The Trail of Tears
Perhaps one of America’s most unfortunate federal government decisions had to do with the moving of the American Indians from their homelands to reservations in Oklahoma. It began in the early 1800s and by 1890, more than thirty Indian Nations had been forcefully moved. The tribes included the Cherokee, Creek, Seminole, and Choctaw. Due to insufficient food supplies, many died en route which brought forth the name “trail of tears.”
Amazingly, the proposal to “culturally transform” the tribes originated with George Washington and Henry Knox. But it was not until Andrew Jackson became president that action was taken. In the final analysis, the removal of the tribes opened 25 million acres for settlement by whites. However, not all Native Americans got caught up in the removal. Some 400 Cherokee managed to keep their home in the North Carolina Great Smoky Mountains and a rare bean named for “the trail of tears” serves as an heirloom of the times.
Today 67 Native American tribes are represented in Oklahoma, including the greatest number of tribal headquarters and 39 federally recognized nations.
A visit to almost any part of the state of Oklahoma offers much to see. Major cattle drive trails crossed this western frontier and the “Grapes of Wrath” tells the story of the dust bowl that wiped out thousands of families in the 1930s. The Movie entitled “Oklahoma” portrays the time in which Oklahoma went from being a territory to a state.
Naturally, many visitors take time to see the Oklahoma City memorial of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. Second on the the list of places to see is the beginning of U.S. Route 66 from Tulsa, Oklahoma to Amarillo, Texas. Oklahoma is the fifth-largest producer of crude oil in the nation and has the second-greatest number of active drilling rigs. Most of the state lies in an area known as Tornado Alley.
While Oklahoma is most often connected to the trail of tears, the actual trail encompasses about 2,200 miles of land and water routes, and traverses portions of nine states.
*
by Marti Talbott
*
