Metropolitan Library System

In the early nineteenth century, the United States was growing quickly, and many people wanted to set up homes and farms in new areas. For centuries, American Indian nations-including the Cherokee-had been living on the land that white settlers wanted. The US government often stepped in to resolve conflicts between the groups with treaties. Many of these treaties called upon American Indians to give up some of their territory. The conflicts continued...

The Trail of Tears marked the low point in Cherokee history. The survivors of that deadly event set a new course, rebuilding their lives in an unfamiliar land. Their descendants have prospered in modern America but always remember their culture and past.