WFWP MEMBERS BOND WITH FIRST AMERICANS ON TRAIL OF TEARS JOURNEY

Statue called “Legacies,” which depicts Native Americans in Chickasaw Memorial Park

The following is a travelogue from the Peacemakers for Sacred Healings Trail of Tears Prayer journey from Saturday June 8 to Friday June 14, 2013.

The journey of seven pilgrims of the Peacemakers for Sacred Healing is coming to a close.

On the evening of June 8, 2013, the seven pilgrims arrived in Chattanooga, Tennessee, at the location where the Native Americans were gathered in internment camps before they were forcibly removed from their homeland and marched along a trail that is known today as the "Trail of Tears." In Chattanooga, the Peacemakers went to Audubon Acres to a preserved path from the Trail of Tears. They then visited the Brainerd Mission Cemetery, where missionaries were tasked with establishing relations with the Cherokees in order to prepare them to integrate peaceably with westward-moving white settlers before their removal in 1838. Then the Peacemakers visited the construction site of a planned Trail-of-Tears museum. There they listened to talks and viewed statues. Afterwards, they visited the boyhood home of John Ross, a Cherokee chief.

On Sunday night, June 9th, the pilgrims drove to Bon Aqua, outside of Nashville. They visited the home of Venus Brightstar, a Cherokee lady. Venus Brightstar's house is made of native materials and has a tin roof. Her house has one huge room with a divided space. The pilgrims gathered at Venus Brightstar's house in order to take part in a pipe ceremony led by Chief White Eagle.

For the ceremony, the participants gathered in a circle in the outdoors, introduced themselves, and shared the sacred pipe. Chief White Eagle prayed throughout the ceremony. At the end of the ceremony, each participant offered his or her own prayer. There was a slight drizzle, then a sudden downpour at the end of the ceremony. "We felt we were cleansed by heaven, soaked to the skin," said Claire Daugherty, the spokeswoman for the Peacemakers of Sacred Healing. "We were all moved and felt closer to God and could see the urgency in the need for healing our nation's history. In addition, we felt the presence of our ancestors with us, especially those who wanted to make amends for the past." Following the ceremony, all the participants shared a meal and exchanged gifts.

The next morning, Venus Brightstar took the pilgrims on a hike on a red clay road. For the hike, Chief White Eagle prepared six bright, cotton medicine bags in different colors that would be placed in certain areas in order to serve as a token of protection for the land and nature. The land that Venus Brightstar lives on was donated to her, and she explained to the group her vision to create greenhouses and to work with victims of domestic violence from the reservations and to teach them to grow their own food. Brightstar said she felt that God had urged her to start this project. The Peacemakers offered a financial gift for her vision.