Book Review: Trails of Tears: Paths of Beauty

Trails of Tears: Paths of Beauty: The Story of the Navajos and the Cherokees by Joseph Bruchac, National Geographic, Washington, D.C., 2000.

This book incudes some very beautiful photography while telling the story of the Navajo and Cherokee peoples.  It includes the origin stories of both groups, and describes their conflicts and the results.  The Cherokee were betrayed by President Andrew Jackson, who was determined to head the desires of the citizins of Georgia and remove the native Americans to west of the Mississippi.  Many died after they were kept locked up all summer in the heat and then 

  The Navajo for their part have a respected but hated enemy in the person of Kit Carson.  Also General James H Carlton had the idea that he could force the Navajo to make an agricultural paradise at Bosque Redondo.  The military showed no mercy to the Navajo, burning their homes and destroying their food untilProblem the ground was not conducive to agriculture.  It took a couple years and many deaths before he was replaced, and the United States negotiated with the Navajo for their return to their traditional land. 

My problem with this book is it limits he story to two Ngtive American Tribes.  However in terms of the U.S. policy of putting Native Americans on reservations, it seems every tribe has their own sry to tell.  Many have their own trail of tars, such as the Ponca who were forced to Oklahoma from Nebraska, White River and Uncompahgre Ute who were forced from Colorado to Utah, The Hualapai from Arizona who were forced from their traditional area to Fort Mohave where many died due to heat before they were allowed to return, and other easter tribes forced to Oklahoma.