« Tennessee River Paddlefish | Main | Bread is dangerous !!! »
April 1, 2007
Cherokee Nation
I saw some interesting quotes cast in concrete in Chattanooga today. This is the area of the country they drove the Cherokee from in the inafmous Trail of Tears of 1824. I don't know much about the story, but I have learned that the trail they followed passed along the old "goat track" near Cowan, TN. In any event, I thought these quotes might be worth sharing:
"You have bought a fair land, but you will find its settlement dark and bloody." - Dragging Canoe - 1775
"The white men have almost surrounded us, leaving us only a little spot of ground to stand upon, and it seems to be their intention to destroy us, as a nation." - Dragging Canoe - 1776
"To fix the precise point where Barbarity terminates and when Civilization begins is perhaps impossible. [...]" - R. J. Meigs - 1803
"You tell us to speak freely and make our choice. Our choice is to remain on our lands[..]" - Cherokee National Council - 1817
"We consider ourselves as a free and distinct nation... " - Cherokee Council - 1818
"...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 1819
"It is high time to do away with the farce of treating with Indian tribes as sovereign nations." - President Andrew Jackson - 1820
"Our title has emanated from a supreme source, which cannot be impaired by [...] conquest or treaty" - Cherokee Negotiations - 1823
"...the Cherokees are not foreigners, but original inhabitants of America..." - John Ross - 1824
Posted by Rob Kiser on April 1, 2007 at 11:00 PM
Comments