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Trail of Tears

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The "Beneficial Exercise" of Walking the Trail of Tears

An examination of the excuses used to justify Andrew Jackson's violent expulsion of the Cherokee from their ancestral lands.
by John F. Ptak via JF Ptak Science Books on May 5, 2019
Painting depicting Cherokee people riding, walking, and driving wagons on the Trail of Tears.

“Work of Barbarity”: An Eyewitness Account of the Trail of Tears

A missionary's account of the atrocities perpetrated against Cherokees shows that the Trail of Tears is no laughing matter.
by Evan Jones, Matthew Dessem via Slate on February 10, 2019
A close up picture of an heirloom peach grown by the Muscogee in Oklahoma.

Meet the Peach That Traveled the Trail of Tears and the Tribal Elders Working to Save It

The “Indian peach” survived a genocide—but can it withstand climate change?
by Taylar Dawn Stagner via Mother Jones on November 24, 2024
Painting of three Native Americans in colorful clothing, with other figures walking through forest in background.

Trails of Tears, Plural: What We Don’t Know About Indian Removal

The removal of Indigenous people was a national priority with broad consensus.
by Jeffrey Ostler via Humanities on July 2, 2024
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Beyond Dispossession

For generations, depictions of Native Americans have reduced them to either aggressors or victims. But at many public history sites, that is starting to change.
by Ed Ayers on December 6, 2023
Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. with Kimberly Teehee

Cherokee Nation Is Fighting for a Seat in Congress

Thanks to an 1835 treaty, they’re pushing Democrats to approve a nonvoting delegate.
by Gabriel Pietrorazio via The New Republic on October 31, 2022
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Native Trails

Ed Ayers travels back to his childhood stomping grounds in search of traces of the dispossession that took place there generations earlier.
by Ed Ayers on June 13, 2022
Police stand inside fence around the Andrew Jackson statue behind the White House; the statue pedestal has the word "Killer" spray painted on it.
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Trump Thinks Andrew Jackson’s Statue Is a Great Monument — But to What?

The truth about policies of Native American removal.
by Jeffrey Ostler via Made By History on June 24, 2020
Jackson statue in New Orleans.
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What Happens When Racism and Executive Overreach Intersect in the Oval Office

It happened during Andrew Jackson’s administration, with fatal consequences.
by Laura Ellyn Smith via Made By History on July 16, 2019

When The President Laughs At Genocide

In the period of a few weeks, President Trump mocked both the Trail of Tears and the Wounded Knee Massacre.
by Michael E. Carter via Tropics of Meta on February 10, 2019
Painting depicting the sinking of the Monmouth, which was carrying Muscogee people to Oklahoma.

The Removal Act

The phrase "trail of tears" resonates in American conversation because the country is still coming to terms with what happened and what it means.
via National Museum Of The American Indian on February 19, 2018
1884 map of land surrendered by the Cherokee Nation to colonial and U.S. governments from 1721 to 1835.

Cherokee Removal and the Trail of Tears

A primary source set and teaching guide created by educators.
by Nancy Schurr via Digital Public Library of America on September 18, 2017

How I Feel As a Native Woman When Trump Idolizes Andrew Jackson

Trump has called Andrew Jackson a "military hero and genius and a beloved president."
by Adrienne Keene via Teen Vogue on April 19, 2017

Andrew Jackson was A Slaver, Ethnic Cleanser, and Tyrant

Andrew Jackson deserves nothing but contempt from modern America, not a place on our currency.
by Dylan Matthews via Vox on April 20, 2016
Painting of the Sand Creek Massacre by Robert Lindneux, c. 1935.

Happy Native American Heritage Month From the Army That Brought You the Trail of Tears

After 170 years of armed attacks, forced relocations, ethnic cleansing, and genocide of Native Americans, the U.S. military wants to celebrate.
by Nick Turse via The Intercept on November 28, 2024
A portrait of Major Ridge, an older Cherokee man.
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Revealed Through a Mountain of Paperwork

As the nation’s highest court debated Native sovereignty, I was in the archives, uncovering family stories entwined with those debates.
by Rebecca Nagle via HNN on September 24, 2024
Cherokee Trail of Tears beans.

How Cherokee Trail of Tears Beans Connect a Community to Its Roots

“It’s not just preserving seeds, it’s preserving our culture, our history, our way of life.”
by Sarah Lohman via Atlas Obscura on August 29, 2024
Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr., left, announcing that he is nominating Kimberly Teehee, right, as a Cherokee Nation delegate to the US House of Representatives

One of the Oldest Broken Promises to Indigenous Peoples Is for a Voice in Congress

A treaty commitment to seat a delegate representing the Cherokee Nation in the House has gone unmet for two centuries.
by John Nichols via The Nation on November 14, 2023

Jimmy Carter Stood up for Palestinians. Why Won’t Today’s Democrats?

At the height of George W. Bush’s War on Terror, Jimmy Carter had the courage to call out Israel for its human rights abuses.
by Alex Skopic via Current Affairs on November 9, 2023
From left: A red and white sign protesting Critical Race Theory, groups of people stand in a parking lot

(White) Christian Roots of Slavery, Native American Genocide, and Ongoing Efforts to Erase History

15th century dogma connects the genocide and land dispossession of Native Americans with the enslavement and oppression of African Americans throughout history.
by Robert P. Jones, Bradley Onish via Religion Dispatches on October 2, 2023
Austin West, a Choctaw student, visits Kindred Spirits, a monument to the Choctaw in County Cork.

The Unlikely, Enduring Friendship Between Ireland and the Choctaw Nation

One act of generosity during the Great Famine forged a bond that transcends generations.
by Richard Grant via Smithsonian on September 7, 2023
Map of the Cherokee Country in 1900

How the Supreme Court Failed to Stop the Brutal Relocation of Indigenous American Nations

On the legal challenges to racist presidential policy that led to the Trail of Tears.
by Joel Richard Paul via Literary Hub on October 25, 2022
Delegates from 34 tribes in front of Creek Council House, Indian Territory, in 1880.

We Have Always Been Global: Tribal Nations in the Democratic Slide

In the 19th century, Native American nations were early pioneers in constitutional democracy.
by Noah Ramage via Perspectives on History on June 21, 2022
Thomas Kitchin's 1760 map of the "Cherokee Nation".

The Remapping of America—From an Indigenous Point of View

New maps can revive Cherokee place names in Southern Appalachia and restore crucial knowledge amid an environmental catastrophe.
by Gregory D. Smithers via The New Republic on January 17, 2022
Comedian Charlie Hill on stage with a microphone.

‘Part of Why We Survived’

Is there something in particular about coming from a Native background that makes a person want to write and perform comedy?
by Ian Frazier via New York Review of Books on December 23, 2021
Map of Indian Territory

The Troubling Paradox of Slavery in Indian Territory

My ancestors were enslaved—but their freedom came at a price for others.
by Alaina E. Roberts via TIME on April 14, 2021
Picture of Devil's Tower

Historical Monuments of the First People

A Story Map that highlights events, sites, and people important to Native American history.
by Caitlinn Grimm via Library of Congress on February 8, 2021
The Oval Office as redecorated for President Biden

A Look Inside Biden’s Oval Office

The oval office looks different now that President Biden is its occupant.
by Annie Linskey via Washington Post on January 20, 2021
African American men who escaped slavery at a US Army Camp.

John Wolcott Phelps’ Emancipation Proclamation

The story of John Wolcott Phelps and his push for Lincoln to emancipate all slaves.
by David T. Dixon via Emerging Civil War on January 4, 2021
Artwork depicting the Trail of Tears.

Was Indian Removal Genocidal?

Most recent scholarship, while supporting the view that the policy was vicious, has not addressed the question of genocide.
by Jeffrey Ostler via The Panorama on August 4, 2020
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