Voices from the Past

Voices from the Past. . In December 1835, a small faction of Cherokee, led by Major Ridge, John Ridge, Elias Boudinot, and others, acting on their own and without the consent of Principal Chief John Ross, signed the Treaty of New Echota, setting the conditions for the removal of the Cherokee to Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma. Considering the treaty to be fraudulent, Ross, backed by the majority of Cherokees, protested the treaty vigorously, but their voices went unheard., In May 1838, 7,000 federal troops and state militia, under the command of Major General Winfield Scott, began forcibly rounding up the Cherokee from their homes in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee and marching them to one of three main emigrating depots before beginning their journey west on what is now known as the Trail of Tears., You are currently standing in a former Cherokee community and the location of Fort Cass, the largest of the emigrating depots established for Cherokee removal. Here, the majority of Cherokees were forced to wait for months in internment camps spread out over the emigrating depot's 12 x 4-mile area before departing on their journey west., Along this trail are panels featuring the words and experiences of those individuals involved in the removal, from federal officials on one side to Cherokees and missionaries on the other. Consider what they thought and felt at this momentous time in our history., Captions , (Left) Silhouette of Principal Chief John Ross, 1841. Courtesy of National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. , (Right) Silhouette of General Winfield Scott, 1840. Courtesy of National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution.