Tattooed Arm facts for kids
Tattooed Arm (French: Bras Piqué; died after 1731) was a very important leader of the Natchez people in the early 1700s. She held the special title of "Female Sun." The Natchez lived in what is now the southern United States.
Who Was Tattooed Arm?
Tattooed Arm was a powerful woman among the Natchez. Even though the main chief was a man, his right to lead came from his mother. This means that the "Female Sun" was a very respected and important person in the tribe's leadership.
Her Family and Role
Tattooed Arm was the mother of the Great Sun, who became the main chief around 1728. Her own mother, "White Woman," was also a "Female Sun" before her. White Woman passed away in 1704. Tattooed Arm also had two brothers who were important leaders: Tattooed Serpent, a war chief who died in 1725, and another Great Sun, who died in 1728. Her original Natchez name is not known today.
Relations with the French
Like her brothers, Tattooed Arm was friendly with the French people who had settled nearby. She even tried to warn them when some members of her tribe planned a surprise attack.
What Happened to Her?
In early 1731, the French surrounded a Natchez fort near the Tensas River. Many Natchez people, mostly women and children, gave up to the French after being promised safety. Tattooed Arm might have surrendered then. Or, she might have stayed in the fort and escaped with most of the other people during a rainstorm.
Later, a French writer named Antoine-Simon Le Page du Pratz interviewed Tattooed Arm in New Orleans. It is believed that Tattooed Arm may have been among the 291 Natchez people who were sent to a faraway French colony called Saint-Domingue in May 1731.
