Photo: Wolf Clan Marker at Chota, Tennesse. The Author is Wolf Clan of the Cherokee Nation, taken by Brian Stansberry, Wikimedia Commons
Heardville, GA - Cherokee Chief George Washington Welch lived from 1798 to 1840. As listed in the Georgia National Historical Registry, Chief Welch was a profitable merchant who owned, constructed, and operated a grist mill. It was located on the Old Federal Road, alongside Setting Down Creek.
I had always heard stories of my five-times great-grandfather Welch from my father and grandmother. In the fall of 2022, I decided to embark on a journey of my own to gather a new perspective on my ancestral heritage. I am a tribal citizen of the Cherokee Nation (Western Band) of Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The word Tahlequah (pronounced Tahl-le-qua) means “NO-MORE.” This was not only a slogan for the Cherokee people, but also a reminder for all other nations to stand up for peaceful resolutions during the changes that were occurring to the American cultural landscape during the early 1800s.
My journey began as a casual road trip into Cherokee, North Carolina. As I traveled a long, curved road lined with luscious forest vegetation, I observed the mountainous terrain and a beautiful roaring, white-capped river. I stopped at a viewing area where I felt the presence of my ancestral roots and the river, its strength and majesty. I drove into the city of Cherokee and took in the sites, such as the cultural heritage center and the bamboo forest. I had an amazing lunch where they served traditional Cherokee bean bread, frog legs, and fry bread tacos with Southern-style sweet tea. As I spoke to local Eastern Band Cherokees, they were warm and friendly. Smiles were a familiar spectacle, as if I had visited family for the first time. As the sun was setting, the temperature began to drop as it was fall. As I was leaving town, a herd of elk crossed the road in front of me. I counted at least forty grazing the wild grasses, blanketed in their winter coats. That’s when it all sank in; Cherokee, North Carolina was the original winter hunting grounds for my people. With its luscious vegetation, animal life, and fresh water supply, this was a perfect combination to provide sustainability for the tribe during fall and winter.
It was now time to continue my journey, toward the site of where it all began—Heardville, Georgia. I took a scenic route through the mountains, where there were homesites along a small lake. Views of autumn whispered through the air in the form of orange, red, and light brown leaves. Wild ducks flew across the lake in perfect formation. I thought to myself, A cabin and a fishing pole would be perfect. A clearing broke in the road, where I was at a crossroads in Ophir, Georgia. I saw a sign that read: Trail of Tears, and my heart sank. I had the feeling of both the tragedy and the triumph of the tribe. I thought to myself, “It didn’t start here, but it did.” Cherokee Nations’ farming and agriculture during spring and summer months was essentially located in the Atlanta, Georgia area. The city of Ophir is only about an hour’s drive away. I continued on my journey to the Pooles’ Mill Bridge, a historical landmark.
This is now what I would call a family park with a sheltered community picnic area and a short hike through the bridge to observe the natural beauty of the creek. The original grist mill burned down after being sold, but the memory of a prominent Cherokee Chief and businessman Mr. George Washington Welch remains.
Despite the disagreement of about half of the tribe regarding the signing of the New Echota Treaty, Welch was able to assist in negotiating the final land sale to the U.S. government of approximately seven million acres east of the Mississippi for $5 million, as well as future appropriations and 14 counties in Eastern Oklahoma. These funds were used to create the first women’s seminary known as “The Harvard of the West.” Now, it is known as Oklahoma State University. The land in Oklahoma was originally obtained by the U.S. Government approximately 20 years earlier during the sale of the Louisiana Purchase, sold to America from France.
The Trail of Tears came at an immense cost to all, to both those who didn’t sign the Dawes Roll and those who did. Many were lost along the trail to Oklahoma, but also many remained in Cherokee, North Carolina. Approximately 4,000 of the 15,000 Cherokee perished during the 5,046-mile winter relocation. I have mixed emotions regarding this journey; the hurt, the suffering, the loss of a culture in certain regard, but I am also happy to see the resilience of a people in both the Western and Eastern Bands.
I sat at the edge of the creek near the Pooles’ Mill Bridge and pondered what happened during the early 1820s to 1830s. America was expanding. Multiple land sales were made in the past from the Cherokee Nation to the U.S. government as a means of tribal survival due to the tribe running out of resources. White settlers ravaged homes and stole food supplies and livestock, leaving Cherokee families struck with famine and poverty. Hints of both the invention of the cotton gin and the Georgia gold rush swept surrounding states like wildfire. White America was populating at a record pace.
The 1920 census reads the U.S. population was approximately 10 million people. That number increased 33% in only 10 years! The Treaty of New Echota seemed to be a last resort tactic in salvaging what remained of the Cherokee people. Negotiating peacefully with the U.S. as opposed to conflict was the Cherokee way for future generations to prosper. In 1820, there may have been 30,000 Cherokee alive. Now, thanks in part to my 5x great-grandfather Cherokee Chief George Washington Welch, my tribe thrives. Enrolled Cherokee Nation members are listed as 316,049 as of 2024. Non-enrolled members who identify as Cherokee are listed as 818,105. I am proud to be a Native Cherokee, Wolf Clan descendant. I know my tribe will continue to respect, with the utmost humility, our elders and future generations to come.
