Elias Boudinot

Elias Boudinot was a writer, newspaper editor, and leader of the Cherokee Nation. He was a member of a prominent family, and was born and grew up in present-day Georgia. His Cherokee name reportedly means either 'male deer' or 'turkey.' Born to parents of mixed Cherokee and European ancestry and educated at a missionary school in Connecticut, Boudinot became one of several leaders who believed that acculturation was critical to Cherokee survival; he was influential in the period of removal to Indian Territory.