Echoes of Resistance (Part 3)

Read Part 2

In December of 1835, a minority of Cherokees met to sign the Treaty of New Echota. This was an agreement made behind the backs of the Cherokee majority by other Cherokees to cede Cherokee land to the United States government. Three of my Rogers ancestors, all brothers, directly took part. Two had been circuit-riding lay ministers (Robert and William), and one an attorney for the Cherokee people (Johnson K.). I’ve studied this situation off and on for years and though I can’t say I would have done the same thing, I realize the dilemma they were in. Echoes of Resistance come in many forms.

The Treaty Party, as their faction became known, had a perspective based on close relationships with government officials, and they were privy to the attitudes of Washington City’s officials that most of their fellow Cherokees were not. Though initially in favor of keeping their land at all costs, my distant uncles were faced with a difficult decision. As the federal government exacted maximum pressure (sound familiar?) on Principal Chief John Ross and the Treaty Party’s opposition, the Ross Party, some members of the Treaty Party could see the writing on the wall. They were to face extermination (genocide) by the government troops, or maintain some semblance of tribal sovereignty by immigrating west beyond the Mississippi River to the new “Indian Territory.”

The Rogers brothers’ sister, Mary, and her husband and family were living in Tennessee at the time and had to move west on what became known as the Trail of Tears. One of her brothers, Love, not involved in the treaty signing, journeyed west as well. Ironically, the well-to-do senior Rogers brothers chose to stay behind and become United States citizens, avoiding Cherokee removal. As you might imagine, I’ve often wondered what Mary thought about this. Her oldest brothers were still residents of Georgia, and there may have been more liberty in making the U.S. Citizenship decision than residents of Tennessee. So many unanswered questions. When Mary, like her younger sister, Annie, comes to me in time of need, she is silent on that subject. I respect that.

My mission today is to contribute what I can to Cherokee life and love my fellow Cherokees and Cherokee descendants as much as possible. Though most Cherokees today would likely scorn the Rogers brothers, I can’t say for sure that their party’s decision was the wrong one if making the opposite decision meant eventual tribal slaughter in its totality. I do sense echoes of resistance, however, from all of these ancestors and the people that some of them betrayed.

The McNair sisters in this series, Molly and Emmy, are on a journey of their own. As for me, I am now in the sunset of my life. If I could join their reality, I would take them both by the hands, walk between them, and let them know that what counts is today. How can they be their absolute best today? For tomorrow’s Cherokee Sunset has the potential to be a stunning orange that reflects forgiveness for things such as community betrayal and enslavement, and spawns hope for ancestral healing.

Read Part 4