Cherokee creation stories teach that the first woman was Selu. She was created from the first corn plant to remedy the bad behavior of the first man, Kanati, caused by his loneliness and boredom. When she died, as a result of the bad behavior of her children, she used her blood to make sure they would always have plenty of corn to eat.
The two stories below recount the birth and death of Selu, as told by two other remarkable women in Native American history, Mary Ulmer Chiltoskey and Wahnenauhi:
