Christine A. Elmore
Books
Basel, Roberta.
Sequoyah: Inventor of Written Cherokee
. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Compass Point Books, 2007. This well-written biography effectively employs the use of informational sidebars and original photos and is intended for use with upper elementary readers. I found it to be an invaluable resource in researching the life of this legendary creator of the Cherokee syllabary.
Beater, Alex W.
Only the Names Remain: The Cherokees and the Trail of Tears
. New York: Little, Brown and Company: 1972. This well-written informational text for children describes the events leading up to and including the Cherokee removal from 1837-1838.
Benoit, Peter.
The Trail of Tears.
New York: Scholastic Inc., 2013. This text, part of the Cornerstones of Freedom series, offers an in-depth look at this historical event and those involved in it.
Bordewich, Fergus M.
Killling The White Man’s Indian: Reinventing Native Americans at the End of the Twentieth Century
. New York: Doubleday, 1996. This book is based on 3 years of research on the Native American reservations and presents the realities of tribal life today at the same time that it confronts current myths and biases that many hold regarding Native Americans
Bruchac, Joseph.
On This Long Journey: The Journal of Jesse Smoke, A Cherokee Boy, The Trail of Tears, 1838.
New York: Scholastic Inc., 2001. A primary resource in Section 4 of this unit, this historical book is told from the perspective of a sixteen-year-old Cherokee boy named Jesse Smoke. His journal entries provide detailed eye-witness accounts of the forced removal westward of Jesse and his family to Indian Territory.
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The Trail of Tears.
New York: Scholastic Inc., 1999. This children’s book tells the story, through engaging text and illustrations, of the Cherokee’s forced removal and their chief, John Ross.
Burgan, Michael,
The Trail of Tears.
Minneapolis: Compass Point Books, 2001.
Simplified text and vivid photos and paintings recount the historical event in language primary-aged students can comprehend.
Coates, Julia.
The Trail of Tears.
Santa Barbara, California: GreenWood, 2014. This informative text, written by a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, describes the period of Indian removal and resistance from 1817-1839 and provides valuable insights into the Cherokee experience.
Cornelissen, Cornelia.
Soft Rain: The Story of the Cherokee Trail of Tears.
New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers, 1998. A primary resource in Section 4 of the unit, this historical fiction book, tells the story of a nine-year-old Cherokee girl and her family as they travel on the Trail of Tears westward and is told from her perspective.
DeAngelis, Therese.
The Cherokee: Native Basket Weavers.
Mankato, Minnesota: Blue Earth Books, 2003. This delightful book describes the Cherokee tradition of basket weaving and includes other projects that teachers can use to familiarize students with the Cherokee culture.
Elish, Dan.
The Trail of Tears: The Story of the Cherokee Removal.
New York: Benchmark Books, 2002. Of particular value in this highly engaging informational text are the numerous quotes taken from eye-witnesses from the time period.
Erdoes, Richard and Alsonso Ortiz (ed.).
American Indian Myths and Legends.
New York: Pantheon Books, 1984. A collection of 160 tales from 80 tribal groups, this book offers a rich anthology of Native American legends. The Cherokee creation myth included in this collection will be used in Section 1 of this unit.
Fischer Laura.
Life on the Trail of Tears.
Chicago, Illinois: Heinemann Library, 2003. This text written for children and part of the ‘Picture the Past’ series describes what life was like for the Cherokee during the Trail of Tears from 1838-39. This valuable text will be read aloud in its entirety during the teaching of this unit.
Graham Gaines, Ann.
Andrew Jackson: Our Seventh President
. Chanhassen, Minnesota The Child’s World, Inc., 2002. Written for children, this biography is part of the ‘Our Presidents’ series and employs engaging text, photos and paintings to tell the story of Andrew Jackson’s life. It also includes a detailed time line detailing important events in his life.
Gilbert, Joan.
The Trail of Tears Across Missouri.
Columbia, Missouri: University of Missouri Press, 1996. The author begins with an overview the Cherokee’s life in Georgia, discusses the factors leading up to their forced march and traces their Trail of Tears from state to state, offering grim details of their hardships. She also includes a more up to date account of how the Cherokee Nation lives today and how the Trail of Tears has been memorialized.
Hoig, Stan.
Night of the Cruel Moon.
Part of the ‘Library of American Indian History’ series, this book effectively weaves primary source documents into historical narratives to describe the thoughts, feeling and actions of the Cherokee and the U.S. government officials during the Trail of Tears.
Hoobler, Dorothy and Thomas.
The Trail on Which They Wept: The Story of a Cherokee Girl.
Morristown, New Jersey: Silver Burdett Press, Inc., 1992. Told from the perspective of a young Cherokee girl named Sarah Tsaluh Rogers, this historical fiction book tells the story of the difficult journey made by Sarah and her family along the Trail of Tears in 1837.
Inskeep, Steve.
Jacksonland: President Jackson, Cherokee Chief John Ross and a Great American Land Grab
. New York: Penguin Press, 2015. A riveting narrative history of Jackson and Ross, leaders of their respective nations, in a struggle for the land of the Five Civilized Tribes.
Josephson, Judith Pinkerton.
Why Did Cherokees Move West
? Minneapolis, Lerner Publications Company, 2001. Written in a question-and-answer type format, this book explores many questions about the round up and forced march of the Cherokee to Oklahoma.
Langguth, A.J.
Driven West: Andrew Jackson and the Trail of Tears to the Civil War
. New York: Simon & Shuster, 2011. This is a narrative history of the years between the end of the War of 1812 and the end of the Mexican War. The author examines the personalities and actions of such leaders as Andrew Jackson, Major John Ridge and John Ross.
Meacham, Jon.
American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House
. New York: Random House, 2008. Tapping into new research material, this well-known biographer writes a highly-engaging, comprehensive study of the life and times of Andrew Jackson.
McLoughlin, William G.
After the Trail of Tears: The Cherokees’ Struggle for Sovereignty, 1839-1880
. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: The University of North Carolina Press, 1993. This narrative history details the social, cultural and political history of the Cherokee Nation spanning the 40-year time period after their removal to land that is now Oklahoma.
Perdue, Theda and Michael D. Green.
The Cherokee Nation and The Trail of Tears.
New York: Penguin Group, 2007. Written by eminent historians, this text traces the history of the Cherokee from the time they lived in the southeast to their forced removal to the West.
Petersen, David.
Sequoyah: Father of the Cherokee Alphabet.
Chicago: Children’s Press, 1991. This simply written biography for children highlights Sequoyah’s creation of the Cherokee syllabary and its powerful impact on the Cherokee Nation.
Philip, Neil.
The Great Circle: A History of the First Nations
. New York: Clarion Books, 2006. This description of the shared experiences of the First Nations is written by a folklorist and includes classic photographs and a variety of documentary sources. It includes a chapter on the Cherokee Trail of Tears.
Roop, Peter and Connie.
If You Lived With The Cherokee.
New York: Scholastic, Inc., 1998. An informative text written for children, this book describes what life was like growing up in a Cherokee family in the Great Smoky Mountains and covers the time period from 1740-1838.
Rozema, Vicki (ed.).
Voices From The Trail of Tears.
Winston-Salem, North Carolina: John F. Blair, Publisher, 2003. In this book the author incorporates primary source materials like letters, military records and journal excerpts to create a comprehensive account of what actually happened during this period.
Rumford, James.
Sequoyah: The Cherokee Man Who Gave His People Writing
. Boston: Houghtlon Mifflin Company, 2004. This compelling biography written for children eloquently describes the life of Sequoyah. The English text, paragraph by paragraph, is accompanied by a translation into the Cherokee language.
Schwartz, Heather E.
Forced Removal: Causes and Effects of the Trail of Tears.
North Mankato, Minnesota: Capstone Press, 2015. Using engaging text and vivid pictures, this children’s book describes in detail both the causes and the effects of Indian Removal to the West.
Smith, Daniel Blake.
An American Betrayal: Cherokee Patriots and The Trail of Tears.
New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2011. Written by an eminent historian, this book highlights a number of key players in this historical period including Andrew Jackson, Chief John Ross, Elias Boudinot and John Ridge and describes the many factors that would never allow Cherokee independence to blossom in Jackson’s America.
Sonneborn, Liz.
The Cherokee
. This informational text written for children explores the history and culture of the Cherokee Indians, focusing on their traditions and beliefs. It also includes a chapter on Cherokee life today.
Sturgis, Amy H.
The Trail of Tears and Indian Removal.
Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2007. This powerfully-written book provides an intellectual history of the ideas and policies that brought about the Trail of Tears. Of particular relevance was the chapter on the Jacksonian revolution and popular opinion.
Wade, Mary Dodson.
Amazing Cherokee Writer: Sequoyah
. Berkeley Heights, New Jersey: Enslow Elementary, 2010. An easy to read biography suited to young readers, this biography focuses primarily on Sequoyah’s efforts to create a written form of the Cherokee language and the impact it made. It will be used in its entirety in this unit.
Wilkins, Thurman.
Cherokee Tragedy: The Story of the Ridge Family and of the Decimation of a People.
New York: The MacMillan Company, 1970. The author, an eminent historian, describes the events leading up to the Trail of Tears through the eyes of the Ridge Family.
Yasuda, Anita.
How the World Was Made: A Cherokee Creation Myth
. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Magic Wagon, 2013. Part of the ‘Short Tales Myths’ series, this book presents the Cherokee creation myth using a simple writing style and it employs vivid illustrations to accompany the text. This text is used in its entirety in Section 1 of this unit.
Yomtov, Nel.
Andrew Jackson: Heroic Leader or Cold-hearted Ruler?
New York: Capstone Press, 2013. In this text, the author explores Jackson’s life leading up to the Trail of Tears employing both text and vivid photos in his descriptions. He leaves it up to the reader to decide which type of leader Jackson really was.
Articles
Lindquist, Terry. “Why and How I Teach with Historical Fiction at www.scholastic.com/…/why-how-i-teach-historical fiction
McNeil, William H. “Why Study History (1985)” at www. historians.org/…/archives/why-study-history-(1985)
Websites
americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com
kidsconnect.com/history/trail-tears/
picturingamerica.neh.gov
watchknowlearn.org (offers free trail of tears educational videos)
www.firstpeople.us
www.gilderlerhman.org/history-by-era/resources
www.readwritethink.org
www.socialstudiesforkids.com
www.spiritisup.com
www.youtube.com. ‘Cherokee Creation story Video.wmv’ created by Libby Baxter.
www.youtube.com. ‘Trail of Tears-Music for the Native American Flute
www.youtube.com. The first video, made by the U.S. Dept. of Interior, called ‘Trail of Tears: National Historic Trail’
