Effect of Trail of Tears on Cherokees

Cherokee Nation can be described as the government of the Cherokee people that is recognized by the federal government in the United States. Throughout its history, the Cherokee Nation has remained committed to safeguarding its people's intrinsic sovereignty while promoting and preserving the language, culture, and values of the Cherokee people. Moreover, the Cherokee Nation is increasingly committed to enhancing the quality of life for subsequent generations of Cherokee people or citizens. However, the Cherokee Nation has experienced tremendous challenges throughout its history that has generated considerable impacts on these people. One of the major events or incidents that had significant implications on Cherokee people or Cherokee Indians is the Trail of Tears. The Trail of Tears can be described as the Cherokees' march that was forced and directed by the United States Army during the removal of American Indian tribes. In essence, the Trail of Tears is the forceful removal of the Cherokees in 1838 to the Western United States that contributed to deaths of approximately 4,000 Cherokees as part of the implementation of the Treaty of New Echota.

As previously mentioned, the Trail of Tears had significant consequences on the Cherokee Nation. One of the specific consequences of the Trail of Tears to the Cherokee Nation was that Cherokees were facing numerous struggles to maintain their culture and lifestyle. These struggles were largely fueled by the increase of the white population who had different cultures and lifestyles. The increase of the white population not only threatened the population of the Cherokee people but generated significant threats to their culture and lifestyle. This is reflected in the old man's statement, "I see Cherokees turning into whites ... I see white man's clothes, white man's weapons, white man's animals."[footnoteRef:2] They had to struggle to maintain their balance in order to remain Cherokee and avoiding embracing the culture and lifestyle of white people. [2: Robert J. Conley, Mountain Windsong: A Novel of the Trail of Tears, (Oklahoma City, OK: University of Oklahoma Press) 1992: 36]

Secondly, the Trail of Tears affected the Cherokee Nation through contributing to the death of a significant portion of the Cherokee people. As previously mentioned, the Trail of Tears resulted in the death of 4000 Cherokees because of the removal, which significant contributed to loss of lives. In essence, the Trail of Tears became a tragedy for thousands of Cherokees who were forced to leave places, livestock, homes, and crops that has significant spiritual meaning and value to them.[footnoteRef:3] For Cherokees, the Trail of Tears became a reflection of a huge population shift and displacement that in turn contributed to increased exposure to disease and starvation that proved fatal. Grandpa had predicted the deaths and devastating impacts of the Trail of Tears on the Cherokee Nation by stating that, "They knew, these speechmakers said, that some individuals would call them traitors and would want them killed."[footnoteRef:4] [3: Clara Sue Kidwell, "The Effects of Removal on American Indian Tribes," National Humanities Center, accessed October 27, 2015, http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/nattrans/ntecoindian/essays/indianremoval.htm] [4: Robert J. Conley, Mountain Windsong: A Novel of the Trail of Tears, (Oklahoma City, OK: University of Oklahoma Press) 1992: 32]