What Was the Trail of Tears?

Learn about one of the worst tragedies in American history: the Indian Removal Act of 1830.

From 1838 to 1839, thousands of people from the Cherokee Nation and other Indigenous tribes were forced off their homelands because the white settlers believed this land belonged to them. The journey, which became known as the Trail of Tears, took up to six months and saw the Cherokee traveling across rivers, valleys, and mountains for over eight hundred miles in bitter cold and blazing heat. They had little food or water, and many of them died along the way. By the time they made it to their destination in present-day Oklahoma, the Cherokee Nation had suffered huge losses, including cultural disruptions that led them to refer to this long and brutal march as "The Trail Where They Cried."

Author Sean Teuton masterfully explains why this community was forced to relocate and recounts stories from travelers whose lives and cultures were forever changed.Sean Teuton is a college professor who has published several books, including Red Land, Red Power: Grounding Knowledge in the American Indian Novel. Sean is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, and this is his first book in the Who HQ series.

A graduate of the High School of Art and Design, Stephen Marchesi earned his BFA degree in communications design from Pratt Institute. He is a freelance illustrator in the children’s book field. His paintings and drawings have appeared on over five hundred book covers, posters, and record and CD covers. He just recently completed his seventy-second picture book.