The Trail of Tears march killed Cherokee and enslaved people alike

Evidence

After being ousted from their homes that spring and summer, Cherokee people were placed in temporary shelters. Crowded close together in the stifling heat, many fell ill. In the fall, those who remained traveled in groups across Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas with insufficient supplies. Among these groups were African Americans and Cherokees of African descent, both enslaved and free. They all walked through the fall and into the harsh winter months, many dying from cold, disease, and accident. — Nikole Hannah-Jones et al., The 1619 Project, 500

Categorization

• XREF: The enslaved Africans walking the Trail of Tears alongside Cherokee people connects directly to the book’s reframing thesis — slavery was the load-bearing device even inside the Cherokee nation.