Dianna Rogers

Dianna Rogers, also known in later tradition as Tiana or Talihina Rogers, was an Old Settler Cherokee woman who moved west from the Cherokee homelands and became associated with the community around Fort Gibson. She married Sam Houston according to Cherokee custom and helped operate their farm and trading post. After Houston left for Texas, she remained in Indian Territory and later remarried.

Lucia St. Clair Robson’s Walk in My Soul places Dianna at the centre of a story often told mainly through Houston’s political career. The novel uses their relationship to explore Cherokee removal, cultural adaptation and Houston’s divided identity. Much of the popular narrative surrounding Dianna is legendary, so responsible historical fiction must acknowledge uncertainty about the marriage, their separation and the location of her burial.