January 31, 2008

Cherokees left homes "willingly"?!

Russell Bates on the Cherokees, Chickasaws, Creeks, Choctaws, and Seminoles:[T]he so-called 'Five Civilized Tribes' never were native to the Plains until they willingly were marched to Indian Territory by Americans who lusted after their plantation lands and towns and settlements.Comment:  In other news, the Kiowas (Russell Bates's ancestors) "willingly" gave up their independence and signed treaties in 1853 and 1867. Presumably they did so because they were a bunch of sissies who couldn't defeat a kid with a bean-shooter, much less the US Army.

Get the point?

Now that we've had a nice bedtime story, here are some facts on the issue:

Trail of Tears State ParkIn the following seven years of his term in office Jackson cleared the lands east of the Mississippi of nearly 50,000 native americans, coercing them to surrender twenty five million acres of lush forest and farm land for parched western reservations. Tribes that would not sign like the Creek and Seminole were forced out at gun point or dragged out in chains.Congress seeks to educate on Trail of Tears

Study calls for closer look at forced removal of American Indians in 1830sThe National Park Service oversees the Trail of Tears. According to a park service handout, "families were separated—the elderly and ill forced out at gunpoint—people given only moments to collect cherished possessions. White looters followed, ransacking homes as Cherokees were led away."Samuel's MemoryMy mother tells me to gather my things, but the men don't allow us time to get anything. They enter our home and begin knocking over pottery and looking into everything. My mother and I are taken by several men to where their horses are and are held there at gun point. The men who rode off return with my father, Elijah. They have taken his rifle and he is walking toward us.

I can feel his anger and frustration. There is nothing he can do. From my mother I feel fear. I am filled with fear, too. What is going on? I was just playing, but now my family and my friends' families are gathered together and told to walk at the point of a bayonet.
Several thousand other sources in Google say the Cherokees and others were removed "forcibly" or "at gunpoint." I await the evidence that they weren't forced, coerced, or harassed into leaving--i.e., that they left "willingly."

Below:  Indians "willingly" trudge through snow on the Trail of Tears.

8 comments:

The Local Crank said...

Wow, I didn't even catch the "willingly" part. The only ones who were "willing" were the traitors in the Treaty Party (led by Major Ridge) who signed the fraudulent removal treaty, despite the fact that they had no authority to do. Indeed, the treaty itself was a violation of the written Cherokee Constitution which outlined the boundaries of the nation and specified the death penalty for anyone who gave land to the United States (ironically, Major Ridge was the one who pushed for that provision and later he and his son John Ridge and Elias Boudinot were assassinated by the Nighthawk Society)

Rob said...

Yes, I didn't catch that right away either. Once I did, I thought it was worth noting.

Russ says he doesn't have a grudge against the five tribes, but it looks like one to me. I suspect his misapprehension of history stems from his animosity or vice versa.

writerfella said...

Writerfella here --
Sorry, Rob, but if you truly consulted the historical record, you would find that the Chickasaws were ceded lands in Indian Territory that later were taken away by the US of A for the settlement of the Wichita, Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache tribes, much to the objection and hatred of the Chickasaws. The Chickasaw lost and, even today, still are trying to re-claim such lands. The Chicakasaw never were a Plains tribe and that is why they lost...
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'

writerfella said...

Writerfella here --
POSTSCRIPTUM -- One only has to see the current statewide TV commercials here in Oklahoma by the Chicakasaw that pronounce their part of "The Trail Of Tears" as 'the removal' and 'the relocation,' to know how their 'revisionist' history is being accorded...
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'

Rob said...

You're "sorry" about what? What the hell are you talking about? Are you fibbing again, or just too addled to read plain English?

I never said the Chickasaw were a Plains tribe. Nor did I say anything about the Wichita and other tribes being given their land. In fact, I barely mentioned the Chickasaw, since the Cherokee are the most well-known victims of the Indian Removal.

About the only thing I did in this posting was quote your idiotic claim that the Cherokee, Chickasaw, and other tribes left the east "willingly." Stop making up straw-man arguments and start addressing the issue at hand. Or are you too much of an intellectual coward to acknowledge your own words?

If anyone can quote me saying what Russ imagines I said, feel free to do so. Otherwise, please join me in saying Russ is a big, fat liar.

Rob said...

Russ, I'm sure I told you I was going to delete your comments if you kept attacking me. Well, here you go. You're deleted for destructive criticism with no redeeming value.

You wrote "any and all can see that obfuscation is the last refuge of a true coward!" Yes. Which is an excellent explanation of why you refuse to provide evidence or answer questions. I'm glad you're finally gaining some self-awareness.

You wrote "the Chickasaw and Cherokee (as well as the three others of the FCT) came from the South, not the East." They came from the southeast, which is part of the east. Duh.

You wrote "Sorry about your case, Rob." There's nothing to be sorry for, since I've proved you to be an idiot who doesn't know the history of his own state. Not that you can demonstrate, anyway.

Let us know when you have something to say about your use of the word "willingly," Russ. Until then, I'll conclude you're about as ignorant as you seem.

writerfella said...

Writerfella here --
Fewer words than you used means that writerfella can say this: somewhere it is written that you are entitled to your opinion. But nowhere is it written that writerfella also is entitled to YOUR opinion!
All Best
RussBates
'writerfella'

Rob said...

Don't worry...in this blog, you get my opinion whether you're "entitled" to it or not. If you don't like it, leave.

That's right...keep your postings short and inoffensive so I don't have to delete them again. Here's a hint: You don't get to make claims about me unless you document them. I've documented the cases where you've lied about me, so I get to call you a liar.

Do you think you get a prize for your nonresponsive replies that obfuscate the truth? That ignore or deny your own words? Your only "prize" is that you lose the debate...again.

You posted your unsubstantiated opinion about the Indian Removal while I posted the facts. If you can't tell the difference, our readers can.