The Cherokee Rose
Legend of the Cherokee Rose
When the trail of tears started in 1838, the mothers of the Cherokee were grieving and crying so much, they were unable to help their children survive the journey. The elders prayed for a sign that would lift the mother's spirits to give them strength. The next day a beautiful rose began to grow where each of the mother's tears fell. The rose is white for their tears; a gold center represents the gold taken from Cherokee lands, and seven leaves on each stem for the seven Cherokee Clans. The wild Cherokee Rose grows along the route of the Trail of Tears into eastern Oklahoma today. Above is a picture of the Cherokee Rose and below you will find links to other stories of their journey. Please check these other sites and see what happened along the way.
Another Trail of Tears site
Trail of Tears (nice site)
"We are now about to take our leave and kind farewell to our native land, the country the Great Spirit gave our fathers. We are on the eve of leaving that country that gave us birth...it is with great sorrow we are forced by the white man to quit the scenes of our childhood...we bid farewell to it and all we hold dear."
Charles Hicks, Tsalage (Cherokee) Vice Chief of the Trail of Tears, Nov.4, 1838.
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