The extraordinary woman who broke all barriers, the "untold" biography of Maggie Ax Wachacha

The late, beloved Maggie Axe Wachacha, of the Snowbird Community, was a clerk for the Eastern Cherokee Tribal Council for half a century. A fluent Cherokee speaker who could also read and write the language, she kept records of Tribal Council meetings for decades.

Maggie Axe Wachacha, Beloved Cherokee Woman, was born in 1894 in Snowbird Gap, Graham County. She learned to write in the Cherokee language at age 7 and by the time she was 10, her mother and grandmother had already mastered midwifery and healing.

In 1935, at age 41, Maggie Axe married Jarrett Wachacha, a grandson of Cherokee leader Junaluska. For more than 40 years, she served as secretary of the Cherokee Tribal Council, while also serving as midwife and healer. The Wachachas walked more than 50 miles from their home to town for each council meeting.

In 1986, Wachacha was named one of Newsweek's 100 American Heroes and received the North Carolina Women of Distinction Award. She was awarded the honorary Cherokee title of Beloved Woman in 1978.

Throughout her life, Wachacha was a tireless teacher and promoter of Cherokee culture and is still known for her efforts to preserve and teach the Cherokee language and for her extensive knowledge of traditional foods and plants. Maggie Axe Wachacha passed away on February 3, 1993 in Murphy.