Jeremiah Wolfe

Jeremiah "Jerry" Wolfe (September 28, 1924 – March 12, 2018) was a respected elder of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. In 2013 he was awarded the title of "Beloved Man" by his tribe, an honor that had not been given out for more than 200 years.^[1][2]

Jeremiah Wolfe
Wolfe receiving the Patriot Award in 2013
Born	(1924-09-28)September 28, 1924 Qualla Boundary, U.S.
Died	March 12, 2018(2018-03-12) (aged 93) Asheville, North Carolina, U.S.
Nationality	Eastern Band Cherokee, American
Occupations	Stone mason Storyteller
Title	Beloved Man
Spouse	Juanita Wolfe
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1943–1950
Rank	Signalman 2nd Class
Battles / wars	World War II

Wolfe grew up in the Big Cove community on the Qualla Boundary in North Carolina. He was one of the last Cherokee stonecutters, a stickball caller, a storyteller, and a US Navy and World War II veteran.^[1][3] He was awarded an honorary doctorate by Western Carolina University.^[4][5] He was the recipient of The Order of the Long Leaf Pine in March 2017.^[6]

He was a fluent speaker of the Cherokee language and supported teaching it to young people to revive and preserve the language. In this role, he was interviewed for the documentary "First Language – The Race to Save Cherokee".^[7][8]

In July 2021, a segment of U.S. Route 441 (US 441), between US 74 and US 19, was named in his honor.^[9][10][11]

Audio and video gallery

• Video of Wolfe speaking in English and Cherokee at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian
• Wolfe speaking the Kituwah dialect of Cherokee

See also

• Amanda Swimmer
• Myrtle Driver Johnson