Letter From A Desperate Cherokee

Part 2

It's heartbreaking what is happening to our people. We're being forced from our homes, our communities, and our livelihoods to distant, faraway places, never again to see the lands, the woods, and the hills where we grew up, where our spirits reside. Our whole lives were spent here. Here we played as children. Among these woods we picked flowers, and gathered berries. As we grew older, it was here that our elders began to impart in us their wisdom and experience, shaping our personalities and guiding us towards adulthood. From bringing home our first kills, to our marriages, our childhood memories, our family gatherings and sacred ceremonies...all those things are tied to our lands. This is our home.

We have appealed to the state of Georgia, only to be sneered at, made mockery of, and looked down upon. We appealed then to the President, such a great and noble figure, hoping, praying, for such an honest and upright ruler to find it in his heart to lend an ear to our plea for mercy. Yet he, too, has turned his back upon us. Our lands are taken, our possessions are confiscated, our towns are destroyed, and our people are slaughtered.