ABOUT THIS WORK:
“Trail of tears” is part of a larger musical and literary exploration into a personal history and truly American story. My Great-Great Grandfather, George “Poppa” Scott, of Cherokee descent, became part of a complicated and often misunderstood era in our nation’s history, when the so-called “Five Civilized Tribes” were forcibly removed from their native lands. Each tribe along with its enslaved populous, including the Cherokee Tribe, were faced with the decision to stay and defend their territory, make the arduous and in many cases fateful journey to Oklahoma (The Trail of Tears), hide in the mountains of the Carolinas, or as in the case of my patriarch, stay behind and integrate amongst the African American enslaved and sharecropping population.