Prince of Chota

Prince of Chota is a courtesy title given to male members of the Cherokee Chota-Tanasi line of eighteenth-century chiefs, particularly referring to Attakullakulla, grandson of Moytoy II, Emperor of the Cherokees, who was referred to as the Prince of Chote-Tenase (Chota-Tanasi). The descendants of the Chiefs of Chota diverged into those of Dragging Canoe, Major Ridge and David Watie (Uwatie) in the late eighteenth century, and the Watie family in turn split into the Stand Watie, Smith, and Boudinot families in the early nineteenth century.

The title "Prince of Chote" was used by the British to designate the heir to the Emperor of the Cherokees, a European title that was conferred upon Moytoy II of Tellico by Sir Alexander Cumming in 1730. It seems also to have held connotations of sovereignty over the city-states of Chota and Tanasi rather than the de facto ruler of the Cherokee Nation.

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 fell largely out of official use. As the locations of Chota and Tanasi are now permanently flooded, any modern appellation "of Chota" can only be in reference to an ancestral affiliation, rather than land attached to the title. Although Attakullakulla has many living descendants, there is no "singular" heir to this title, as the head of the family would have been elected by the elders. However, modern descendants are still considered part of the noble family which once ruled Chota and Tanasi.