Wild Cherokee Rose
It is said that over 100,000 Native Americans were removed from their homelands during the Trail of Tears of 1838. They suffered from severe weather, mistreatment by soldiers, disease, inadequate food and bereavement. Diseases they suffered were colds, influenza, sore throats, diarrhea, measles, fever, pleurisy, toothache and gonorrhea (among the young men.) Knowing that their children might not survive the journey, mothers grieved and cried in sorrow. One night, the elders prayed for a sign, a symbol that would uplift the mother's spirits and give them strength. The very next day a beautiful flower, the Cherokee Rose, began to grow where the mothers’ tears had fallen. Still, to this day, you can see the wild Cherokee Rose growing along the route of the Trail of Tears. The white color of the rose represents the tears that the mothers’ shed; the gold center symbolizes the gold taken from the Cherokee lands; the seven leaves on each stem stand for the seven Cherokee Clans.
