"It is Spring. The leaves are on the trees. I am playing with my friends when white men in uniforms ride up to our home. My mother calls me. I can tell by her voice that something is wrong. [...] My mother tells me to gather my things, but the men don't allow us time to get anything. They enter our home and begin knocking over pottery and looking into everything. My mother and I are taken by several men to where their horses are and [we] are held there at gun point. The men who rode off return with my father, Elijah. They have taken his rifle and he is walking toward us.
[...] I am filled with fear, too. What is going on? I was just playing, but now my family and my friends families are gathered together and [are] told to walk at the point of a bayonet.
[...] The soldiers look weary, as though they'd rather be anywhere else but here.
They lead us to a stockade. They herd us into this pen like we are cattle. No one was given time to gather any possessions. The nights are still cold in the mountains and we do not have enough blankets to go around. [...]" ("The memories of...") [End quote]
Samuel Cloud, a 9-year-old Cherokee boy, told his experience on the Trail of Tears to his children sometime during the 19th century. A descendant of Samuel Cloud related Cloud's account from a first-person view in the above paragraphs. The 9-year-old Cherokee boy saw his mother die while on the Trail of Tears as they were being escorted to land in Oklahoma. Samuel's father died while his family and other Cherokee families were cooped up in a stockade, living in deplorable conditions, which included mud and cold temperatures.
The Cherokees Were Not a Threat to the United States
Living on their own land and farming it, the Cherokees were not a threat to the United States. But, greedy European-Americans (like my ancestors) had a thirst for more land to build slave plantations and for mining gold in Northern Georgia, where many Cherokees lived. Gold had been discovered in Georgia shortly after the first Cherokee Nation constitution was ratified and a Cherokee Supreme Court had been established ("A Brief History...").
European-Americans, hearing of the discovery of gold in Georgia, sought to take the Cherokee land for themselves ("A Brief History..."). Andrew Jackson, the president of the United States at the time, determined that Native Americans had to be relocated westward. As a general in the U.S. Army, Jackson had fought the Creek nation for their land so that it could be turned into plantations where slaves would be forced to work the land.
Amargi, a writer for unsettlingamerica.wordpress.com, said:
'Andrew Jackson was a wealthy slave owner and infamous Indian killer, gaining the nickname “Sharp Knife” from the Cherokee. [...] His first effort at Indian fighting was waging a war against the Creeks. President Jefferson had appointed him to appropriate Creek and Cherokee lands. In his brutal military campaigns against Indians, “Andrew Jackson recommended that troops systematically kill Indian women and children after massacres in order to complete the extermination.”' (Amargi) [End quote]
It comes as no surprise, then, that Andrew Jackson, when he became the president, wanted to remove the Cherokee and other tribes from their own properties and lands. With the Native Americans gone, the land could be sold and used for economic benefits to the United States. This was no less than land theft and covetousness.
Breaking the Ten Commandments
Sadly, Andrew Jackson, and the people following his orders to round up Native Americans, broke several of the commandments of the Bible, which America was supposed to have been founded on.
Exodus 20:15-17 says:
"[15] Thou shalt not steal."
"[16] Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour."
"[17] Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's."
Exodus 20:13 says: "[13] Thou shalt not kill."
Exactly what the Ten Commandments forbid took place and continued to happen from the time just prior to Andrew Jackson and afterward. Land was stolen; European-Americans lied to Native Americans; and European-Americans desired to have what did not rightfully belong to them.
The 5th article of the Treaty of Washington, made by the United States government to the Cherokee people, in 1819, included this provision: "... and that all white people who have intruded, or may hereafter intrude, on the lands reserved for the Cherokees, shall be removed by the United States,..." ("Treaty of..."). Cherokee land was located in the Appalachian mountains and in surrounding areas.
Sadly, this treaty was broken a few years later. The United States had gone back on its word and had lied to its neighbors, the Cherokee. Matthew 19:18 says: "[18] He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,"
Finally, Native Americans were killed by both the uncaring policies that sent them on a death march, and by soldiers given orders to fight Native Americans and to drive them out of their own lands. This vanquishing of Native Americans and taking of their land continued up until the 1890s. The Wounded Knee massacre of 1890 saw over 250 Lakota men, women, and children slaughtered by U.S. Cavalry.
Returning to the 1830s and Andrew Jackson...
Returning to the 1830s, Jackson and his supporters went against the U.S. Supreme Court, which had determined, in Worcester v. Georgia, that Georgia had no jurisdiction over the Cherokees and had no legal claim to their lands (Beyer). Andrew Jackson authorized the Indian Removal Act of 1830 and had U.S. soldiers force Native Americans to move across vast stretches of land during the fall and winter of 1838 ("At Least 3,000..."). Somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000 Cherokee men, women, and children died while en route to reservation land in Arkansas and Oklahoma.
Sadly, people were very racist toward Native Americans in the 19th century, and thought of Native Americans as being less civilized than European-Americans. But, the Cherokee people had developed their own written language, elected leaders to a representative government, and printed their own newspapers ("24f. The Trail..."). They also brought their case before the U.S. Supreme Court and won the court's approval ("24f. The Trail..."). But, Andrew Jackson had reportedly defiantly said of the Chief Justice's ruling: "John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it." (Beyer).
As a result of Jackson's decision to remove the Native Americans from their land by force, and have them march long distances on foot, thousands died and many children lost their parents, and vice versa.
One sad example is the story of a Cherokee boy, named Samuel Cloud, who saw his father die from an unspecified disease while they were staying in a stockade and living in deplorable conditions. His mother died along the route the troops took after leaving the stockade. They had just begun a long trek through wilderness, during the later part of Fall, when she passed away, due to an unspecified disease.
The Hypocrisy of America
The United States was supposedly founded on the Word of God, the Bible, but it did not keep the words written down in the Holy Scriptures. Its presidents, citizens, and generals made decisions that broke God's Ten Commandments and cause great suffering to Native Americans and African Americans. Jesus told us these powerful words in Matthew 7:12: "[12] Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets."
As Christians, we must love other people and treat them as we would like to be treated. That is only possible by following in the footsteps of Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit, but it is a must. We need to place ourselves into the shoes of the Cherokee (and other First Nation people) and face some hard questions with integrity and honesty. So, please bear with me as we address them.
Would we Americans like foreigners to take our land from us and steal our property? Would we like foreigners to treat us as if we were sub-human? Would we like foreigners to make us suffer, without adequate food or clothing, on a long march in the dead of winter? And, would we like their descendants (almost 200 years later) to justify their actions?
These are some troubling questions that we need to face if we are to live as Jesus would live. Can we truly justify the conquest of all the land to the west of the 13 original colonies? The thirteen colonies generally were purchased from Native Americans. But, the land to the west of them was almost entirely stolen by force. I encourage you to do your own research to see if what I am saying is true.
Questions to Ask Oneself
Since this land is almost entirely stolen from Native Americans (who owned it for thousands of years before the first Europeans set foot on America's shores) is it right for us to justify the westward expansion of the United States and the way Native Americans are still thought of today as underclass citizens?
There is a principle in the Bible, in Galatians 6:7-8, which applies to this country, as a whole, and also to each individual. Galatians 6:7-8 says: "[7] Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. [8] For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting."
If this country has sown theft of land; death to Native Americans (i.e. the Wounded Kneed massacre {in 1890}, the "Indian Wars," and the Trail of Tears); and mistreatment and stereotyping of Native Americans to this day, what will the people of this country reap? Will they reap blessings or will they reap judgment?
One may ask: "But, aren't we a tolerant society in the 21st century?" Then, we should ask ourselves how our culture views Native Americans today. Do we stereotype them? Do we believe that we own the land that Native Americans owned for thousands of years? Do we try to justify the taking of Native American land by thinking something like: "We can't help what our ancestors did to the Native Americans 120 plus years ago, so we can just forget about how the land was gained. We have it, and it is ours." Is that what Jesus would say?
God is calling out to this country to repent from its sins, including covetousness, lies, idolatry, adultery, pride, selfish ambition, unforgiveness, and immorality. Again, if America sows these things, will it reap God's blessings, or will it reap judgment? God does not desire that people be judged. He wants all men everywhere to repent, as the Paul said in Acts 17:30-31. But, judgment will have to fall on those who refuse to repent.
Acts 17:30-31
"[30] And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: [31] Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead."
Romans 6:23 says: "[23] For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
➠ If you would like to know Abba God the Father and Jesus Christ (God the Son), and be saved from sin, click here to read more.
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For Native Americans:
If you are Native American, please accept my humble apologies for the sins of my ancestors and for the sins of this country. We have done wrong by your people and stolen your land. If you have any bitterness, it is understandable, but please forgive those who have wronged your people.
I want you to know that Jesus never approved of what happened to your people. He is grieved to see the suffering you and your people have gone through. He is seeking to heal your heart, and save you, and give you eternal life. Will you receive Him as your personal Savior and Lord? He is called the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6), and He will give you true joy, hope, love, and peace if you turn to Him. He is not a creed or a religion. He is the loving God, who truly cares for you, and He wants to be your best Friend. That is why He created us in the first place.
May God bless you as you seek Him.
Sincerely,
Justin Brown* (*a pen name)
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WORKS CITED
- "A Brief History of the Trail of Tears." cherokee.org. Cherokee Nation.
- "The memories of Samuel Cloud who was nine years old at the time of the Cherokee removal; told by his great-great grandson." webring.org.
- Amargi. "Newt Gingrich, Andrew Jackson & the Metaphysics of (Neo)Indian-Hating." unsettlingamerica.wordpress.com. Unsettling America Decolonization in Theory & Practice.
- "At Least 3,000 Native Americans Died on the Trail of Tears." history.com.
- "24f. The Trail of Tears — The Indian Removals." ushistory.org.
- Beyer, Stephen. "University of Pennsylvania Law School Commencement Remarks." supremecourt.gov.
- "Treaty of Washington I." cherokee.org.
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