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Possibly a war with the Colonists could have been averted had not a delegation of Northern Indians, headed by Cornstalk, the noted Shawnee chief. Encouraged by the British, Cornstalk was urging Indians everywhere to unite in a war against the Colonists.

1776, Revolution

Not all Indians walked the “Trail of Tears”, some went by river boat, some went into the hills to hide, and others fled into new frontiers and unknown lands.

A Declaration For Independence

The first ten amendments to the Constitution of the U.S., guaranteed certain rights to the people, as freedom of speech, assembly, and worship. This "Bill Of Rights" did not apply to the "First Americans", (Indians), for 150 years, until the 20th Century, when they were given U.S. Citizenship.

American Dreams

YOU KNOW THE DAY DESTROYS THE NIGHT NIGHT DIVIDES THE DAY TRIED TO RUN TRIED TO HIDE BREAK ON THROUGH TO THE OTHER SIDE - LYRIC’S FROM THE SONG ‘BREAK ON THROUGH’, BY THE DOORS

Break On Through To The Other Side

The Cherokee People were illeagly removed from their homes, imprisoned, passions confiscated, and forced on a winter journey of death to distant lands in the West. Thousands of souls perished on this “Trail of Tear”… and their souls call out for justice….IMPEACH JACKSON!

Call For Impeachment

There are many different versions . . .probably as many as there are old people . . . But the heart of the story is always the same. Around the open fire, Grandma told it best, the ancient tale of land and water, darkness and light. Long ago, before there were any people, the earth was a great island floating in a sea of water, suspended by four cords hanging down from the sky vault, which was made of solid rock. It was dark and animals could not see, so they got the sun and set it in a track to go across the island every day from east to west, just overhead. The Creator told the animals and plants to stay awake for seven nights. But only a few of the animals were able to, including owls and panthers, and they were rewarded with the power to go about in the dark. Among the plants, only the cedars, pines, spruces, and laurels stayed awake, so they were allowed to remain green year-round and to provide the best medicines. The Creator chided the other trees: “Because you have not endured to the end, you shall lose your hair every winter”. People appeared last, after the animals, the sun, and the plants, but they multiplied so quickly that they threatened to overrun the world. So it was decided that each woman would have only one child a year, and it has been that way ever since. Grandma described other wondrous things from long ago: the turkey buzzard’s flapping wings that scooped out all the hills and valleys, and the water spider who brought fire from a hollow sycamore tree on a distant island. She also spoke of great troubles yet to come. The world would grow old and worn out, she said. The people would die, the four cords would break, and the earth would sink into the ocean.

Cherokee Gun Control

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. - Declaration of Independence

Created Equal

On June 25, 1876, Morning Star, (General Armstrong Custer), and his 264 men met their fate at the junction of the Big Horn and Little Horn rivers as foretold in the stars and a vision to Sitting Bull.

Death Of Morning Star

On June 25, 1876, Morning Star, (General Armstrong Custer), and his 264 men met their fate at the junction of the Big Horn and Little Horn rivers as foretold in the stars and a vision to Sitting Bull.

Defiance

Dragging Canoe was a great Cherokee War Chief of the 1700's. He defide the U.S. for over 50 years. . . and he predicted the Trail of Tears. 'We had hoped that the white men would not be willing to travel beyond the mountains. Finely the whole country, which the Cherokees and their fathers have so long occupied; will be demanded, and the remnant of the Real People, once so great and formidable, will be compelled to seek refuge in some distant wilderness'.></h1> <h1 align=

Dragging Canoe

Eqypt had its locusts, Asiatic contries their cholera, England its Black Plaque. But it was left for unfortunate Indian Territory to be afflicted with the worse scourge of the 19th century, the Dawes Commission. - Enrolled Oklahoma Indian

Enrollment Day

Out of the total 18,000 Cherokees who's forced Exodus west after the Treaty of 1835, resulted in about 4,000 deaths on what is now known as the Trail of Tears.

Exodus

On June 25, 1876, General Armstrong Custer and his 264 men met their fate at the junction of the Big Horn and Little Horn rivers.

First Account

They follow the migrating buffalo, upon which they depend for their very existence.

Following The Herds

Left to Right: Tahchee, leader of the West¬ern Cherokee in Arkansas and Texas, early 1800's. White Eagle, chief of the Poncas in Indian Territory, late 1800's. Hendrick, chief of the Mohawk, early 1700's. Little Turtle, Miami tribe war chief, late 1700's. Osceola, leader of the Seminole tribe, early 1800's. Geronimo, leader & medicine man of the Chiricahua Apaches, 1800's. Joseph Brant, chief of the Mohawk, early 1700's. King Phillip, leader of the Wampanoag tribe, New England area late 1600's. Billy Bowlegs, Seminole chief in the Seminole War of 1835-1842. Dragging Canoe, Cherokee war chief of the 1700's.

Founding Fathers

My heart is filled with joy, when I see you here, as the brooks fill with water when the snows melt in the spring, and I feel glad, as the ponies are when the fresh grass starts in the beginning of the year. I heard of your coming, when I was many sleeps away, and I made but few camps before I met you. I knew that you had come to do good to me and to my people. I look for the benefits, which would last forever, and so my face shines with joy, as I look upon you. - Ten Bears

Gathering Of Nations

The Gray Ghost, a Gray Wolf of North America, once the most widely distributed land mammal in the Northern Hemisphere, today it numbers fewer than two thousand in the contiguous United States. With our care, this wild hunter will survive as a symbol of true North American wilderness.

Gray Ghost

There was a time when our forefathers owned this great island. The Great Spirit had made it for use of the indians.

Great Island

We did not think of the great open plains, the beautiful rolling hills and winding streams with tangled growth as Wild. Earth was bountiful and we were surrounded with the blessings of the Great Mystery.

Great Mystery

Since the arrival of Columbus and the Europeans, the lifestyles, the cultures, the very existence, of Indians have been under siege. Today Indians retain much of their traditional culture and many of their beliefs, but on and off the reservations, Indians live much as Americans do everywhere; they are represented in all profes¬sions and trades. Women are a force in government and education as well as in maintaining the cultural and spiritual life of the community and the home. Indian men and women have distinguished themselves in the arts and sciences, in the classroom and the courtroom. The men have long excelled on the athletic field and the battlefield. -

Iron Horses

1829 Gold was discovered on Cherokee land in Georgia. The following year the state of Georgia passed a law outlawing the Cherokees from mining the gold. This was the first of several laws that led to the Trail of Tears enforced by Andrew Jackson. 100 years after the first law passed against the Cherokees, the First National Bank of Atlanta issued a twenty dollar bill honoring Andrew Jackson, ( and his legacy, the Trail of Tears).

Jackson's Legacy

The Proclamation of 1763 forbade American colonists from settling west of the Appalachians, and ordered those already living there “forthwith to remove themselves.“

Keeper Of The King's Word

The Great God of nature has given each their lands. He has given you an advantage, your animals are domestic, while our are wild.

Land Of Our Fathers

From Wakan Tanka, the Great Spirit, there came a great unifying life force that flowed in and through all things - the flowers of the plains, blowing winds, rocks, tree, birds, animals - and was the same force that had been breathed into the first man. Thus all things were kindred, and ere brought together by the same great mystery. Chief Luther Standing Bear

Leaving Moose Lake

The Great God of nature has given each their lands. He has given you an advantage, your animals are domestic, while our are wild.

Leaving The Big Pine - On The Trail Of Tears

The dwelling or 'Lodge' of the Medicine Man: a place of healing, dreams and visions.

Medicine Lodge

Monarch Of The Plains was a totem or clan-symbol amimal. He was believed to be the instructor of the medicine person, teaching them where and how to find healing plants and herbs. Held in great awe and reverence, the white buffalo provided the tribes with material for many of the mythical stories.

Monarch Of The Plains

I was born in nature's wild domain. The trees were all that sheltered my infant limbs, the blue heavens all that covered me. I am one of Nature's children. I have always admired her. She shall be my glory; her features, her robes and the wreath about her brow, the seasons, her stately oaks and the evergreen - her hair, ringlets over the earth - all contribute to my enduring love of her.

Moonlight Harmony

The first successful neighborhood watch took place on June 25, 1876, when General Armstrong Custer and his 264 men met their fate at the junction of the Big Horn and Little Horn rivers.

Neighborhood Watch

The Phoenix rises from the ashes to start another long life; like the Cherokee Nation that arose from the ashes of the Trail of Tears, to rebuild a new and great nation in Indian Territory.

Out Of The Ashes

The First Americans were promised a “State Of Their Own”, by our founding fathers: another broken promise. In the 1890’s the federal government was pressured to make Indian Territory a state open to white settlement. The 5 Civilized Tribes united, hiring lawyers, representatives, and aggressively pursued the federal government for the State of Sequoyah, where the lands would remain together as our “Promised Indian State”.

Promised Lands

‘Round and Round we go, and still no brass ring’. The white man made us many promises, but he only kept one. He promised to take our land, and he did.

Red Man On A White Man's Merry-Go-Round

Grandfather, Great Spirit, once more behold me on earth and lean to hearmy feeble voice. You lived first, and you are older than all nee, older than all prayer. All things belong to you - the two legged, the four legged, the wings of the air and all green things that live. You have set the powers of the four quarters of the earth to cross each other. You have made me cross the good road, and the road of difficulties, and where they cross, the place is holy. Day in, day out, forevermore, you are the life of things.

Sacred Hills

This is what was spoken by my great grandfather at the house he made for us...And these are the words that were given him by the Master of Life: "at some time there shall come amoung you a stranger, speaking a language you do not understand. He will try to buy the land from you, but do not sell it; keep it for an inheritance to your children." Assenewub, Red Lake Ojibwe

Sacred Land

For the Indian, mountains, lakes,rivers,springs, valleys and woods were all finished beauty. Winds, rain, snow, sunshine, day, night and the change of seasons were endlessly fascinating. Birds, insects, buffalo and the other animals that filled the world with knowledge thatdefied the comprehension of man. The Indian is a lover of Nature. He loves the earth, and all things of the earth, and the attachments grows with age.

Serenity

From “First Fire” to “Space Walker”, Commander John Bennett Herrington, (enrolled member of the Chickasaw nation, born September 14, 1958), was the first Native American Indian Astronaut to go into outer space. During NASA flight STS-113 Aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor in November 2002, mission Specialist 2 Harrington docked the space shuttle to the International Space Station and became the first American Indian to walk in space during this historic NASA space mission.

432 - Space Walker

When we were created we were given our ground to live on and from this time these were our rights. This is all true. We were put here by the Creator. I was not brought from a foreign country and did not come here. I was put here by the Creator. – Chief Weninock, Yakima 1915

Spring Snow

Cherokees! The President of the United States has sent me, with a powerful army, to cause you, in obedience to the Treaty of 1835, to join that part of your people who are already established in prosperity, on the other side of the Mississippi. Unhappily, the two years which were allowed for the purpose, you have suffered to pass away without following, and without making any preparation to follow, and now, or by the time that this solemn address shall reach your distant settlements, the emigration must be commenced in haste, but, I hope, without disorder. I have no power, by granting a farther delay, to correct the error that you have committed. The full moon of May is already on the wane, and before another shall have passed away, every Cherokee man, woman and child, in those States, must be in motion to join their brethren in the far West. General Winfield Scott, Cherokee Agency, May 10, 1838

The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia

In the beginning the “Whites” were mostly just passing through, but they increasingly dropped off to stay…. It was clear that their claim to the land was threatened.

The Watchers

We have lived upon this land from days beyond history's records, far past any living memory, deep into the time of legend.

Through Indian Eyes

A member of one of the military societies of Indians has rode ahead of the others, dismounted and anchored himself to the ground and will never turn his face from the enemy and urge the others into battle. He will die on the spot unless his companions release him.

Twilight Warrior

When delegates of the newly independent American Colonies met in Philadelphia in 1787 to write a constitution, they took inspiration from many sources, including sthe Native Americans. Benjamin Franklin observed that the Cherokees and Iroquois had a fine working example of representative democracy, with an unwritten constitution that spelle out checks and balances, rules of procedure, limits of power and a stress on individual liberty. Much of the Constitution came to reflect the Native Americans ideas, but did not include them until the 20th Century, resulting in sthe loss oflives and the removal of many tribes from their homeland.

We The People, II

When delegates of the newly independent American Colonies met in Philadelphia in 1787 to write a constitution, they took inspiration from many sources, including the Native Americans. Benjamin Franklin observed that the Cherokees and Iroquois had a fine working example of representative democracy, with an unwritten constitution that spell out checks and balances, rules of procedure, limits of power and a stress on individual liberty. Much of the Constitution came to reflect the Native Americans ideas, but did not include them until the 20th Century, resulting in the loss of lives and the removal of many tribes from their homeland.

We The People, III

The Eagle Dancer imitates the eagle,a sacred and powerful spirit, with graceful soaring and sweeping arms and body movements, telling the story of the bird's flight, capture and death. The dancer portrays the wounded and dying eagle with downward quivering and fluttering actions, then lies motionless at the end of the dance.

Where Eagles Dare

Long before the dawn of history, the ancient ones came and went, leaving no trace of their hunts except the images chipped in stone.

Where The Ancient Ones Hunted

With the white settlers came a strong wind of change blowing across the land, forever changing the Native Americans way of life.

Winds Of Change

We know that the white man does not understand our ways. One portion of the land is the same to him as the next, for he is a stranger who comes in the night and takes from the land whatever he needs. The earth is not his brother, but his enemy-and when he has conquered it, he moves on. He leaves his fathers' graves, and his children's birthright is forgotten. - Chief Seattle

Winter Encampment

We know that the white man does not understand our ways. One portion of the land is the same to him as the next, for he is a stranger who comes in the night and takes from the land whatever he needs. The earth is not his brother, but his enemy-and when he has conquered it, he moves on. He leaves his fathers' graves, and his children's birthright is forgotten. - Chief Seattle

Winter Of Thunder And Tears, 1838-1839

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2011 - Designed by John G Matthews in cooperation with Ron Mitchell