The Trail of Tears

       Infamously under Andrew Jackson's presidency, the Indian Removal Act followed by the Trail of Tears proved to be a turning point in not only Native American society and culture, but also the history of the United States. The lasting impacts of the Jackson administration can still be seen on native societies; in the documentary in class, it was mentioned that many American Indians refuse to use $20 dollars bills due to this horrific event. In the Early 1800s, Cherokees, Choctaws, Creeks, Seminoles, and Chickasaws were all attempting to assimilate into white society. This included growing crops and owning farms with boundaries, learning English, and even converting to Christianity. They gave up many of their traditions and native ways in order to be accepted into Southern society. However, they were all located in areas of Georgia, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, and Tennessee- very profitable land which the white man desired for economic profit. Indeed, as the cotton industry grew, many whites would go as far as to loot and burn on Indian property, squatted on their lands, and even stole livestock and burn homes. Regardless of how civilized the people were, the underlying  tension to get the most economically viable land was a big enough reason to push for the Trail of Tears.
        States now got involved in the process to remove the Indians and push them west. Court cases like Worcester v. Georgia (1832) and Cherokee Nation vs. Georgia (1831) did proclaim that Indian nations were their own "sovereign nations, 'in which the laws of Georgia [and other nations] ca have no force'"(history.com). However, Andrew Jackson refused to acknowledge this and continued to push the natives westward. The first Indian nation to be moved from their land was the Choctaw in 1831. They had no "food, supplies, or help from the government" and were chained whilst walking to Oklahoma. The process kept moving forward- 3,500 out of 15,000 Creek people who were forced into Oklahoma died. But, the Cherokee movement across the plains is oftentimes the most famous in terms of the process the government followed to remove them. In 1838, under president Martin Van Buren, only around 2000 Cherokee vacated Georgia and moved to Oklahoma. Van Buren then sent 7000 soldiers to hasten the process. The soldiers "forced the Cherokee into stockade and bayonet point while whites looted their homes and belongings". The 1200 mile trip caused many natives to die of typhus, starvation, whooping cough, and cholera- killing around 5000 people. Although the Indians were moved to "indian territory"- present day Oklahoma- when it became a state in 1907, the designated territory was virtually no more.
     As a result of this mass genocide and ethnic cleansing, American Indians expressed themselves through poetry, prose, and art. Much of their poetry has deeper connections to The Great Spirit- beautifully tying together their ideas of freedom, oppression, but also the beauty of life. 

"When we sit in the Circle of the People,
we must be responsible because all Creation is related
and the suffering of one is the suffering of all
and the joy of one is the joy of all
and whatever we do affects everything in the universe."
--- "Lakota Instructions for Living" by White Buffalo Calf Woman, translated by Michael R. Burch

I thought the following poem was almost a foreshadowing to the future. The author connects both Whites and Native Americans lifelines through this poem- since she does not isolate them by their race, but brings them together since they are all in the "Circle of People". By putting all races on a common ground, she then goes on to say that "the suffering of one is the suffering of all"- alluding to the Trail of Tears, and how both races suffered as a result of this disastrous process of ethnic cleansing. Although many people do not think that whites suffered all that much, I found an article that highlighted how soldiers felt about being a part of the process. John G. Burnett and fellow soldiers said, "Schoolchildren of today do not know that we are living on lands that were taken from a helpless race at the bayonet point, to satisfy the white man's greed . . . Murder is murder and somebody must answer, somebody must explain the streams of blood that flowed in the Indian country . . . Somebody must explain the four thousand silent graves that mark the trail of the Cherokees to their exile." This quote then connects to the idea that the author conveys that the "joy of one is the joy of all". The white man feels no joy, even today, about what they did to the Native Americans, and the mark of a brutal presidency will forever remain on the Jackson administration.

Sources:
http://www.thehypertexts.com/The%20Trail%20of%20Tears%20in%20Poems,%20Art%20and%20Prose.htm
http://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/trail-of-tears