Major Ridge, a Cherokee chief, lithograph by John T. Bowen, 1838. Major Ridge, The Ridge (and sometimes Pathkiller II) (1771 - June 22, 1839) (also known as Nunnehidihi, and later Ganundalegi) was a Cherokee leader, a member of the tribal council, a Chickamauga warrior, and a lawmaker. As a warrior, he fought in the Chickamauga Wars against the American frontiersmen. Later, Major Ridge led the Cherokee in alliances with General Andrew Jackson and the United States in the Creek and Seminole Wars. Along with Charles R. Hicks and James Vann, Ridge was part of the "Cherokee triumvirate," a group of younger chiefs in the early 19th century Cherokee Nation who supported acculturation and other changes in how the people dealt with the United States. All were of mixed race and had some exposure to European-American culture, but identified as Cherokee. Ridge became a wealthy planter, slave owner and ferryman. In the West, the Ross faction blamed Ridge and the other signers of the Treaty of New Echota for the 4,000 deaths along the trail in the Removal. In June 1839, Major Ridge, his son John, and nephew Elias Boudinot, were executed in accordance with the Cherokee Blood Law by Cherokees of the Ross faction.