Cherokee Principal Chief Bill John Baker's Commemoration of Trail of Tear IGNORES the SLAVES THEY DRAGGED AS PROPERTY

Image from Vocativ.com

Baker's commemoration without a mention of their slave descendants is in full at INDIANZ.com  I have a few excerpts here.


On March 24 we commemorate the 180th anniversary of the end of the infamous Trail of Tears with a National Day of Remembrance.

On this day in 1839, the last detachment of our ancestors’ forced removal from their homelands in the southeast region of the United States occurred as they marched to Indian Territory, now Oklahoma. We remember and honor the sacrifices and untold hardships of our ancestors. Those who completed the trek and those who perished on that brutal journey will always remain in our hearts and in our minds.
AND
During the Trail of Tears, an estimated 4,000 Cherokees perished along the way, which represented about one quarter of our tribe. The grit and determination of our ancestors allowed them to not only survive adversity, despair and grief, but it empowered them to thrive. That sense of where we come from and who we are is deeply rooted in who we are as Cherokee people.
Their slaves ALSO PERISHED, and those who survived had despair and grief and yes, they thrived and fought their battles to VICTORY, 150 years after the Trail of Tears.  Read about the Cherokee Freemen History here and here