The Trail of Tears

The Trail of Tears

Introduction

According to Stern (371), the Trail of Tears refers to a sequence of forcible relocations of Native American populations from their Southeastern United States ancestral homes to the western regions, and particularly the western side of the Mississippi River, which was designated as the Indian Territory. The forcible relocations were conducted by various government authorities after the passage and enactment of the 1830 Indian Removal Act.  The Native American populations that were forced to relocate suffered from the exposure to starvation and disease in the course of travelling to their novel and designated reserves, and, as a result, a number of them died prior to arriving at their destinations. Amongst the Native American communities that were forcibly relocated included the members of the Seminole, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Muscogee, Ho-Chunk and Ponca nations. The term, “Trail of Tears” is mainly derived from the description of a number of the Native American tribes such as the 1838 relocation of the infamous Cherokee tribe. The forced journey was termed the “Trail of Tears” mostly as a result of its distressing effects to the Native American populations and communities. In addition to the starvation and disease, the migrants also faced the challenge of exhaustion resulting in more than 50, 000 deaths.

In this regard, the Ho-Chunk tribe was surrounded using cannons and forcefully relocated at gun point. The initial of the Trails of Tears involving the Ho-Chunk tribe was mainly to Iowa, even as the fifth Trail ended in Nebraska, and particularly at the Winnebago Reservation’s present location (Basso 5). Nevertheless, between 1830 and 1850, the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Creek, Choctaw and Seminole tribes, inclusive of the mixed-races and African American slaves living amongst them, experienced forceful relocation from their ancestral homes in Southeastern United States to the far west (Smithers 137). This paper, has, therefore, been written with the objective of presenting the argument that the Trail of Tears brought about a number of devastating effects for the affected Indians tribes, as well as the abuse of the fundamental human rights and massive injustices. To attain this, the paper will mainly focus on the Cherokee nation.

Discussion

The Native Americans populations that were forcefully relocated were also coerced to walk to their destination by the various state authorities and the local militias. The forceful relocation of the Cherokee in 1838, which was also the last forcible relocation eat of the Mississippi River was mainly as a result of the discovery of the rich gold fields in 1828 in Dahlonega, Georgia, and this brought about the Georgia Gold Rush (Casebeer 1). It is estimated that between 2000 and 8000 members of the Cherokee tribe died during the relocation (Stern 371).

In reviewing the Trail of Tears, Dellapenna (69) asserts that it remains to be amongst the most traffic eras in the history of the United States mainly as a result of the forced relocation and removal of the native populations from their ancestral homes. Moreover, this also marked the commencement of the extermination of the Native American populations by the government of the United States regardless of the observation that the native populations had occupied the country for several centuries prior to the setting of foot in the Americas by the Caucasian settlers. Following the period of the American Revolution, as well as the subsequent creation of the United States, the Native Americans had been considered as a distinct nation within the sovereign nation, and had been fully devoted to ensuring peaceful coexistence with the new Caucasian settlers. Nevertheless, the Caucasian settlers were mainly interested in the lands that were highly productive and rich in resources, and which were mostly occupied by the native populations. As a result, the government of the United States began a prolonged campaign that was mainly characterized by falsehood, unfulfilled promises, false and broken agreements, military action threats and racist behaviors meant to ensure that the natives were ousted from their ancestral lands.

By passing and enacting the 1830 Indian Removal Act, the government of the United States not only committed an atrocious incidence but also a great fundamental human rights abuse in its prolonged history, and this brought about the Trail of Tears. Thus, the Indians were forcefully relocated to the west with the objective of ensuring that white American settlers would continue to prosper and grow within their novel nation. Amongst the renowned forceful relocations of populations from the native lands by the United States government included the renowned Five Civilized Tribes, namely; the Choctaw, Seminole, Cherokee, Creek and Chickasaw (Basso 5).  The five tribes comprised the majority of the populations that were removed from their ancestral lands and were distinct from the other Indian tribes and nations as a result of their organization and leadership forms (Kulchyski 72). Thus, the Five Civilized Tribes had social systems that were functional based on the aspects such as government offices, property ownership, as well as established educational institutions that were similar to those of the Europeans (Dellapenna 74). Nevertheless, the government of the United States failed to recognize their civilization, that was adequate for them to coexist as neighbors and as a result forcefully removed them to the far west.

The Trail of Tears, therefore, led to the creation of an era that comprised immeasurable depression and desolation amongst the various Indian populations that were being forcefully relocated from their traditional homes and against their desires. So as to swiftly and effectively relocate the Indian tribes, the government through its authorities and the local militias ensures that the Indians tribes had been prearranged into miserable and wretched traveling caravans. Throughout the journey to the far west, the Indians were forced passed through atrocious and horrifying living conditions that were also intolerable. For example, the natives were forced to sleep on and starved as they lacked both shelter and adequate food. Moreover, a number of them were also forced to match while in manacles and chains, and in most instances, in case they failed to die as a result of the poor living conditions, chronic disease outbreaks wiped out a larger proportion of the populations. In this regard, they were mainly faced with the challenge of diseases that included whooping cough, pneumonia, TB, dysentery and pellagra amongst others, that often killed the whole family (Stern 372). Furthermore, the Trail of Tears also brought about more deaths amongst the natives other than destroying the self-respect and the spirit of the Native Americans.

President Jackson, through the 1830 Indian Removal Act acquired the power to remove the Native Americans only through their consent and also stipulated that the Indians be relocated upon compensation (Kulchyski 78). Nevertheless, these aspects of the law were neglected given that the United States government was involved in the false treaties and agreements with the Indians, perpetration of lies and issued false promises as it dealt with the Indians with regards to the issue of relocation (Huang 217). The first forceful relocation was carried out in 1831 when the Choctaw Indians were forced to move west and they were regarded as the best model for the relocation project. They were immediately followed by the Seminole in 1832, and after that the Creek in 1834. On the other hand, the Chickasaw Indians were forcefully relocated in 1837 and the Cherokee Indians were the last group to be relocated in 1838. Consequently, as at 1837, it has been approximated that over 46,000 Native Americans who were the original occupants of the southeastern parts of the United States were forcefully been removed from their traditional homelands thereby opening up nearly 25 million acres for the white settlers to mine and carry out agriculture (Casebeer 1).

In his work, Dellapenna (72) notes that the Cherokee tribe commenced the 1600km journey during the winter period of 1838, and had inadequate clothing and shoes to wear. The journey commenced at Red Clay, Tennessee, which was also the Cherokee nation’s last Eastern capital. However, as a result of the diseases they had contracted along the way, the Native Americans were not permitted to enter any of the villages and towns they came across; on most occasions, this mean that they would have to travel far from the town and go around them whenever necessary (Kulchyski 80). The Natives arrived at Ohio River from Golconda region of southern Illinois, and upon crossing Kentucky and Tennessee on 3^rd December 1838. However, unlike the residents and other individuals who were being charged 12 cents to cross Ohio River on the Berry’s Ferry, the starving Native Americans were required to pay one dollar per persons so as to be able to cross the river on the ferry (Smithers 138). Moreover, the Indians were also not permitted any passage till such a time that all other groups and individuals wishing to cross had used the Ferry, over and above being coerced to shelter below the Mantle Rock, which referred to a bluff of a Shelter found on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River until the ferry was free and did not have anything else to do. As a result of the harsh climatic conditions coupled with diseases, a number of the Natives died while huddled at the Mantle Rock as they were waiting to cross over. Furthermore, a number of the Natives were also killed by the locals, and the Natives file a legal suit against the government of the United States in Vienna, and sued the government for approximately $35 per head to decently bury their murdered kin.

In the end, it took the Cherokee approximately three months to cover 97 kilometers between Ohio River and Mississippi River. It was during the march through the Southern parts of Illinois that a number of the Cherokee died. Nevertheless, some years prior to the forced relocation, a number of the Cherokee chose to voluntarily leave their ancestral homes and opted for the water-based route via Tennessee River, Ohio River and Mississippi River, and the journey only took them 21 days; this was different for the Cherokee who were being relocated forcibly and who were also weary of traveling on water. The Cherokee population settled close to Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

Conclusion

In summary, the Trail of Tears was the perfect manifestation of the government of the United States’ actions, with regards to inhumane treatment of the Native Americans. The novel Caucasian settlers who had migrated from Europe to the United States had not only escaped oppression in Europe but were also wildly obsessed with the freedoms being enjoyed in America. As a result, they fast forgot the rights and freedoms of the Native Americans. The Trail of Tears brought about overwhelming effects for the Native populations that were forced to journey more than 1000 miles, and throughout the journey they lacked basic needs including food, shelter and clothing (Huang 217). Over and above the scarcity of food, the Indians also suffered from various diseases and harsh climatic conditions that killed a number of them. Having gone not only against the stipulations of the 1830 Indian Removal Act and the various treaties and promises that it made to the Native populations, the United States government should not forget such inhuman and atrocious actions that it committed against its people and in its prolonged history. The Trail of Tears should also be a lesson that the nation should always look back to and learn from so as to effectively avert occurrence of similar horrific and atrocious deeds in the future.

References

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Casebeer, Kenneth M. “Subaltern Voices in the Trail Of Tears: Cognition and Resistance of the    Cherokee Nation to Removal in Building American Empire.” U. Miami Race & Soc. Just.      L. Rev. 4 (2014): 1.

Dellapenna, Joseph W. “The struggle over the Dakota Access Pipeline in the context of Native     American history.” Ecological Integrity, Law and Governance. Routledge, 2018. 69-78.

Huang, Hsinya. “12VMemory, Community, and Historicity in Joseph Bruchacxs the Journal of     Jesse Smoke, a Cherokee Boy, The Trail of Tears, 1838.” Twenty-First Century       Perspectives on Indigenous Studies: Native North America in (Trans) Motion (2015): 217.

Kulchyski, Peter. “Trail to Tears: Concerning Modern Treaties in Northern Canada.” The   Canadian Journal of Native Studies35.1 (2015): 69-81.

Smithers, Gregory D. “Monuments to Absence: Cherokee Removal and the Contest over Southern           Memory.” (2018): 136-138.

Stern, Jessica Yirush. “The Cherokee Diaspora: An Indigenous History of Migration,         Resettlement, and Identity by Gregory D. Smithers.” (2017): 370-372.