It was August of 1819 in Mississippi. Men were harvesting corn and beans. The smell of the Choctaw own acorn bread filled the air. All the children were prancing about, playing with friends, shooting squirrels with their little toy bows, and wrestling for the last bite of jerky. All but one child. That lonely little boy’s name was Koi. Koi never got to play with the other Choctaw boys, as he had to prepare to become chief. Koi looked at his father with his pleading icy blue eyes. “Pleeease Father?” The 9 year old boy begged. “Can I go play with the other boys and girls?” “For the last time, no!” Moshulatubbee bellowed, “You need training for when the time comes for you to be chief of the Choctaw!” “It’s not fair…” the raven haired boy muttered. “What was that?!” The …show more content…
boys father roared. Koi frantically replied with “Nothing!” And slumped off, pouting Moshulatubbee caught his obviously disinterested son strolling out of the chukka. “Boy! Get back here!” The muscular man hollered “Yessir!” Koi shouted as he mockingly marched over like he was a military man, as he had seen many of them in the past few weeks. Something was surely happening, but little Koi did not know what. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Koi heard a strange noise. It was loud, and booming. He heard it again! He could feel it in his bones. His dark, tan skin tensed. His stomach knotted up, not knowing was the sound was. It felt close. Koi looked around, but all he could see was a man in a funny suit with greenish blobs on it, and a strange metal stick with a wooden chunk attached to it. The man screamed in a foreign language Koi didn’t understand. “Get back, kid, or I’ll shoot! You wouldn’t want that, would ya?” The funny man then bonked Koi on the back of the head with the butt of his gun, sending the little boy flying to the ground, screaming. The tribe heard the cries and rushed to safety. All but his father, which suffered the same fate as his son. “You filthy savages stay away from me! I don’t want your funk all over my new clothes!” The man shrilly screeched. “Now sign here. I said, don’t touch me!” The man presented a piece of parchment with rows of strange scribbles. “I said, sign here!” The man stretched out his words in a last attempt to get Moshulatubbee to sign. The strange man belted out a frustrated sigh. “Fine! I’ll just sign it for you, then!” Moshulatubbee looked at the man with a baffled expression across his face. He cocked his head as if he were questioning the man. The soldier slapped the confused man’s cheek and continued to scold him in a foreign language. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* “I’ve had it with that man! It’s time to fight back! He shouldn’t be able to control us because he is a white skin! He isn’t any better than the rest of us!” The entire tribe charged at the white man. He screamed, and open fire. Seconds later, 9 of the tribes members were lying on the ground, motionless, blood spewing out of their heads like a volcano. The chief now knew the power of the strange men with the explosive sticks. The remaining choctaw knelt on the ground as if to surrender. “That's what I thought, you dirty savages. Now, sign this so I can get out of this damned place!” Moshutubbe still didnt understand what the man wanted. He tried to surrender, but he still got smacked with the exploding stick. The worried chief took the little stick that made lines, and with it, made lines onto the parchment where the terrifying man told him to. Moshulatubbee was afraid that he would be hit again, or even worse, shot if he did anything wrong. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* A few years later in late 1830, lots of the strange men arrived at the village with more exploding sticks. They made a path with their bodies, weapons drawn, ready to shoot if any one of them got out of line. Moshulatubbee reluctantly started to walk through the tunnel of scary men. A translator told the tribe that they needed to move. The property they are on is being sold, and they need to relocate, or will be killed. As soon as the Chief heard that, he immediately started to scream and lashed out and hit the white men. Without hesitation, they shot. Less than a second later, the tribe’s beloved leader was on the ground, coughing up blood, struggling to breathe, clutching the gunshot wound in his stomach. He motioned Koi to come closer. The teen did, tears streaming down his face. “Son… closer” Koi inched in “I won't bite! Closer!” Koi was almost touching his father's face with his own, and rested his hand on the dying man’s chest. “Yes father?” Koi barely got out before another heaving sob came upon him “Promise… promise me that you will remember your years of training. Promise me you will be the best leader this tribe has ever had. I know you are a strong man, and will lead our tribe to success….” The perishing man’s eyes shut for the last time. He had died. The whole tribe looked over at Koi, as if to as what to do next. The young new chief motioned them to follow as he walked through the tunnel of killers. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* The days have been long, the travels rough. The tribe had been walking straight for 5 days now, fearful if they stop for the night, another one of them would get killed. Koi had noticed a special young lady however. Her name seemed to be ‘ Issi’. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, with her hazelnut eyes and beautiful carmel skin. There was something about her that made Koi feel funny. Koi felt emotions of love and fear. Koi decided to try to make a move. The chief nervously walked over to the young lady, hands fiddling with a twig he had found earlier. Looking down, he quietly uttered “H-hello, Issi…” “Not interested! Leave me alone. I have enough work to do already. Don’t need your stupidity in the mix,” Koi’s heart shattered into a million pieces. He had found the love of his life, and had immediately been rejected. “I-I’m sorry for bothering you. I just wanted to sa-“ “Don’t wanna hear it. Take the hint and leave!” Koi felt another ping of sorrow. He needed to show her how he felt. He would do anything to make her the woman of his life. His mind started racing, trying to come up with a suitable plan to win the wonderful woman over. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 3 months have passed. The leaves are changing into brilliant shades of orange, red, and yellow, decorating the trees all around them as they continue their journey. Koi was still working on winning Issi’s heart. He was gradually getting closer. “Hey Koi… I have a… question to ask you…” Koi’s heart started racing. Does she want to kick me out of the tribe? Does she want to be friends maybe? Oh goodness, what did I do this time?! “Koi… I…” Issi’s cheeks started to burn. Koi was fearful that the beautiful woman was able to hear his heartbeat it was so loud. Issi took a long and deep sigh. “W-will you marry me, Koi? I love you. I’ve loved you since we met, I just didn’t want to show it and get my heart broken again. I deeply love you and hope you feel the same.” Koi was astonished. He started to madly blush. “Of course! I have the same feelings, but was too afraid to present them.” “We wont have time for an official ceremony, but I made this for you, My Love.” Issi presented a small heart carved out of an elk bone attached to a long leather strip. She then continued to lace the strip around Koi’s tender neck, and softly kissed his cheek, earning a smile. She then stood back to admire her work, and admire Koi, her “husband”. *~*~*~*~*~*~* Months had passed. The walking was getting more exhausting by the day. The only thing keeping poor Koi from going crazy was his sweet Issi. When he starts thinking about the negatives, he grabs the bone heart and his wife’s hand, and it makes all the bad things disappear, at least temporarily. Issi’s beautiful eyes then fill his mind. As he was daydreaming, an interesting though filled his mind. He wanted to start a family. He jogged to catch up to Issi. “Hey honey. I was thinking th-“ “Can we start a family? Sure. We need to grow our tribe, to make up those we had lost.” “You know me to well!” *~*~*~*~*~* The night had passed, and the couple had began their family. “In only 9 months, we will officially have a family, Darling! I love you so much, Koi. I’m so glad we found each other. You are the reason I can get through this horrible journey. Thank you.” *~*~*~*~*~* “Get going, you filthy things! We are almost to your new home, although you don’t deserve it. You should just live in the woods like the animals you are! If we’re quick about it, we will arrive by 6!” The foreign man shrieked in an unknown language, then slapped Koi in the back of the head. “So you’re the new chief, huh? Wow. Your culture is messed up. It’s so stupid, like your pitiful savage kind.” Koi was furious. He couldn’t keep in his anger any longer. He started to spew out insults in his language, face turning red, spit flying. The soldier slapped his cheek. That was koi’s last straw. He didn’t care anymore. He was sick of being abused. Koi lashed out, briefly remembering his father’s fate, but he didn’t care. He was sick of his tribe being abused by the white men. Kicking and screaming, he felt arms wrap around his midsection. He turned around to se who stopped his rage. It was Issi, looking up at him with eyes that seemed to say “please. I know you are better than this.” Koi began to come to reality, but the white men were still furious. One of them shot, hitting Koi in the shoulder, sending him to the ground, crippled by the intense pain from the gunshot wound. Everything started to blur, and then turned black. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 9 months later, he woke up, stunned. He was in a strange room. Not at all like the chukkas he was used to. Issi was leaning over him. “You were in a coma, Sweetheart. It’s something that happens with your brain, I guess. I dunno either. I’m just glad you are ok. In the meantime, this little miracle was born. Isn’t he adorable? He was born yesterday. I’ve waited for you to name our little angel. Well, what do you think? Koi felt tears rapidly forming in his eyes. He blinked, and a drop fell onto his chest. He reached out, signaling that he wanted to hold his child. Koi tickled the infant’s chest and got a precious giggle in return. “How about Minco, since he will be out chief one day?” “Minco is a beautiful name.” He looked back down at Minco and a wave of happiness washed over him. He loves this little fella, and will do anything to protect him, as he should, being a father. A soldier busted into the room, ruining the moment. “What the hell are you two doing!? You’re supposed to be out with the rest of them!” When the startled couple didn’t exit the room, the white skin immediately drew his gun, furious.
The two lovers then began to leave the room, cautiously. “What is that disgraceful thing your holding?! I’m gonna need to see that. Give it to me.” The soldier motioned with his hand Koi hesitated, but reluctantly handed over the infant. “I’m just gonna take this thing out back and shoot it. We don’t need another damn helpless Indian on our hands, under our care! It’ll only make racket and waste our supplies.” Koi understood that something bad was going to happen to his son. He immediately took action, reaching for the infant. The soldier drew his gun and pushed Koi away. Issi snagged the baby and began to run. Koi stayed tightly behind her. The three fled out of the building, and ran into the woods. The white skin opened fire. Koi felt an extremely sharp pain in his gut, sending him to the ground, screaming in pain. Issi stopped and ran back, infant still in her arms. “Go… save yourself. Run where they will never find you. You will see me once again someday, I promise. Just keep our chief and yourself away from trouble. Good luck. I love you, Baby.” “But….” “Go on! You dont have much time…” Koi’s voice trailed off, and he took his last painful breath of
air.
O’Connor himself wasn’t partially physically intimidating. This fact became abundantly clear once he stepped off his chair and approached me. While not necessarily short in stature, his seat gave him an extra few inches compared to his natural stance.
Tecumseh ,Shawnee war chief, was born at Old Piqua, on the Mad River in western Ohio. In 1774, his father, Puckeshinwa, was killed at the Battle of Point Pleasant, and in 1779 his mother, Methoataske, accompanied those Shawnees who migrated to Missouri, later died. Raised by an older sister, Tecumpease, Tecumseh would play war games with other fellow youths in his tribe. Tecumseh accompanied an older brother, Chiksika, on a series of raids against frontier settlements in Kentucky and Tennessee in the late 1780’s. Chiksika had a vision that he would not survive the battle at Buchanan’s station he went ahead as plan and attacked the stockade and was mortally wounded and was carried from the battle field and the dying warrior asked not to be buried but to be placed on a hill. Tecumseh and the other’s retreated back to a Cherokee village where most went back to Ohio while Tecumseh and some other warriors stayed behind. After that Tecumseh went on mostly hunting but occasionally attacking settler’s. After that moved back towards home and come to find out that the Shawnee’s had moved on to where it’s much safer. The battle of Fallen Timber’s broke confidence in British assistance as well as many casualties. Pissed off by the Indian defeat, he refused to sign the Treaty of Greenville (1795). In the 1800’s Tecumseh began to show signs of a prominent war chief. He led a group of yong Indian warriors to a village on the White River in east-central Indiana. There in 1805 Lalawethika ex...
C., Wallace, Anthony F. Long, bitter trail Andrew Jackson and the Indians. Ed. Eric Foner. New York: Hill and Wang, 1993. Print.
“Quantie’s weak body shuddered from a blast of cold wind. Still, the proud wife of the Cherokee chief John Ross wrapped a woolen blanket around her shoulders and grabbed the reins.” Leading the final group of Cherokee Indians from their home lands, Chief John Ross thought of an old story that was told by the chiefs before him, of a place where the earth and sky met in the west, this was the place where death awaits. He could not help but fear that this place of death was where his beloved people were being taken after years of persecution and injustice at the hands of white Americans, the proud Indian people were being forced to vacate their lands, leaving behind their homes, businesses and almost everything they owned while traveling to an unknown place and an uncertain future. The Cherokee Indians suffered terrible indignities, sickness and death while being removed to the Indian territories west of the Mississippi, even though they maintained their culture and traditions, rebuilt their numbers and improved their living conditions by developing their own government, economy and social structure, they were never able to return to their previous greatness or escape the injustices of the American people.
Wells, Samuel J. After removal the Choctaw in Mississippi. Jackson, Miss.: University Press of Mississippi, 1986. Print.
De Rosier, Arthur H. Jr. The Removal of the Choctaw Indians. The University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville; 1970
The Cherokee “creation story” as described by Sarah Steele asserts that it was the efforts of the “great buzzard from Halun’lati” which, tired from his flight to the Cherokee land to see if it was dried, flapped his wings and thereby made the mountains and hills and valleys. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Cherokee were a “numerous and strong people who controlled an immense area of land, spanning from the western parts of modern-day Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina well into Georgia, Kentucky, and Alabama.” Attached as Appendix A is a listing of important dates in the history of the Cherokee Nation. This listing demonstrates that beginning in 1629, the Cherokee came into increased contact
Ellis, Jerry. Walking the Trail: One Man's Journey along the Cherokee Trail of Tears. New
Perdue, Theda, and Michael Green. The Cherokee Nation and the Trail of Tears. New York: Penguin Books, 2007. Print.
Native Americans, namely the Cherokees, had been living on the lands of the eventual Americas without European contact for years until the 1700s. After contact was made and America had gained freedom, people like President Andrew Jackson, believed that the Cherokees should be removed from the land that was rightfully the United States’. President Jackson even hired Benjamin F. Curry of Tennessee to help with the removal of the Cherokees from east of the Mississippi River. Curry believed that his job was to try to drive the Cherokees to either want to leave without a second thought or sign a treaty agreeing to America’s terms. Curry’s actions led to the natives of the Cherokee nation’s objections of being removed so miserably. Many complained about how their significant others or children were either forcibly removed or held to get the natives to agree to leave. Some of the natives decided that they would try to fight their way out of being removed, but some, like Rebecca Neugin, a member of the Cherokee nation’s father were persuaded not to resist so that they or their families would not be harmed more than necessary. When some of the Americans, like Evan Jones, saw this, they tried to spread awareness of how the Cherokees were being treated,...
The Choctaw were told that the Americans in Washington cared little for the situation. They wanted the Choctaw moved on their own, or by military force. The Indians were believed to be ignorant savages, but they were industrious farmers, merchants, and businessmen of all types. Some were educated people, many were Christians. They even had an organized system of government and a codified body of law. Some of these people were not even Indians, some were strangers and orphans had been taken in over the years. These were people who did not deserve what they went through.
The silence was deafening… with each step, the lump in my throat was expanding, almost ridding me of all oxygen. My heart was pounding erratically and my hand, firmly gripping Scout’s costume was now soaked in perspiration. Amidst the overcast night, a dark shadow consumed Maycomb. The thick air was a blanket of humidity that offered not security, but the assurance of a storm. The pageant was but a distant memory by this point. We had only left a few minutes earlier but my thoughts were congested by an uneasy presence. The warm wind whispered through the rustling leaves. They seemed to dance about my feet, which wouldn’t have been so bad, had the night not been pitch black and unnerving. Instead, it felt as though I could tumble at any moment. I was immensely regretting my decision to reject a ride home when Scout burst,
Located in the popular Yosemite National Park, Yosemite Falls is the tallest waterfall in California. Every year, mother nature’s breathtaking beauty attracts millions of people from around the world. People hike for three long and fatiguing hours in anticipation of witnessing forceful water rushing down the steep mountain from 2,425 feet above. Last summer, my family and I backpacked through the Yosemite Falls Trail and I came to learn what a truly exhausting experience it is.
The Choctaw Indians are native to the southeast and through the Trail of Tears; they were relocated to parts of Oklahoma. In the 19th century the Choctaws were one known as one of the “Five Civilized Tribes.” The Choctaws agreed to man different treaties, but they were the first Native Americans who were forced with the Indian Removal Act. The Choctaw were pushed out because the European Americans wanted to expand their settlement. In 1831, the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, some of the Choctaws were part of the first major non-European ethnic groups to become US citizens.
Throughout most of the Cherokee peoples’ history, the practice and acceptance of a form of institutional slavery has often been ignored by historians. Worse still, the few discourses that have tried to extrapolate upon this issue have had to contend with the prevailing notion that it only existed primarily as a byproduct of European colonialism. Surprisingly, historians who have taken up the cause have confronted an incredible array of roadblocks and dead ends. None predicted that something as volatile and far reaching as slavery within the various Cherokee ethnic groups would be so difficult to search for. What little that has been gathered is inexplicably tied to sources of which have racial and prejudicial biases. Despite this, historians