This map shows the forced paths of removal for several tribes of Indians. (Image: “Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 4: History of Indian-White Relations,” Wikipedia)
This year marks the 175th anniversary of the Trail of the Tears, the forced removal of the Cherokee people and other tribes from their homelands in the Southeast to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River, which later became part of Oklahoma.
Out of the 15,000 Cherokee who endured the forced migration west after the Treaty of 1835, it is estimated that several thousand died along the way or in internment camps. The Cherokees call the removal “Nunna-da-ul-tsun-yi,” which means “the place where they cried.” Today, it is known as the Trail of Tears.
President Andrew Jackson’s biographer, Robert Remini, wrote this of the experience for the Cherokee people:
“Men were seized in the fields; women were taken from their wheels and children from their play. As they turned for one last glimpse of their homes they frequently saw them in flames, set ablaze by the lawless rabble that followed the soldiers, scavenging what they could. These outlaws stole the cattle and other livestock and even desecrated graves in their search for silver pendants and other valuables.”
This tragic event will be remembered with special events and exhibits throughout East Tennessee during 2013. […]
The Frank H. McClung Museum features a permanent exhibit on archaeology and the native peoples of Tennessee from 10,000 B.C. to the present. This exhibit showcases the results of more than 65 years of research by University of Tennessee archaeologists in partnership with the Tennessee Valley Authority in preparation for flooding the reservoirs along the Tennessee River and its tributaries, as well as a video, “We Endure: The Journey of the Cherokee,” tracing the history of the Cherokee throughout time.
Jenni Frankenberg Veal is a freelance writer and naturalist living on Walden’s Ridge, whose writing interests include conservation, outdoor travel and sustainable living. Visit her blog at www.YourOutdoorFamily.com.
Source: 175th anniversary of the Trail of Tears marked with area events | Nooga.com
Address : http://www.nooga.com/160890/175th-anniversary-of-the-trail-of-tears-marked-with-area-events/
Date Visited: Thu Jun 06 2013 13:29:09 GMT+0200 (CEST)
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Since first contact, Native Americans have been given three choices — which weren’t really choices at all.
The first “choice” was for a tribe to assimilate into the dominant American culture, become “civilized,” give up tribal ways and be absorbed into America society. Read more >>
Source: Indian Country Diaries . History . Assimilation, Relocation, Genocide | PBS
Address : http://www.pbs.org/indiancountry/history/assimilation.html
Date Visited: Thu Jun 06 2013 14:07:53 GMT+0200 (CEST)
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Source: About PBS : PBS
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Date Visited: Sun Jun 15 2014 12:12:29 GMT+0200 (CEST)