94 The Trail of Tears

During the settlement of America by Europeans, many American Indian groups were driven off lands they had inhabited for generations. One of the most shameful episodes of forced evacuation was of the Cherokee Indians, who were moved from the eastern United States all the way to Oklahoma. This long, bitter journey, during which over 4,000 people died, was known to the Cherokee as “The Trail Where They Cried,” or “The Trail of Tears.”

Though they had earlier warred with the encroaching European-Americans, by the 1830s the Cherokee in northern Georgia changed their approach and adopted many of the European-Americans’ ways. An elected tribal council and a constitution similar to that of the United States replaced the old clan system of government. People dressed as the European-Americans did and changed from hunters to growers, living on prosperous farms with cultivated fields and large herds of livestock. But acquiescence to European-American customs did not appease the nearby settlers, who looked jealously at the rich Cherokee land—especially after gold was discovered there.

In 1835 some 300 Cherokee, frustrated by European-Americans ignoring their laws, agreed to give up their land for $5 million and move to Oklahoma. Though the vast majority of Cherokee petitioned the U.S. government to overturn this agreement, their fate was sealed. Between 1838 and 1839, about 17,000 Cherokee were forcibly moved—some dying of measles or dysentery along the way, others stranded without provisions over a harsh winter. The lives and livelihoods of this proud, peaceable people were destroyed.

94 血泪之路

在欧洲人定居美洲期间，许多美洲印第安部落被赶出了他们世代居住的土地。最可耻的强制疏散事件之一，是切罗基印第安人被从美国东部一路迁移到俄克拉荷马州。这段漫长而痛苦的旅程中，有超过4000人死亡，切罗基人称其为“他们哭泣的道路”，即“血泪之路”。

尽管切罗基人早些时候曾与入侵的欧裔美国人交战，但到19世纪30年代，佐治亚州北部的切罗基人改变了策略，采纳了许多欧裔美国人的生活方式。选举产生的部落议会和类似美国宪法的章程，取代了古老的氏族管理制度。人们穿得和欧裔美国人一样，从猎人转变为种植者，生活在拥有耕地和大群牲畜的繁荣农场上。但对欧裔美国人习俗的顺从并没有安抚附近的定居者，他们嫉妒地盯着切罗基人肥沃的土地——尤其是在那里发现黄金之后。

1835年，约300名切罗基人因欧裔美国人无视他们的法律而感到沮丧，同意以500万美元的价格放弃自己的土地，迁往俄克拉荷马州。尽管绝大多数切罗基人向美国政府请愿推翻这项协议，但他们的命运已经注定。1838年至1839年间，约17000名切罗基人被强制迁移——有些人在路上死于麻疹或痢疾，另一些人则在严酷的冬天里因缺乏物资而滞留。这个自豪、爱好和平的民族的生活和生计被摧毁了。