachary T. Smith, Robin Hardin

Faculty Publications

Cherokee stickball amongst the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is a sporting tradition that precedes written records. Historical and academic texts have focused on men’s participation in the sport. However, Cherokee women participated in their own stickball games as recent as a decade ago, and stories exist of women playing stickball in the late nineteenth century. Many in the community believe stickball should not be played by women and doubt evidence of women playing historically. Researchers sought to understand the intersectionality of gender and ethnic identity for female stickball players who took the field to play stickball at the turn …