17 June
‘I know what it is to hate. I hate those white soldiers who took us from our home. I hate the soldiers who make us keep walking through the snow and ice toward this new home that none of us ever wanted. I hate the people who killed my father and mother.
‘I hate the white people who lined the roads in their woolen clothes that kept them warm, watching us pass. None of those white people are here to say they are sorry that I am alone. None of them care about me or my people. All they ever saw was the color of our skin. All I see is the color of theirs and I hate them.’
Nine-year old Samuel Cloud on the Trail of Tears. As recounted by his great-great grandson, Michael Rutledge
On this day in 1838, the Cherokee Nation began a 1200-mile forced march known as Nunna daul Tsuny or the Trail of Tears. It followed their removal from ancestral lands on the orders of President Andrew Jackson resulting from a treaty signed by a small minority of the tribe. It was approved in the Senate by a one-vote margin. An estimated 20000 Cherokee were forced to relocate, of which some 4000 died from hunger, disease or starvation on route.
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365 days is co-authored by Steve Platt and Fiona Osler
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