By: Jordyn Guarascio

1. Indians were encouraged to adapt to the European lifestyle as much as they could. Due to this, Indians were told to keep African slaves, and were encouraged. 

2. John Ridge was a Cherokee leader who agreed with the removal act of Indians. He was later assassinated by Cherokee men who were walking along the Trail of Tears and survived the march. 

3. There were some Cherokee men who were given food along the way. However, dishonest suppliers sold them bad food for higher prices to make them sick. Although the food was bad, the high cost left many Indians to starve and die. 

4. About 17,000 Choctaw tribes were forced to march to Oklahoma. It was estimated that around 3,000 of these marchers died along the way. 

5. Did you know some tribes debated whether moving was right or not? Although inevitably in the long run many disagreed, the Indians knew they would never win against the European settlers. 

6. The Trail of Tears can refer to a specific forced path of the Cherokee nation. This was a direct route from North Carolina to Oklahoma. 

7. The actual name for the Trail of Tears refers to a Cherokee word for the trail because so many people died along the way, miserable and almost always in tears. 

8. The trail stretched 5,045 miles long across 9 states. These states were Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Arkansas, Alabama, and Tennessee. 

9. Cherokee citizens came up with their own name for the Trail of Tears. They called this forced move "Nunahi-Duna-Dlo-Hilu-I" or "Trail Where They Cried". 

10. During the Trail of Tears, more then 15,000 of Cherokee Indians were removed from the United States Army. 

11. In 1832, a Christian missionary named Samuel Worcester refused to swear on oath because he felt it was his duty to help and save the oppressed. Due to this, he was thrown in prison but eventually appealed his case to the supreme court. 

12. Many African slaves were forced to walk on the Trail of Tears as well. This was due to Native Americans forced to "civilize" to European practices. In this, Native Americans were sometimes forced to keep slaves, and encouraged. The very few who were forced had to walk with some of the slaves on their journey. 

How would you have felt if you were forced out of your home?

The acts that were put onto the Native American citizens were due to the tremendous amounts of racism and cruel, inhumane acts. These efforts should not be ignored, and the thousands of citizens who died along the way deserved an honorable death. In Picture 1, you can see the path the Cherokee Indians had to take. In Picture 2, you can see a trail on the map. This map showed the water route, land route, and other major routes during that time period.