Oconostota
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Oconostota (c. 1707–1783) was a Cherokee skiagusta (war chief) of Chota, which was for nearly four decades the primary town in the Overhill territory, and within what is now Monroe County, Tennessee. He served as the First Beloved Man of Chota from 1775 to 1781.
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- date of birth
- 1710-01-01
- date of death
- 1783-01-01
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- Oconostota
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Oconostota (c. 1707–1783) was a Cherokee skiagusta (war chief) of Chota, which was for nearly four decades the primary town in the Overhill territory, and within what is now Monroe County, Tennessee. He served as the First Beloved Man of Chota from 1775 to 1781.
==Name== Oconostota's Cherokee name, according to Mooney, was "Aganstata," which he translated as "groundhog-sausage" (agana: "groundhog"; tsistau: "I am pounding it"). His name is written as "Oconastota" (with two 'a's) on his grave marker at the site that memorializes Chota. Chota had been one of the mother towns of the Overhill Cherokee, and from the late 1740s to 1788 was the chief town of the Cherokee people. It was located in the area of present-day southeastern Tennessee.