Remembering the Trail of Tears
Illustration of a Native American woman holding her baby to her chest as men on horses lead the way

Illustration by Winona Nelson

STANDARDS

Common Core: RH.6-8.1, RH.6-8.2, RH.6-8.4, RH.6-8.7, RH.6-8.9, WHST.6-8.2, WHST.6-8.4, WHST.6-8.9, RI.6-8.1, RI.6-8.2, RI.6-8.4, RI.6-8.7, RI.6-8.9, W.6-8.2, W.6-8.4, W.6-8.9, SL.6-8.1

NCSS: Culture • Time, Continuity, and Change • Individuals, Groups, and Institutions • Power, Authority, and Governance

FLASHBACK

Remembering the Trail of Tears

Citizens of the Cherokee Nation retrace the journey their ancestors were forced to make more than 180 years ago.

As You Read, Think About: How did the U.S. government’s actions affect Cherokee people?

A woman with a bright eyes and a bright smile wearing a beaded necklace

Stephanie Remer/Cherokee Nation

Whitney Roach

They trudged over rough terrain, battling snow, sleet, and chilling winds. Many traveled by footoften without shoes. At night, they slept on the frozen ground. They had hardly anything to eat

The marchers were part of the roughly 16,000 Cherokee people driven from their homeland by the U.S. government. Starting in the summer of 1838 and stretching into the winter of early 1839, Cherokee citizens were ordered to walk hundreds of miles to unfamiliar territory. Their tragic journey is known as the Trail of Tears.

They were forced out of their houses and off their land,” explains Whitney Roach, age 23. She is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. “They had to leave a lot of their belongings and take what they could on their backs.”

To honor her ancestors, Roach took part in the annual Remember the Removal Bike Ride this past June. During the 19-day trip, she and eight other cyclists retraced the Trail of Tears (see map, below).

Seeing where our people had been and what they went through is a heavy thing to hold in your heart,” explains Roach. “I’ve never felt closer to my ancestors.”

Slideshow

Territory Under Threat

Like so many other Indigenous groups, the Cherokee people have lived in what is now the United States for thousands of years. But by the 1800s, White settlers had taken over most Native homelands on the East Coast and were pushing west and south, where tens of thousands of Indigenous people still lived

At that time, the heart of the Cherokee Nation overlapped with the state of Georgia. Cherokee leaders had signed treaties with the U.S. government to keep at least some of their land there. But settlers pushed into their territory in the 1820s and 1830s anywayespecially after gold was discovered in Georgia

The Cherokee Nation adopted a constitution in 1827, hoping to protect its land by emphasizing that it was an independent nation. But Georgia officials insisted that Cherokee citizens still had to follow state laws. Violating the tribe’s treaties with the U.S. government, Georgia leaders announced that they were forcibly taking over the Cherokee Nation’s territory

Around the same time, in 1830, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act. The law let U.S. President Andrew Jackson negotiate removal treaties. The goal was to get Indigenous groups in the Southeastern U.S. to move west so that settlers could take over their land.

What You Need to Know

Enlargeable photo of a woman using a wooden device to weave fabric together

Courtesy Cherokee Nation Business

A Cherokee teen uses the weaving skills she learned from her grandmother.

Cherokee Nation: This is one of the largest Native American nations formally recognized by the U.S. government, with an estimated 400,000 citizens today. Located in Oklahoma, the nation has its own government, constitution, language, and laws. There are two other federally recognized Cherokee tribes in the U.S.—the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina.

Forced From Home

Still hoping to save its homeland, the Cherokee Nation appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to stop Georgia from taking control of its territory. In 1832, the Court sided with the Cherokee people, ruling that the state could not take their land and force its laws on them because they were a sovereign nation with a legitimate right to their territory

But in the end, that victory didn’t matter. Georgia officials ignored the Court’s ruling and President Jackson refused to enforce it. Convinced that there was no hope, a small group of Cherokee people who claimed to represent their nation signed a removal treaty with the U.S. government in 1835. In it, they exchanged all Cherokee land east of the Mississippi River for money and territory to the west. In 1836, Congress approved the treaty, giving the Cherokee people two years to head west.

But the Cherokee group that had signed the treaty had no authority and did not speak for the majority of Cherokee citizens, who wanted to stay. Principal Chief John Ross and thousands of other Cherokee people signed a petition asking Congress to reject the agreement, saying it did not represent the will of their nation. The petition failed.

Most Cherokee citizens refused to leave. So in 1838, U.S. President Martin Van Buren, who had taken office the year before, ordered their removal. Thousands of U.S. Army soldiers burst into Cherokee homes and herded residents like animals into camps. About 16,000 individuals had no choice but to leave the homeland of their ancestors

Soon they were forced to march an average of 1,000 miles to present-day Oklahoma. Along the way, an estimated 4,000 Cherokee people died from starvation, disease, and exposure to the bitter cold

Meanwhile, citizens of four other Indigenous nationsthe Creek, the Chickasaw, the Choctaw, and the Seminolewere made to follow their own Trail of Tears to the area that would become Oklahoma. In all, about 100,000 Indigenous people were forced off their land in the Southeast during the 1830s.

Clickable slideshow cover: After the Trail of Tears

A Sign of Strength

During this year’s Remember the Removal Bike Ride, the cyclists stopped at historical sites to learn more about the hardships their ancestors faced.

It’s heartbreaking to see firsthand,” Roach says.

Despite the tragedy of the Trail of Tears, many Cherokee people rebuilt their lives west of the Mississippi River (see slideshow, above). Today, Chuck Hoskin Jr. is the principal chief of the Cherokee Nation. He says it’s important to learn the story of his ancestors.

They had great determination, and they overcame great obstacles,” Hoskin says. “Any young person would benefit from thinking about what our people went through, whether you’re Cherokee or not.”

Roach agrees that everyone should know about this sad chapter in American history.

The ride brings awareness that Cherokee people are still here,” she says. “We’re strong and resilient.”

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