Prince of Chota

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Prince of Chota is a courtesy title given to male members of the Cherokee "chiefly house" of Chota-Tenase, particularly referring to Attakullakulla, who was sometimes called the Prince of Chote-Tenase (Chota-Tanasi). The descendents of the Chiefs of Chota diverged into the Dragging Canoe,Ridge and Watie lines in the late eighteenth century, and the Watie family in turn split into the Watie, Smith, and Boudinot families in the early nineteenth century.

Some members of the family used the territorial designation "of Chota," including Amatoya Moytoy (Moytoy I), Oconostota the Warrior of Chota, and Raven (Kalanu) of Chota. (The latter was the Algonquin husband of Nancy Moytoy, eldest daughter of Moytoy of Chota.

With the adoption of European-style surnames at the beginning of the nineteenth century, as well as a fully democratic government, the territorial designation went out of use. However, modern descendents are still considered part of the noble family which once ruled Chota and Tanasi.

The title "Prince of Chote-Tenase" may have originally been intended by the British to designate the heir to the "Emperor of the Cherokees," a European-style title that was conferred upon Moytoy II of Tellico by Sir Alexander Cumming in 1730. However, this appears to be largely speculative.