1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:03,880 Speaker 1: Hey, there, this episode contains material that may be uncomfortable 2 00:00:03,920 --> 00:00:12,360 Speaker 1: to hear. Please take care while listening. Some of them 3 00:00:12,440 --> 00:00:15,720 Speaker 1: lived nomadic lives and followed the seasons and the animals. 4 00:00:16,079 --> 00:00:18,880 Speaker 1: Others preferred to stay in one place and work the land, 5 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:24,040 Speaker 1: growing crops like sunflowers, corn, pumpkin, and more. Nomadic or 6 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:28,320 Speaker 1: agricultural indigenous people relied on their hunting skills to provide food. 7 00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:32,000 Speaker 1: No part of the animal went unused. As we've always heard, 8 00:00:32,320 --> 00:00:35,840 Speaker 1: the meat fed them, and the pelts clothed and sheltered them. 9 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:39,360 Speaker 1: Even the bones could be used both for weapons and tools. 10 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:45,120 Speaker 1: Although cultures sometimes varied, they shared similar rituals. Some followed 11 00:00:45,200 --> 00:00:48,159 Speaker 1: leaders instead of rulers, and above all, a sense of 12 00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:52,840 Speaker 1: community was stronger than individualism. The people marked the seasons 13 00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:57,080 Speaker 1: and celebrated their triumphs and losses together. In their mind, 14 00:00:57,160 --> 00:01:00,840 Speaker 1: the land and the animals that roamed it sacred and 15 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:05,199 Speaker 1: life giving. Across North America, some eighteen million indigenous people 16 00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:09,800 Speaker 1: lived in harmony with nature, earth and sky, water and animals. 17 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:12,600 Speaker 1: The Native Americans believed that they were at one with 18 00:01:12,720 --> 00:01:16,839 Speaker 1: all of it. Others, though, felt that they were above it. 19 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:21,000 Speaker 1: To them, nature was something to conquer. In fourteen ninety two, 20 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:24,319 Speaker 1: Christopher Columbus arrived in the Caribbean. A little over a 21 00:01:24,360 --> 00:01:27,720 Speaker 1: century later, Europeans landed on the shores of North America 22 00:01:27,760 --> 00:01:32,039 Speaker 1: in droves, bringing their own cultures, and they also brought disease. 23 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:35,679 Speaker 1: You have to remember the native populations had no prior 24 00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:41,959 Speaker 1: exposure to things like smallpox, chicken pox, typhoid, leptospirosis, influenza, 25 00:01:42,040 --> 00:01:46,399 Speaker 1: or bubonic plague. Those were European illnesses, not global things, 26 00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:50,080 Speaker 1: and the results were devastating. Smallpox had one of the 27 00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:53,800 Speaker 1: highest mortality rates of them all, and it spread like wildfire. 28 00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:58,200 Speaker 1: Half of the entire Cherokee population died from smallpox during 29 00:01:58,240 --> 00:02:02,000 Speaker 1: an outbreak in seventeen thirty eight. Twenty years later, half 30 00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:06,280 Speaker 1: the Cataba tribes succumbed. European settlers traveled across the country, 31 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:10,040 Speaker 1: and everywhere they went they carried the disease. Some historians 32 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:14,400 Speaker 1: estimate that smallpox killed roughly ninety percent of indigenous tribes 33 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:18,440 Speaker 1: across the continent. Folks back then didn't have a clear 34 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:21,799 Speaker 1: view on how disease worked, though, and so settlers took 35 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:24,760 Speaker 1: the death toll as a sign from the heavens. In 36 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:28,080 Speaker 1: their minds, God himself had chosen them to tame and 37 00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:32,040 Speaker 1: inherit the land, and he was clearing the way. Plymouth, 38 00:02:32,040 --> 00:02:36,120 Speaker 1: Massachusetts settler William Bradford wrote in horrific detail of the 39 00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:39,760 Speaker 1: slow and miserable deaths that God had bestowed on the 40 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:43,639 Speaker 1: Native Americans. Disease rendered them unable to care for themselves 41 00:02:43,760 --> 00:02:48,919 Speaker 1: or their families. Entire communities starved or became dehydrated. God, 42 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:52,680 Speaker 1: he wrote, was good. He had provided for the English 43 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:56,760 Speaker 1: by killing others. Please tell me that you can see 44 00:02:56,760 --> 00:03:00,720 Speaker 1: the hypocrisy in that. And while these diseases also killed 45 00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:04,480 Speaker 1: plenty of settlers, they mostly had immunity from prior exposure 46 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:08,120 Speaker 1: and didn't take long before Europeans quickly learned that spreading 47 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:11,959 Speaker 1: the disease was an effective weapon against the Native Americans, 48 00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:15,000 Speaker 1: and if they killed off the indigenous people, they could 49 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:19,520 Speaker 1: take over their land. Correspondence between British Commander and Chief 50 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:24,440 Speaker 1: Sir Jeffrey Amherst and Colonel Henry Bouquet discussed spreading diseases 51 00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:28,000 Speaker 1: as a warfare tactic. So when an outbreak of smallpox 52 00:03:28,080 --> 00:03:32,080 Speaker 1: hit Fort Pitt in seventeen sixty three, the British gifted 53 00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:36,240 Speaker 1: local tribal leaders with blankets from the fort's smallpox ward 54 00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:41,040 Speaker 1: in the hopes of infecting them. It all sounds incomprehensible, 55 00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:44,520 Speaker 1: and it was. But unfortunately for the indigenous people, the 56 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:48,160 Speaker 1: newcomers had a few more plans. Settlers wanted the land 57 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:51,120 Speaker 1: and all that it offered for their own. Only one 58 00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:54,520 Speaker 1: thing stood in their way, the people already living there. 59 00:03:55,120 --> 00:03:58,440 Speaker 1: And if disease wouldn't kill off the Native Americans, they 60 00:03:58,480 --> 00:04:01,400 Speaker 1: would simply come up with even more sinister methods to 61 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:08,440 Speaker 1: do it. I'm Aaron Mankee, and welcome to the wild West. 62 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:17,320 Speaker 1: When colonists wanted more land for farming, they took it, 63 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:20,320 Speaker 1: often by force. And I need to make this clear. 64 00:04:20,360 --> 00:04:24,919 Speaker 1: This isn't biased propaganda. This is documented, historical fact. The 65 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:28,640 Speaker 1: story tells itself, and the story is tragic and dark. 66 00:04:29,520 --> 00:04:32,920 Speaker 1: Far too many looked upon the Indigenous people as inconsequential. 67 00:04:33,279 --> 00:04:36,440 Speaker 1: They saw their religions and beliefs as inferior to their own, 68 00:04:36,839 --> 00:04:40,040 Speaker 1: and when tribes fought back or resisted, that made them 69 00:04:40,279 --> 00:04:43,600 Speaker 1: the savages. It didn't matter to many of the settlers 70 00:04:43,600 --> 00:04:46,200 Speaker 1: if the Native Americans had fought at their sides. During 71 00:04:46,200 --> 00:04:49,440 Speaker 1: the French and Indian War in seventeen fifty four, they 72 00:04:49,480 --> 00:04:52,120 Speaker 1: still pushed those tribes off their own land and then 73 00:04:52,200 --> 00:04:55,799 Speaker 1: forced them farther and farther west. When the war ended 74 00:04:55,839 --> 00:04:58,880 Speaker 1: in seventeen sixty three, King George the Third made a 75 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:02,960 Speaker 1: surprising announcement. Native Americans had a right to keep their 76 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:06,599 Speaker 1: sacred land. No longer could English settlers travel across the 77 00:05:06,640 --> 00:05:10,960 Speaker 1: indigenous territory west of the Appalachian Mountains, and no longer 78 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:14,200 Speaker 1: could they steal the indigenous people's land and take it 79 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:17,599 Speaker 1: for their own. The king acknowledged the tribes who fought 80 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:21,480 Speaker 1: alongside England, and his proclamation sought to end the fraud 81 00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:25,480 Speaker 1: and abuse that the indigenous peoples had suffered. Native American 82 00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:28,839 Speaker 1: sovereignty was to be protected, he said so. The Crown 83 00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:33,200 Speaker 1: actually dedicated troops to protect the border between the colonists 84 00:05:33,279 --> 00:05:37,280 Speaker 1: and the Native Americans. Indigenous people gathered by the thousands 85 00:05:37,320 --> 00:05:40,799 Speaker 1: in Niagara to celebrate. They vowed to be at peace 86 00:05:40,839 --> 00:05:44,640 Speaker 1: with their British neighbors. But the king's declaration angered many 87 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:47,280 Speaker 1: of the colonists. They believed that they had fought for 88 00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:49,960 Speaker 1: that land and it was theirs for the taking. As 89 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:54,560 Speaker 1: a result, most settlers simply ignored the proclamation. Once the 90 00:05:54,560 --> 00:05:57,599 Speaker 1: revolutionary war was over, there was a new government to 91 00:05:57,600 --> 00:06:01,280 Speaker 1: write new laws designed to take Indigenous place, and yes, 92 00:06:01,320 --> 00:06:03,880 Speaker 1: while they did acknowledge that the land belonged to the 93 00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:08,760 Speaker 1: Native people, they claimed that such uncivilized and savage peoples 94 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:12,279 Speaker 1: were incapable of managing it well. They didn't stop and 95 00:06:12,320 --> 00:06:15,600 Speaker 1: remember that the tribes had managed perfectly well for thousands 96 00:06:15,680 --> 00:06:18,680 Speaker 1: of years before the first Europeans ever set foot in 97 00:06:18,760 --> 00:06:22,719 Speaker 1: North America. So the new United States government granted themselves 98 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:26,960 Speaker 1: the right to supervise Native American land in seventeen eighty six. 99 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:30,800 Speaker 1: They offered reservations granting the Indigenous people who chose to 100 00:06:30,839 --> 00:06:33,279 Speaker 1: move there and live on them the ability to govern 101 00:06:33,320 --> 00:06:37,280 Speaker 1: the land as an independent nation decline, and while there 102 00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:40,599 Speaker 1: would be conflict, greed for more and more land pretty 103 00:06:40,640 --> 00:06:44,520 Speaker 1: much guaranteed that even the newest treaties wouldn't last. Americans 104 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:48,240 Speaker 1: kept pushing westward, forcing more Native Americans off their land 105 00:06:48,320 --> 00:06:52,800 Speaker 1: as they expanded, and although President James Monroe expressed concern 106 00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:56,640 Speaker 1: for the plights of Indigenous people, his administration continued to 107 00:06:56,680 --> 00:07:00,080 Speaker 1: remove those living in states north of Ohio, often with 108 00:07:00,160 --> 00:07:05,520 Speaker 1: bloody and devastating results. Some pushed back Chief dacumsa of 109 00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:08,440 Speaker 1: the Shawnee tribe tried to control the number of settlers 110 00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:12,760 Speaker 1: taking over his people's ancestral territory, but military officer William 111 00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:16,040 Speaker 1: Henry Harrison forced them north. When the War of eighteen 112 00:07:16,120 --> 00:07:19,560 Speaker 1: twelve broke out, Tacumsa and the Shawnee naturally sided with 113 00:07:19,640 --> 00:07:23,600 Speaker 1: the British, and they weren't alone, but the American military 114 00:07:23,720 --> 00:07:26,920 Speaker 1: played dirty. They would specifically seek out tribes that were 115 00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:29,200 Speaker 1: at war with each other and then become allies with 116 00:07:29,320 --> 00:07:31,720 Speaker 1: one of the sides to help them decimate the other. 117 00:07:32,240 --> 00:07:35,280 Speaker 1: It wasn't about finding allies, though, it was about lowering 118 00:07:35,320 --> 00:07:40,200 Speaker 1: the overall Native American population to prevent them from resisting colonization, 119 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:43,720 Speaker 1: and all along the United States continued to make treaties 120 00:07:43,720 --> 00:07:47,040 Speaker 1: with Native Americans in an effort to appear peaceful, but 121 00:07:47,200 --> 00:07:50,560 Speaker 1: conflicts and the ever present threat of violence between Indigenous 122 00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:55,160 Speaker 1: people and settlers remained a regular occurrence. Given their dwindling 123 00:07:55,240 --> 00:07:59,480 Speaker 1: populations any increasing number of settlers with ample weapons, some 124 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:02,200 Speaker 1: tribes felt that they had no choice but to accept. 125 00:08:02,600 --> 00:08:05,680 Speaker 1: If they rejected these offers, they would be attacked. At 126 00:08:05,800 --> 00:08:08,160 Speaker 1: least in acceptance, there was a chance they might find 127 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:12,880 Speaker 1: some safety for their people. Unfortunately, those promises weren't worth much. 128 00:08:13,240 --> 00:08:16,720 Speaker 1: The US Senate refused to ratify treaties, leaving most tribes 129 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:20,280 Speaker 1: without a voice or recourse to prevent their removal or eradication. 130 00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:23,920 Speaker 1: Seeing no viable way to avoid deadly attacks on their people, 131 00:08:24,360 --> 00:08:29,200 Speaker 1: many tribes reluctantly gave in. The Cherokee, however, did not. 132 00:08:37,040 --> 00:08:40,440 Speaker 1: The Cherokee language has some similarities to tribes who once 133 00:08:40,520 --> 00:08:44,000 Speaker 1: lived in the Great Lakes region. They spoken the Iroquoian 134 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:46,880 Speaker 1: family of languages, indicating that they might have once lived 135 00:08:46,920 --> 00:08:51,480 Speaker 1: in northern areas. Harmony and balance with nature were essential 136 00:08:51,520 --> 00:08:54,640 Speaker 1: to the Cherokee. To them all, life possessed a great 137 00:08:54,679 --> 00:08:57,880 Speaker 1: and intelligent spirit. When they hunted, they asked for the 138 00:08:57,920 --> 00:09:01,400 Speaker 1: animal's forgiveness. When they harvested plants, they took only what 139 00:09:01,480 --> 00:09:05,480 Speaker 1: they needed, often leaving three of every four plants. They 140 00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:07,800 Speaker 1: settled in the hills that make up the modern American 141 00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:12,360 Speaker 1: states of North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, and South Carolina, and 142 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:15,400 Speaker 1: when a few Europeans began settling in that same area, 143 00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:19,079 Speaker 1: the Cherokee accepted their new neighbors, but the shift in 144 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:23,680 Speaker 1: power between colonists and the British changed that relationship. The 145 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:26,840 Speaker 1: Cherokee started to notice how the white settlers began treating 146 00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:31,280 Speaker 1: other tribes. The destruction and genocide they witnessed prompted them 147 00:09:31,320 --> 00:09:34,760 Speaker 1: to try a different approach to their survival. By adopting 148 00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:39,319 Speaker 1: more European practices and ingratiating themselves with their new neighbors, 149 00:09:39,640 --> 00:09:43,199 Speaker 1: The Cherokee hoped to find peace. Their life and their 150 00:09:43,280 --> 00:09:46,920 Speaker 1: land depended on striking a balance between their own heritage 151 00:09:47,120 --> 00:09:50,680 Speaker 1: and this new European culture. During the War of eighteen twelve, 152 00:09:50,679 --> 00:09:53,800 Speaker 1: they even offered their warriors to fight against the British, 153 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:58,560 Speaker 1: and their assistance proved highly beneficial to General Andrew Jackson's success. 154 00:09:59,360 --> 00:10:02,360 Speaker 1: Friendship and and bravery, though wouldn't be enough to save 155 00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:06,920 Speaker 1: the Cherokee people. Their new allies would soon betray them. 156 00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:12,080 Speaker 1: In eighteen twenty eight, General Andrew Jackson rose to the presidency. Unfortunately, 157 00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:16,680 Speaker 1: that same year, settlers discovered gold on Cherokee land in Delanaga, Georgia, 158 00:10:16,880 --> 00:10:19,720 Speaker 1: and it would be the Cherokee people's demise. They'd be 159 00:10:19,800 --> 00:10:23,000 Speaker 1: wrong if they expected President Jackson to be thankful for 160 00:10:23,040 --> 00:10:26,680 Speaker 1: their help. In his rise to the presidency, Jackson and 161 00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:31,360 Speaker 1: the administration ignored signed treaties American officials, held lotteries and 162 00:10:31,400 --> 00:10:35,120 Speaker 1: gave away ancestral land to white prospectors, all without the 163 00:10:35,200 --> 00:10:39,319 Speaker 1: Cherokee people's consent, and then the State of Georgia stripped 164 00:10:39,320 --> 00:10:43,400 Speaker 1: away the Cherokee people's rights. After June first of eighteen thirty, 165 00:10:43,640 --> 00:10:47,440 Speaker 1: the government forbade them to conduct tribal business. The Cherokee 166 00:10:47,440 --> 00:10:49,960 Speaker 1: could no longer mine on their own land, and the 167 00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:53,040 Speaker 1: state deemed any and all laws pertaining to the Cherokee 168 00:10:53,160 --> 00:10:56,480 Speaker 1: nation were null and void, even denying them the right 169 00:10:56,559 --> 00:11:00,840 Speaker 1: to testify in American court. John Ross wouldn't let his 170 00:11:00,920 --> 00:11:03,760 Speaker 1: people be silenced, nor would he allow the government to 171 00:11:03,800 --> 00:11:07,960 Speaker 1: take his people's homeland. Although not fully Cherokee, Ross had 172 00:11:08,000 --> 00:11:11,360 Speaker 1: affluents that most Cherokee did not. His father had provided 173 00:11:11,400 --> 00:11:15,040 Speaker 1: his children with excellent schooling, hiring a teacher before sending 174 00:11:15,080 --> 00:11:18,840 Speaker 1: them to other schools and academies. He never forgot his roots, though, 175 00:11:19,040 --> 00:11:23,240 Speaker 1: while he wore American clothing, Ross celebrated his native heritage 176 00:11:23,360 --> 00:11:26,560 Speaker 1: and grew up with traditional Cherokee customs thanks to his 177 00:11:26,640 --> 00:11:30,400 Speaker 1: mother and grandmother. His father had been a Scottish trader, 178 00:11:30,640 --> 00:11:34,040 Speaker 1: and Ross had followed in his footsteps. Owning a trading 179 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:38,040 Speaker 1: post helped Ross become more successful than most men, regardless 180 00:11:38,080 --> 00:11:41,720 Speaker 1: of his race. The experience made Ross a good businessman. 181 00:11:42,559 --> 00:11:45,320 Speaker 1: He and other Cherokee men who helped the Americans fight 182 00:11:45,360 --> 00:11:47,720 Speaker 1: against the British in the War of eighteen twelve had 183 00:11:47,720 --> 00:11:51,319 Speaker 1: done so without pay, not out of choice, but because 184 00:11:51,360 --> 00:11:55,800 Speaker 1: the military only paid white soldiers. The settlers may have 185 00:11:55,880 --> 00:11:59,760 Speaker 1: considered Ross a lesser American, but the Cherokee people welcomed 186 00:11:59,760 --> 00:12:04,440 Speaker 1: his mixed heritage. Ross's education, his business experience, and his 187 00:12:04,520 --> 00:12:07,600 Speaker 1: familiarity with the tribe earn him a spot as the 188 00:12:07,640 --> 00:12:12,360 Speaker 1: tribe's negotiator with the US government. President Jackson's address to 189 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:15,040 Speaker 1: the public in eighteen thirty came as a blow to 190 00:12:15,080 --> 00:12:17,760 Speaker 1: the Cherokee. He and his administration made it clear that 191 00:12:17,800 --> 00:12:21,400 Speaker 1: they intended to remove Indigenous people from their ancestral land. 192 00:12:21,840 --> 00:12:25,400 Speaker 1: Jackson insisted that removing Native Americans was an act of 193 00:12:25,480 --> 00:12:30,120 Speaker 1: generosity and kindness because it would prevent further conflicts with settlers. 194 00:12:30,760 --> 00:12:33,720 Speaker 1: The president stated that the government would be generous enough 195 00:12:33,760 --> 00:12:36,920 Speaker 1: to give the Cherokee people large amounts of territory, not 196 00:12:37,160 --> 00:12:40,360 Speaker 1: where they already lived, though, but elsewhere. He also added 197 00:12:40,360 --> 00:12:43,920 Speaker 1: that their removal would finally give the Indigenous people happiness 198 00:12:44,240 --> 00:12:47,000 Speaker 1: and suggested that perhaps they might also give up their 199 00:12:47,240 --> 00:12:52,040 Speaker 1: savage habits and become more Christian. Jefferson even claimed that 200 00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:55,760 Speaker 1: he envied the Cherokee that away from white civilization, they'd 201 00:12:55,800 --> 00:12:59,640 Speaker 1: be permitted to purchase land. Ultimately, it didn't matter that 202 00:12:59,640 --> 00:13:02,839 Speaker 1: the Chairoerocke already had large amounts of land and were 203 00:13:02,880 --> 00:13:06,240 Speaker 1: perfectly happy living there before it was stolen from them. 204 00:13:06,320 --> 00:13:10,600 Speaker 1: Of course, Ross had heard enough. He traveled to Washington, 205 00:13:10,840 --> 00:13:13,520 Speaker 1: hoping to stop the government from stealing the land his 206 00:13:13,640 --> 00:13:17,680 Speaker 1: people rightfully owned. What happened next, though, has left a 207 00:13:17,720 --> 00:13:28,280 Speaker 1: permanent stain on American history. John Ross thought about how 208 00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:32,080 Speaker 1: to handle the situation. What he hadn't considered was opposition 209 00:13:32,200 --> 00:13:35,839 Speaker 1: from a former ally, Major Ridge. Together they had shared 210 00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:38,640 Speaker 1: a lot of history, working together to build a stronger 211 00:13:38,679 --> 00:13:42,839 Speaker 1: bond between settlers and the Cherokee nation. But now Ridge 212 00:13:42,880 --> 00:13:46,080 Speaker 1: had begun urging the Cherokee to pack up and leave. 213 00:13:46,520 --> 00:13:49,400 Speaker 1: To him, getting something for the tribe was better than 214 00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:52,600 Speaker 1: getting nothing. But it wasn't the path forward that Ross 215 00:13:52,600 --> 00:13:56,880 Speaker 1: had envisioned for his people. Other politicians chimed in, of course, 216 00:13:57,120 --> 00:14:02,680 Speaker 1: all wanting the same thing, the removal of the chaerity Muskogee, Seminole, Choctaws, 217 00:14:02,920 --> 00:14:06,200 Speaker 1: and other tribes from the land that the white settlers wanted, 218 00:14:06,679 --> 00:14:09,640 Speaker 1: and in the spring of eighteen thirty, Congress announced that 219 00:14:09,679 --> 00:14:13,640 Speaker 1: this theft was necessary and that staying would be detrimental 220 00:14:13,920 --> 00:14:17,440 Speaker 1: to their well being. Officials claimed that removal was a 221 00:14:17,480 --> 00:14:20,240 Speaker 1: good thing instead of what it really was, a not 222 00:14:20,360 --> 00:14:24,240 Speaker 1: so thinly veiled threat. One New York representative even claimed 223 00:14:24,240 --> 00:14:26,920 Speaker 1: that he was in full support of the bill, offering 224 00:14:27,040 --> 00:14:30,160 Speaker 1: refuge to Native Americans leaving of their own free will. 225 00:14:30,600 --> 00:14:33,920 Speaker 1: The Cherokee and other tribes, of course, had no choice 226 00:14:34,480 --> 00:14:38,960 Speaker 1: or free will. Compatriot David Crockett voiced his opinion that 227 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:42,480 Speaker 1: the removal was unjust and wicked, but when he staunchly 228 00:14:42,520 --> 00:14:45,480 Speaker 1: opposed the bill, his colleagues warned him that supporting the 229 00:14:45,560 --> 00:14:50,280 Speaker 1: Native Americans would ruin him and his career. Ross also 230 00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:53,320 Speaker 1: arrived to speak his own mind. In his Washington speech 231 00:14:53,360 --> 00:14:56,760 Speaker 1: to officials, He stated that if all men were created equal, 232 00:14:57,080 --> 00:15:00,640 Speaker 1: then his people and other tribes should have an equal voice. 233 00:15:01,120 --> 00:15:04,600 Speaker 1: But Congress made their answer to Ross's question of equality 234 00:15:04,840 --> 00:15:08,280 Speaker 1: crystal clear when they passed the Indian Removal Act on 235 00:15:08,400 --> 00:15:13,680 Speaker 1: May twenty sixth of eighteen thirty in Georgia, white settlers celebrated. 236 00:15:14,040 --> 00:15:18,440 Speaker 1: The Cherokee and others, however, were left in tears. Although 237 00:15:18,480 --> 00:15:22,240 Speaker 1: the politicians had dismissed his arguments and please, John Ross 238 00:15:22,280 --> 00:15:26,400 Speaker 1: continued to advocate for his people. Instead, Congress went back 239 00:15:26,400 --> 00:15:29,600 Speaker 1: on their word from previous treaties, and they also refused 240 00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:32,360 Speaker 1: to pay the Cherokee Nation for the land they intended 241 00:15:32,400 --> 00:15:35,640 Speaker 1: to take. So Ross took the Cherokee people's plight to 242 00:15:35,760 --> 00:15:40,480 Speaker 1: the Supreme Court and at persistence, almost paid off. On 243 00:15:40,600 --> 00:15:43,280 Speaker 1: March third of eighteen thirty two, the Court's ruled that 244 00:15:43,360 --> 00:15:46,960 Speaker 1: according to the prior treaties, Georgia had no authority regarding 245 00:15:47,080 --> 00:15:50,320 Speaker 1: Cherokee land. As you might expect, the Georgians, who were 246 00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:54,720 Speaker 1: looking to take over the valuable territory were outraged. Ross's 247 00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:58,320 Speaker 1: former ally, Major Ridge, continued to work behind his back. 248 00:15:58,760 --> 00:16:02,560 Speaker 1: He began treating to gushiations with the Jackson administration without 249 00:16:02,600 --> 00:16:05,600 Speaker 1: approval from the Cherokee Nation. In fact, when it was 250 00:16:05,680 --> 00:16:08,680 Speaker 1: all said and done, not one tribal official had been 251 00:16:08,720 --> 00:16:12,640 Speaker 1: allowed to sign Ridge's treaty. Six years later, in eighteen 252 00:16:12,720 --> 00:16:17,360 Speaker 1: thirty eight, over fifteen thousand Cherokee petitioned the document by then, 253 00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:20,960 Speaker 1: many settlers had begun to sympathize with their Native American neighbors. 254 00:16:21,360 --> 00:16:25,280 Speaker 1: Ralph Waldo Emerson appealed to the administration, urging them to 255 00:16:25,360 --> 00:16:30,280 Speaker 1: prevent an outrage against the Cherokee people. Many empathetic settlers 256 00:16:30,440 --> 00:16:33,520 Speaker 1: recalled how one of the Cherokee, a man named Junalusca, 257 00:16:33,680 --> 00:16:37,080 Speaker 1: had saved Andrew Jackson's life during the War of eighteen twelve. 258 00:16:37,400 --> 00:16:40,400 Speaker 1: They reminded Jackson of how he had declared his friendship 259 00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:43,840 Speaker 1: toward that Cherokee for and I quote as long as 260 00:16:43,840 --> 00:16:48,280 Speaker 1: the sun shines and the grass grows. Instead, Jackson sent 261 00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:51,720 Speaker 1: General John E. Wool to recruit thousands of volunteers to 262 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:55,840 Speaker 1: forcibly remove the Cherokee, But during Wull's time with the tribe, 263 00:16:55,920 --> 00:16:59,560 Speaker 1: he realized the government had misled the American people regarding 264 00:16:59,560 --> 00:17:03,000 Speaker 1: the treaty. Wool began to fear the worst. He would 265 00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:04,960 Speaker 1: be forced to remove the people that he had come 266 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:08,639 Speaker 1: to care about from their own homes by gunpoints if necessary. 267 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:12,480 Speaker 1: When he expressed his concerns for the Cherokee people, Wool 268 00:17:12,880 --> 00:17:16,840 Speaker 1: was promptly relieved of his post. The annihilation of the 269 00:17:16,920 --> 00:17:21,320 Speaker 1: Cherokee people came in eighteen thirty eight. US troops stormed 270 00:17:21,359 --> 00:17:24,960 Speaker 1: into homes during the evening meal, shoving bayonets at anyone 271 00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:28,159 Speaker 1: who defied them. Troops took anything of value they could carry, 272 00:17:28,400 --> 00:17:32,760 Speaker 1: and those who resisted were beaten. Soldiers herded the Cherokee people, 273 00:17:33,040 --> 00:17:35,520 Speaker 1: children at play and adults at work in the fields, 274 00:17:35,720 --> 00:17:38,879 Speaker 1: and forced them like cattle into holding camps. If anyone 275 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:43,240 Speaker 1: tried to flee, the troops shot and killed them. Civilians 276 00:17:43,240 --> 00:17:46,560 Speaker 1: followed the example of the soldiers, too, ransacking homes and 277 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:49,439 Speaker 1: taking whatever the soldiers might have missed. They stole their 278 00:17:49,480 --> 00:17:53,120 Speaker 1: horses in livestock and then went into the fields with shovels, 279 00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:56,760 Speaker 1: digging up Native American graves to rob the dead of valuables, 280 00:17:57,359 --> 00:18:02,080 Speaker 1: and those holding camps were filthy. Dysentery spread among the prisoners. 281 00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:07,600 Speaker 1: Soldiers assaulted the women, starving, malnourished, and severely dehydrated. Those 282 00:18:07,600 --> 00:18:10,520 Speaker 1: who survived in tournament were forced to march westward in 283 00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:13,840 Speaker 1: June of eighteen thirty eight. Those who were transported by 284 00:18:13,840 --> 00:18:17,560 Speaker 1: trains fared no better either, as they were overcrowded, allowing 285 00:18:17,600 --> 00:18:22,159 Speaker 1: disease to spread quickly. The summer heat quickly became unbearable, 286 00:18:22,359 --> 00:18:24,920 Speaker 1: and the Cherokee people begged the troops to wait until 287 00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:28,720 Speaker 1: fall to continue the trek westward. The soldiers granted the request, 288 00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:32,040 Speaker 1: although they continued to keep them in squalid conditions and 289 00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:36,159 Speaker 1: interment camps. That fall, they walked through torrential rains and 290 00:18:36,280 --> 00:18:39,280 Speaker 1: mud for nearly four months. There would be no stopping 291 00:18:39,320 --> 00:18:42,000 Speaker 1: this time, and when winter came, the young and old 292 00:18:42,040 --> 00:18:45,040 Speaker 1: alike were forced to continue on foot, despite the bitter 293 00:18:45,119 --> 00:18:49,600 Speaker 1: cold and harsh blizzards. Every time they stopped there were burials. 294 00:18:50,160 --> 00:18:53,760 Speaker 1: Clean water and food were in short supply. One Cherokee 295 00:18:53,880 --> 00:18:56,560 Speaker 1: man lost a member of his family every day for 296 00:18:56,640 --> 00:19:00,880 Speaker 1: five days straight, first his mother, then his father, finally 297 00:19:00,920 --> 00:19:05,240 Speaker 1: his brothers and sisters. The Cherokee had once stood proud, 298 00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:08,520 Speaker 1: Now along the trail to Oklahoma, they walked in a 299 00:19:08,560 --> 00:19:12,560 Speaker 1: silence that was only broken by the whales of suffering women, children, 300 00:19:12,640 --> 00:19:16,080 Speaker 1: and men. The government cared so little about the welfare 301 00:19:16,119 --> 00:19:19,159 Speaker 1: of the indigenous people they were displacing that they didn't 302 00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:23,400 Speaker 1: even count how many had died. Sadly, mortality was highest 303 00:19:23,440 --> 00:19:26,919 Speaker 1: among the elderly and the children. According to one missionary 304 00:19:26,920 --> 00:19:30,000 Speaker 1: doctor who traveled with them, twenty percent of those who 305 00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:34,040 Speaker 1: set out that previous June never made it to Oklahoma. 306 00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:43,240 Speaker 1: Although they had been forcibly relocated over one thousand miles 307 00:19:43,240 --> 00:19:46,600 Speaker 1: from their home, those who survived were determined to rebuild. 308 00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:50,359 Speaker 1: In August of eighteen thirty nine, the Cherokee elected Ross 309 00:19:50,400 --> 00:19:53,800 Speaker 1: as their principal chief. He served his people faithfully for 310 00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:58,080 Speaker 1: another twenty seven years. Life moved forward as best it could. 311 00:19:58,440 --> 00:20:01,760 Speaker 1: The Cherokee people constructed new new schools, new homes, and 312 00:20:01,840 --> 00:20:05,160 Speaker 1: even built a courthouse. But despite their new life, they 313 00:20:05,200 --> 00:20:08,400 Speaker 1: never forgot the land of their ancestors. And as hard 314 00:20:08,400 --> 00:20:10,720 Speaker 1: as it is to hear, the Cherokee weren't the only 315 00:20:10,800 --> 00:20:13,639 Speaker 1: people group to suffer on the Trail of Tears. In 316 00:20:13,800 --> 00:20:17,040 Speaker 1: eighteen forty, the government forced tens of thousands of other 317 00:20:17,160 --> 00:20:20,600 Speaker 1: Native Americans off of their ancestral lands and move them 318 00:20:20,600 --> 00:20:23,560 Speaker 1: out to Oklahoma. This time, of course, they promised to 319 00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:26,919 Speaker 1: honor their treaty. This time, they said, all the tribes 320 00:20:26,960 --> 00:20:31,280 Speaker 1: living there would do so forever undisturbed. But just as before, 321 00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:34,600 Speaker 1: the indigenous people had no choice in the matter. They 322 00:20:34,640 --> 00:20:38,040 Speaker 1: could fight and suffer greatly, or give in and suffer 323 00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:43,160 Speaker 1: just slightly less. John Ross never stopped petitioning Washington, DC 324 00:20:43,359 --> 00:20:46,120 Speaker 1: to pay the Cherokee for the land the government had stolen. 325 00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:49,399 Speaker 1: Even when his health began to fail in eighteen sixty six, 326 00:20:49,640 --> 00:20:52,800 Speaker 1: he continued to advocate for his people. He passed away 327 00:20:52,840 --> 00:20:58,480 Speaker 1: on August first of that year, unsuccessful. Naturally, America continued 328 00:20:58,480 --> 00:21:01,959 Speaker 1: to push westward. Eighteen oh seven that land in Oklahoma, 329 00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:04,679 Speaker 1: the land that had been promised to the Native Americans 330 00:21:04,720 --> 00:21:08,480 Speaker 1: as theirs forever undisturbed, was reduced to make room for 331 00:21:08,520 --> 00:21:12,320 Speaker 1: more settlers. Some Cherokee did manage to stay behind on 332 00:21:12,400 --> 00:21:15,520 Speaker 1: their original land, though those living in small areas in 333 00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:19,359 Speaker 1: North Carolina, for example, There the mountains and hills weren't 334 00:21:19,440 --> 00:21:22,800 Speaker 1: useful to cotton farmers and were overlooked or written off 335 00:21:23,480 --> 00:21:26,600 Speaker 1: Further south. A few Seminole tribes also managed to evade 336 00:21:26,600 --> 00:21:30,080 Speaker 1: the removal efforts, and some smaller groups within the Chickasaw 337 00:21:30,119 --> 00:21:34,200 Speaker 1: and Choctaw nations stayed behind, but overall those that remained 338 00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:38,080 Speaker 1: were definitely in the minority. All told, its estimated that 339 00:21:38,119 --> 00:21:42,119 Speaker 1: approximately one hundred thousand Native Americans were forced from their 340 00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:46,080 Speaker 1: land and relocated to Oklahoma, opening up a land grab 341 00:21:46,200 --> 00:21:49,520 Speaker 1: for white settlers. In the winter of eighteen thirty one, 342 00:21:49,880 --> 00:21:52,959 Speaker 1: the US Army threatened the Choctaw tribes with force if 343 00:21:52,960 --> 00:21:56,480 Speaker 1: they weren't willing to surrender their homeland. When they resisted, 344 00:21:56,800 --> 00:22:00,679 Speaker 1: soldiers swept in and removed them at gunpoint and in chains. 345 00:22:00,920 --> 00:22:03,199 Speaker 1: The Choctaw people were made to walk the Trail of 346 00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:06,720 Speaker 1: Tears all the way to Oklahoma, and just like the 347 00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:10,840 Speaker 1: Cherokee and others, they too receive barbaric treatment. The US 348 00:22:10,920 --> 00:22:14,680 Speaker 1: government provided for their soldiers, of course, but not the Choctaw. 349 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:17,520 Speaker 1: They had to get food and water wherever they could 350 00:22:17,640 --> 00:22:21,520 Speaker 1: along the way, and five years later, in eighteen thirty six, 351 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:25,160 Speaker 1: three thousand, five hundred of the fifteen thousand Creek people 352 00:22:25,160 --> 00:22:27,920 Speaker 1: who were driven from their lands did not survive the 353 00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:31,880 Speaker 1: journey to Oklahoma. The government also removed several tribes along 354 00:22:31,920 --> 00:22:34,840 Speaker 1: the East Coast as a result. The historic Trail of 355 00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:39,359 Speaker 1: Tiers covers over five thousand miles and spans several routes 356 00:22:39,600 --> 00:22:42,560 Speaker 1: and nine states, and is now overseen by the National 357 00:22:42,600 --> 00:22:47,320 Speaker 1: Park Service. Today, there are three bands of Cherokee tribes nationwide, 358 00:22:47,400 --> 00:22:50,920 Speaker 1: the Eastern Band located in western North Carolina, the United 359 00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:55,600 Speaker 1: Kitawa Band in Oklahoma, and the Cherokee Nation and Telequah, Oklahoma. 360 00:22:56,040 --> 00:22:58,520 Speaker 1: For the most part, though the lives of Native Americans 361 00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:01,720 Speaker 1: and the trail of tears have largely been forgotten, which 362 00:23:01,760 --> 00:23:05,240 Speaker 1: is tragic because the situation is just as dire today, 363 00:23:05,680 --> 00:23:09,919 Speaker 1: from education and employment to other basic human needs. Native 364 00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:13,679 Speaker 1: peoples exist in what is called an asterisk nation, an 365 00:23:13,680 --> 00:23:23,280 Speaker 1: abandoned population of human lives deemed to be invisible. The 366 00:23:23,320 --> 00:23:25,320 Speaker 1: story of those who are forced to walk the trail 367 00:23:25,359 --> 00:23:28,119 Speaker 1: of tears is a difficult one to hear, and I 368 00:23:28,160 --> 00:23:30,480 Speaker 1: want to thank you for taking the time to revisit 369 00:23:30,520 --> 00:23:33,240 Speaker 1: it with me today. A lot of history has the 370 00:23:33,280 --> 00:23:36,800 Speaker 1: power to make us feel uncomfortable, but the solution is 371 00:23:36,840 --> 00:23:40,280 Speaker 1: never to cover it up or avoid it. Shadows might 372 00:23:40,320 --> 00:23:44,840 Speaker 1: be a guarantee given human nature's tendency toward evil, but shadows, 373 00:23:44,920 --> 00:23:47,600 Speaker 1: as we all know, don't do so well when dragged 374 00:23:47,640 --> 00:23:50,800 Speaker 1: out into the light. Sadly, there are plenty more shadows 375 00:23:50,800 --> 00:23:53,240 Speaker 1: where that one came from, and we've pulled together one 376 00:23:53,320 --> 00:23:56,800 Speaker 1: last story to demonstrate that stick around through this brief 377 00:23:56,800 --> 00:24:00,119 Speaker 1: sponsored break, and my teammate Ali Stead will tell tell 378 00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:01,280 Speaker 1: you all about it. 379 00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:11,080 Speaker 2: Hardship was far from over for Native Americans. It was 380 00:24:11,119 --> 00:24:15,280 Speaker 2: a perfect sunny day in late September eighteen seventy one. 381 00:24:15,920 --> 00:24:18,720 Speaker 2: In fact, William Cody and a group of affluent New 382 00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:21,560 Speaker 2: Yorkers standing on top of a grassy mound, rifles at 383 00:24:21,600 --> 00:24:25,240 Speaker 2: the ready, thought the day was perfect for a hunt. 384 00:24:26,240 --> 00:24:30,000 Speaker 2: Cody's reputation as an expert marksman and hunter preceded him. 385 00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:32,880 Speaker 2: Their vantage point on the top of the hill gave 386 00:24:32,920 --> 00:24:36,879 Speaker 2: them an advantage over the grazing bison, which they considered 387 00:24:37,320 --> 00:24:42,400 Speaker 2: no more threatening than furry, lumbering cows. In the distance, 388 00:24:42,840 --> 00:24:46,320 Speaker 2: six bison came into view. Cody knew the wind behind 389 00:24:46,359 --> 00:24:49,000 Speaker 2: them would alert the beasts, but the fact did little 390 00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:52,199 Speaker 2: to worry him. The men had the quickest horses around, 391 00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:55,480 Speaker 2: not to mention the best guns. All were supplied by 392 00:24:55,520 --> 00:24:58,720 Speaker 2: the US Army. While it might seem odd that the 393 00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:01,479 Speaker 2: US Army would front horn, horses and weapons for what 394 00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:04,800 Speaker 2: were essentially rich city slickers looking to shoot bison on 395 00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:09,080 Speaker 2: a trophy hunting expedition, it really wasn't, you see. It 396 00:25:09,200 --> 00:25:11,720 Speaker 2: wasn't about the bison at all. It was about the 397 00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:16,959 Speaker 2: Native Americans whose very lives depended on these animals. Troops 398 00:25:16,960 --> 00:25:21,440 Speaker 2: were told to kill the bison, every last one of them, 399 00:25:22,080 --> 00:25:27,399 Speaker 2: because dead bison were dead Native Americans. At one time, 400 00:25:27,640 --> 00:25:30,879 Speaker 2: tens of millions of the great beasts roamed the land. 401 00:25:31,320 --> 00:25:34,080 Speaker 2: Standing at nearly six feet at the shoulder and weighing 402 00:25:34,200 --> 00:25:38,720 Speaker 2: up to two thousand, four hundred pounds, Bison were made 403 00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:41,320 Speaker 2: for survival. They can run at speeds of up to 404 00:25:41,400 --> 00:25:44,480 Speaker 2: thirty five miles an hour. They protect their young, and 405 00:25:44,600 --> 00:25:48,120 Speaker 2: during winters, their broad shoulders and strong necks can easily 406 00:25:48,200 --> 00:25:51,840 Speaker 2: push snow aside to forage for food. And for the record, 407 00:25:51,920 --> 00:25:55,520 Speaker 2: it is bison, not buffalo. Buffalo never roamed to the 408 00:25:55,520 --> 00:25:59,000 Speaker 2: American West. Bison and buffalo are members of the same 409 00:25:59,080 --> 00:26:06,960 Speaker 2: family bow, but they are distinctly different animals. For the Cheyenne, Lakota, Cree, 410 00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:13,040 Speaker 2: and other Native American tribes, bison were everything. They provided food, 411 00:26:13,160 --> 00:26:16,440 Speaker 2: and their hides could be used for shelters. The animals 412 00:26:16,480 --> 00:26:19,560 Speaker 2: were never killed for sport, and Native Americans only hunted 413 00:26:19,560 --> 00:26:22,440 Speaker 2: what they needed. They used every part of the bison. 414 00:26:23,200 --> 00:26:27,240 Speaker 2: To the indigenous people, bison were life givers. When they thrived, 415 00:26:27,440 --> 00:26:31,840 Speaker 2: the indigenous people thrived, and to Generals William T. Sherman 416 00:26:32,080 --> 00:26:37,320 Speaker 2: and Philip Sheridan, that was the problem back East during 417 00:26:37,359 --> 00:26:41,359 Speaker 2: the Civil War, they'd implemented scorched earth. When it came 418 00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:44,240 Speaker 2: to the Native Americans, they intended to take it a 419 00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:48,040 Speaker 2: step further. Gold had brought settlers from the east in 420 00:26:48,200 --> 00:26:52,720 Speaker 2: large numbers. In fact, white settlers now outnumbered the indigenous 421 00:26:52,760 --> 00:26:57,560 Speaker 2: people nearly three to one, and indigenous tribes were obstacles 422 00:26:57,560 --> 00:27:01,359 Speaker 2: in conquering the west, finding gold, and settling on native 423 00:27:01,400 --> 00:27:05,040 Speaker 2: land to farm. During the winter of eighteen sixty eight 424 00:27:05,080 --> 00:27:11,760 Speaker 2: to eighteen sixty nine, Sheridan relentlessly destroyed the Cheyenne people's food, shelter, 425 00:27:12,119 --> 00:27:16,320 Speaker 2: and live stock. He showed no mercy, killing the warriors 426 00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:18,600 Speaker 2: and leaving the women and children to the whims of 427 00:27:18,640 --> 00:27:22,240 Speaker 2: his soldiers. During an attack in November of eighteen sixty eight, 428 00:27:22,440 --> 00:27:25,800 Speaker 2: nearly seven hundred men under the command of George Armstrong 429 00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:28,880 Speaker 2: Custer were ordered to kill the men and their horses, 430 00:27:29,200 --> 00:27:32,159 Speaker 2: torched the village, and bring back the women and children. 431 00:27:32,920 --> 00:27:36,640 Speaker 2: During the Washita massacre, troops used women and children as 432 00:27:36,760 --> 00:27:40,440 Speaker 2: human shields, and as terrible as that was, it wasn't 433 00:27:40,440 --> 00:27:43,960 Speaker 2: even the worst part. Custer's men killed many of the 434 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:47,800 Speaker 2: survivors without a hint of remorse or mercy. The chief 435 00:27:47,800 --> 00:27:50,720 Speaker 2: and his wife tried to flee, and soldiers shot them 436 00:27:50,760 --> 00:27:55,200 Speaker 2: in the back while Custer, Sherman, and Sheridan continued their 437 00:27:55,240 --> 00:28:00,560 Speaker 2: mission of genocide, Cody continued to slaughter the bison. Loads 438 00:28:00,560 --> 00:28:04,439 Speaker 2: of hunters packed into cars heading west for sport hunts. 439 00:28:05,240 --> 00:28:09,680 Speaker 2: Railroads advertised hunting by rail men aimed out the windows 440 00:28:09,720 --> 00:28:12,600 Speaker 2: and shot the bison as the trains passed by the herds. 441 00:28:13,359 --> 00:28:17,520 Speaker 2: Trains moved onwards, leaving dead or fatally injured bison to 442 00:28:17,680 --> 00:28:20,960 Speaker 2: rot on the prairies, and the men on board they 443 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:24,960 Speaker 2: congratulated each other on the annihilation, perhaps of both the 444 00:28:25,000 --> 00:28:30,399 Speaker 2: bison and the Native Americans. Hunter Orlando Brown boasted he'd 445 00:28:30,440 --> 00:28:35,720 Speaker 2: brought down six thousand of the bison himself. Thankfully, the 446 00:28:35,760 --> 00:28:39,240 Speaker 2: Texas legislature stepped in to protect the bison from extinction, 447 00:28:40,120 --> 00:28:44,480 Speaker 2: though Sheridan opposed protective legislation, stating his men had done 448 00:28:44,480 --> 00:28:47,880 Speaker 2: more to settle the vexed Indian question and had been 449 00:28:47,960 --> 00:28:54,360 Speaker 2: instrumental in destroying Native Americans' commissary. Hunters continued their attempts 450 00:28:54,400 --> 00:28:58,920 Speaker 2: to completely exterminate the American bison, photographing themselves on a 451 00:28:59,080 --> 00:29:03,920 Speaker 2: mountain of bison's skulls. Bison numbers dwindled to three hundred 452 00:29:04,040 --> 00:29:08,640 Speaker 2: or maybe a thousand at the most, and Native Americans 453 00:29:08,680 --> 00:29:13,120 Speaker 2: were forced into treaties that were unfavorable and onto reservations. 454 00:29:14,120 --> 00:29:17,360 Speaker 2: With the establishment of Yellowstone Park in eighteen seventy two, 455 00:29:17,800 --> 00:29:20,000 Speaker 2: the park set out to protect the land and the 456 00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:24,480 Speaker 2: animals living there. Today, through those protections, bison numbers have 457 00:29:24,560 --> 00:29:28,880 Speaker 2: reached nearly two hundred thousand, and in twenty sixteen, the 458 00:29:28,920 --> 00:29:32,160 Speaker 2: bison joined the bald Eagle as a national symbol. There's 459 00:29:32,160 --> 00:29:36,000 Speaker 2: still work to be done to prepare what was nearly destroyed. 460 00:29:37,560 --> 00:29:40,719 Speaker 1: Grim and Maud Presents the wild West was executive produced 461 00:29:40,760 --> 00:29:43,600 Speaker 1: by me Aaron Manky and hosted by Aaron Mankey and 462 00:29:43,720 --> 00:29:47,720 Speaker 1: Alexandra Steed. Writing for this season was provided by Michelle Mudo, 463 00:29:47,840 --> 00:29:51,680 Speaker 1: with research by Alexandra Steed, Sam Alberty, Cassandra de Alba, 464 00:29:51,840 --> 00:29:55,280 Speaker 1: and Harry Marx. Fact Checking was performed by Jamie Vargas, 465 00:29:55,320 --> 00:29:59,400 Speaker 1: with sensitivity reading by Stacy Parshal Jensen. Production assistance was 466 00:29:59,440 --> 00:30:03,960 Speaker 1: provided by Josh Thain, Jesse Funk, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. 467 00:30:04,280 --> 00:30:06,520 Speaker 1: To learn more about this and other shows from Grim 468 00:30:06,560 --> 00:30:12,040 Speaker 1: and Mild and iHeartRadio, visit Grimandmild dot com.