Black Fox (also known as Enoli or Inali) was a brother-in-law of Dragging Canoe

Dragging Canoe

Tsiyu Gansini , "He is dragging his canoe", known to whites as Dragging Canoe, was a Cherokee war chief who led a band of Cherokee against colonists and United States settlers...

. He was a signatory of the Holston Treaty

Treaty of Holston

The Treaty of Holston was a treaty between the United States government and the Cherokee signed on July 2, 1791 and proclaimed on February 7, 1792...

 (2 July 1791). Black Fox was chief of Ustanali town and was the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation

Cherokee Nation (19th century)

The Cherokee Nation of the 19th century —an historic entity —was a legal, autonomous, tribal government in North America existing from 1794–1906. Often referred to simply as The Nation by its inhabitants, it should not be confused with what is known today as the "modern" Cherokee Nation...

 from 1801 to 1811. He was the leading negotiator for the Cherokee with the United States federal government

Federal government of the United States

The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...

 during his term of office. Black Fox was noted for relinquishing nearly 7000 mi2 of land in what is today Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

 and Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

 —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 of time, only to later be reinstated as Principal Chief, in a compromise between two regional factions of Cherokees. It was Black Fox who instituted the tribal

Tribe

A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...

 law putting an end to the Cherokee tradition of clan revenge.

Principal chief

Black Fox was a Chickamauga

Chickamauga Indian

The Chickamauga or Lower Cherokee, were a band of Cherokee who supported Great Britain at the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. They were followers of the Cherokee chief Dragging Canoe...

 leader of the Cherokee

Cherokee

The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...

 from the native

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 village of Ustanali, in the Lower Towns area (found today in northeastern Alabama, northwestern Georgia, and their adjoining areas of southeastern Tennessee). He was named principal chief of the Cherokee Nation in 1801. He ascended to the office upon the death of his predecessor, Chief Little Turkey

Little Turkey

Little Turkey was elected First Beloved Man by the general council of the Cherokee upon the move of the council's seat to Ustanali on the Conasauga River following the murder of Corntassel in 1788...

. During his tenure, Black Fox signed several treaties with the United States government on behalf of the Cherokee Nation, giving away its rights to huge amounts of traditional foraging areas.

Deposed

In 1808, he and another leading Lower Towns chief, The Glass

The Glass (Cherokee chief)

Tagwadihi , better known as The Glass, was a leading chief of the Cherokee in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, eventually becoming the last principal chief of the Lower Cherokee...

 (Tagwadihi), were deposed

Deposition (politics)

Deposition by political means concerns the removal of a politician or monarch. It may be done by coup, impeachment, invasion or forced abdication...

 in what was called the "revolt of the young chiefs" —a faction, mostly from the Upper Towns, led by James Vann

James Vann

James Vann was an influential Cherokee leader, one of the triumvirate with Major Ridge and Charles R. Hicks, who led the Upper Towns of East Tennessee and North Georgia. He was the son of Wah-Li Vann, a mixed-race Cherokee woman, and a Scots fur trader...

 and Major Ridge

Major Ridge

Major Ridge, The Ridge was a Cherokee Indian member of the tribal council, a lawmaker, and a leader. He was a veteran of the Chickamauga Wars, the Creek War, and the First Seminole War.Along with Charles R...

. The driving force of this revolt was due largely to the peoples' resentment of the National Council's domination by older leaders of the Lower Towns, as well as disagreement over the many recent land cessions.

Reinstated

In 1810, Black Fox and The Glass were both reinstated in a compromise agreement between these two competing factions. This led to an end of the councils of the Lower Towns meeting alternately in Willstown and Turkeytown (both in what is now Alabama) which were presided over by The Glass.

As the leading member of the National Council, it was Black Fox who signed the enactment officially putting an end to the Cherokee tradition of clan revenge. The following year, upon his death, he was succeeded by Chief Pathkiller

Pathkiller

Pathkiller, , fought in the Revolutionary War for Britain, then in the Chickamauga Wars against American frontiersmen . He was the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation from 1811-1827. Pathkiller, a fullblood, "unacculturated" Cherokee, was the last individual from a conservative background to...

.

Legacy

Black Fox's early hunting camp was located on Lost Creek, in White County, Tennessee

White County, Tennessee

White County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 23,102. Its county seat is Sparta.-History:...

. The first settlers in the middle district

Middle Tennessee

Middle Tennessee is a distinct portion of the state of Tennessee, delineated according to state law as the 41 counties in the Middle Grand Division of Tennessee....

 of Tennessee called one of the principal trails in the county "Black Fox Trail".

The community of Black Fox in modern Bradley County, Tennessee and its elementary school are named for him. According to local historians, he lived in the vicinity, but at what period it is unknown.

There was an historical Black Fox Crossing over the Clinch River

Clinch River

The Clinch River rises in Southwest Virginia near Tazewell, Virginia and flows southwest through the Great Appalachian Valley, gathering various tributaries including the Powell River before joining the Tennessee River in East Tennessee.-Course:...

 between Claiborne and Grainger counties —which is now covered by the impounded waters of Norris Lake

Norris Dam

Norris Dam is a hydroelectric and flood control structure located on the Clinch River in Anderson County and Campbell County, Tennessee, USA. Its construction in the mid-1930s was the first major project for the Tennessee Valley Authority, which had been created in 1933 to bring economic...

 in Tennessee

The community of Inola, Oklahoma was named after his Cherokee name, Enoli. The town was to become the site of Black Fox Nuclear Power Plant but community action caused the Public Service Company to find another site.