Voices From the Trail of Tears

by Vicki Rozema (Editor)

During the first half of the 19th century, as many as 100,000 Native Americans were relocated west of the Mississippi River from their homelands in the East. The best known of these forced emigrations was the Cherokee Removal of 1838. Christened Nu-No-Du-Na-Tlo-Hi-Lu―literally “the Trail Where They Cried”―by the Cherokees, it is remembered today as the Trail of Tears. In  Voices from the Trail of Tears , editor Vicki Rozema re-creates this tragic period in American history by letting eyewitnesses speak for themselves. Using newspaper articles and editorials, journal excerpts, correspondence, and official documents, she presents a comprehensive overview of the Trail of Tears―the events leading to the Indian Removal Act, the Cherokees’ conflicting attitudes toward removal, life in the emigrant camps, the routes westward by land and water, the rampant deaths in camp and along the trail, the experiences of the United States military and of the missionaries and physicians attending the Cherokees, and the difficulties faced by the tribe in the West. “O what a year it has been!” wrote one witness accompanying a detachment westward in December 1838. “O what a sweeping wind has gone over, and carried its thousands into the grave.” This book will lead readers to both rethink American history and celebrate the spirit of those who survived. Vicki Rozema is the author of Cherokee Early Accounts of Cherokee Life in the East and Voices from the Trail of Tears . Also an acclaimed photographer, she is a history professor at the University of Tennessee. The first edition of Footsteps of the Cherokees received an Award of Merit from the Tennessee Historical Commission in 1996. Her honors include the 2014 McClung Award for an article that appeared in the 2013 Journal of East Tennessee History and the Native American Eagle Award for her writings on the Cherokee. "This work, like Cherokee Voices, is a compilation of letters, newspaper editorials, journal excerpts, church records, and military documents, written by a diverse group of Cherokees and Euroamericans. As the title suggests, Voices from the Trail of Tears is a moving account of the forced removal of thousands of Cherokees in the 1830s; Rozema does a remarkable job of 're-creating this tragic period in American history by letting eyewitnesses speak for themselves.'" - Ginny Carney Studies in American Indian Literature

Genres: History, Native American, Nonfiction, United States

256 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2003

Reviews

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Sir, that paper … called a treaty is no treaty at all, because not sanctioned by the great body of the Cherokees and made without their participation or assent.”
Exhaustive analysis of the forced immigration of most eastern Cherokee from their homelands to the future Oklahoma. Without a doubt a shameful, extralegal confiscation and ejection. Rozema summaries the history, then introduces each primary source. Overkill as the letters and journals of the participants suffice to indict their actions.
“His conduct and course of policy was a series of blunders from first to last … It has been wholly of a partisan character.”
Most sources are unconsciously brutal in their causal callous treatment of Cherokees. Language two hundred years ago was stilted and hard to follow for modern readers. Documents the conflicting opinions among partisans on both sides: bureaucratic “just the facts” reports versus eyewitness anguish of murdered family. The state of Georgia led the movement. President Andrew Jackson acquiesced to the state, even when the United States Supreme Court found the state’s action illegal.
“The removal of the Southeastern Native Americans west of the Mississippi is one of the great tragedies of United States history.”
Early use of concentration camps to temporarily house families forced from their homes. Many individuals rousted with only the clothes they wore: no walking shoes, no utensils, no tools, no winter clothes. Paradoxically, forced smallpox vaccinations saved many from epidemics endemic to the newly settled areas.
“My sun of existence is fast approaching to its setting. When I sleep in forgetfulness, I hope my bones will not be deserted by you.”

[Peggy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing. A strange jumble of diary entries, letters, and other original source material—sounds great but it had no coherence, with some entries leaving me wondering, why was that even included. She attempted to provide context but it was uneven at best. I gained some understanding of the process of removal that I appreciate but it gave me no significant access to “voices from the Trail of Tears,” rather just a larger yearning to understand in better detail what was involved. This left me feeling empty.

[Theshiney · Rating 1 out of 5]

tho i hesitate, i must finally give this book 1 star. it may serve a purpose along side many other books but it does not stand alone. the narration by the editor is dry and the 1st person accounts- the main selling point to this book- count for maybe a 1/4 of the pages. its disappointing really. the only successful theme is its linear order of diaries, letters, etc. that in turn is completely rebuked by the last entry which takes places at the beginning of the trail of tears and serves only as a manipulative attempt at retrospection. there is brief emotional insight as well as cherokee perspective. i understand the reasons for the lack of documents in these cases but the concept as a whole would be better served if the author/editor took more responsibility for insight.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting. The author used primary sources, diaries and official documents to illustrate the complexity and the tragedy that was the Trail of Tears. I learned new things about this point in history which I always like doing.

[Whitney]

I'm sad to DNF this but unfortunately it's just not clicking with me right now. There's no narrative crafted to present the collected research, it's just facts stated on after another. This is such an important story to hear, but I just couldn't get into it in this moment.

[Marieta Grissom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ms. Rozema book is enlightening as it tells the story of the Trail of Tears from several perspectives, and it details the "mechanics" of how this dark tragedy happened.

I learned a lot from reading this book; my only downside was that I had trouble keeping track of all the principal people involved.

[Ryan Serrano · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 45 page Intro is a good overview of the history but the rest of the book is pretty bland and difficult to trudge through for the most part

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good book of source excerpts and explanations for understanding the context and the larger picture.

[J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic collection of primary sources giving context to this infamous tragedy.

[Marie Carmean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read about The Trail of Tears before, and feel that this book is an excellent follow-up to the original, but it also stands alone as it describes this awful travesty of our history. It is well-written, easy to read, and goes into detail that the reader finds fascinating and disturbing. An important testament to the courage and long-suffering of the Cherokee people during the Removal and the tragedy it was for an Indian nation. But it also covers the points of view of those who felt the Removal was actually a kind act in a way that does not excuse their actions, but simply explains their thinking.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not quite what I expected it to be but it wasn't bad. I am writing a paper on the colonization of Native Americans, and I have boatloads of factual research but I thought this would give me some quotes that represented the human side. I did use one quote from an Indian Chief, but most of the book was historical background and I already had all of that info from other sources.

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rozema presents primary sources such as newspaper articles, journal excerpts, correspondence, and official documents to give a wide-ranging and behind-the-scenes view of events and experiences related to the forced Cherokee emigrations of the 1830s, known today as the Trail of Tears, and to the Cherokees as “the trail where they cried.”

[Lance Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story tells itself through all the historical documents the author weaves seamlessly together . A heartbreaking must read for anyone interested in the Trail of Tears, deciphering history, and human rights. Kudos to the author and many thanks for her relevant work!

[Dawn Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book proved very useful for some research I needed to do. It compiles some official government reports as well as diary and journal entries, along with interesting narrative to provide background for those documents. Saved me a lot of hunting around for individual documents online.

[Brad McKenna]

A quick synopsis of the Cherokee Relocation in the 1830s, followed by actual journal entries from folks on the trail. It's amazing how selfish white people can be.

[Mia Lucente · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book didn't really have a plotline. However, it was a great book if you are in need of facts.

[Laura Dabundo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Voices from the Trail of Tears was interesting and necessary to bearing witness, but was more a list of facts than a story.