America’s Trail of Tears
A story of love and betrayal

By Dean W. Arnold
Chattanooga Historical Society

Most Native people know the story of how the Cherokee were the ones who most emulated the white man. And then when they were successful at it they were dispossessed of their lands and an estimated 14,000 were forcibly removed. It is estimated that 2,000 died of disease while waiting in camps to be removed from their territory. Another 4,600 are estimated to have died on the Trail of Tears.

The book addresses this by recounting “One member of the Georgia Guard who later served in the Confederate Army described the horror of the removal: ‘I fought through the Civil War and have seen men shot to pieces and slaughtered by the thousands but the Cherokee removal was the cruelest thing I ever saw.’”

This book shows the Cherokee developing their own court system and written language long before the removal. The Cherokee developed a constitution that was ahead of its time. They were a prosperous, hardworking people who were seen as getting above themselves.

Indians were meant to be civilized but never really attain that goal. When intermarriages started happening it was used as an excuse to start looking at attaining all the Cherokee lands in what is now Georgia. After all it was being wasted on the Indians.

This is an old story, but one that has never been told so well. It is more than a look into the state and federal government and the role they played. It is a look into the internal politics and life of the Cherokee nation in a humanistic and enjoyable manner. Thoroughly recommended.