tears of injustice

Cherokee Chief Whitepath (standing)
Cherokee Chief  Fly Smith (with bowed head)
Trail of Tears Park, Hopkinsville, Kentucky

The Trail Goes On 

The trail goes on.

But they stand at the end of their journey shivering in the cold

Shaking with sickness that no leader should endure

The trail goes on.

But they stand upon this ground,

One with head bowed in silent acceptance, leaning on his stick

The other with hands outstretched

Asking the Great Spirit to help him know the reason

For the grieving and the suffering of his people,

The women and children cry in their camp by the river

Stung by the frost aching from the lack of food

They look to their chiefs for answers

And in their eyes see only expressionless despair.

The trail goes on.

But two chiefs lie here in the stillness

Unable now to help their people

Throw off the oppression of the white man and his manifest destiny

Their pain lives on in these figures

Silent now beneath the sun and the stars.

And the trail goes on.

    ~Thomas E. Morris, Jr., December 17, 1989

     Trail of Tears Commemorative Park, Hopkinsville, Kentucky

Cherokee Chief Whitepath 

1761-1838

On our travels we are following along the Trail of Tears, in the footsteps of Chief Whitepath. Whitepath was born in 1761 near Ellijay, Georgia, our home town, in the area of the county that is now known as 'Whitepath'. He lived in this log cabin built by his parents:

This cabin was moved from the Ellijay area to Gainesville, Georgia on the site of the Northeast Georgia History Center, another connection we have to this chief, as this museum was built by Buddy. 

Now we are near Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and followed the signs to the Trail of Tears park there where we found the final resting place of Chief Whitepath, who became ill and died like so many Cherokees along the Trail of Tears. 

National Park Service: Trail of Tears National Historic Trail:

A Journey of Injustice:  Remember and commemorate the survival of the Cherokee people, forcefully removed from their homelands in Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee to live in Indian Territory, now Oklahoma. They traveled by foot, horse, wagon, or steamboat in 1838-1839.

The park was deserted, the visitor's center closed up tight, the graves of the two chiefs are behind strong bars and looking neglected. It is a sad place, and not just because of the history, but it looks as those buried there are gone and forgotten.