Roswell acknowledges its dark past while honoring Cherokee Nation

Under orders from President Andrew Jackson, an estimated 16,000 Cherokee Indians were forced from their homes and made to walk almost 1,000 miles to what is now Oklahoma to resettle. More than 4,000 died from hunger, exposure and disease. The journey is widely remembered today as the “Trail of Tears.”

Crane, 52, discovered this piece of Roswell’s little-known history while researching her husband Steve’s Cherokee heritage. Even though the city’s history was said to have begun in 1839, when Roswell King began building the city, Crane knew that the Cherokee were taken from their homes just months before.

“They gave the Cherokee until May 1838 to leave voluntarily,” she said. “The Cherokee held their ground, hoping a new president would overrule Jackson, but that didn’t happen. The removal occurred between May 1838 and March 1839. The Cherokee were put in stockades in the summer of 1838 and began their trek on the trail in August 1838, 1,000 at a time.”

“That piece of history was rarely acknowledged,” Crane said, and so she set out to set the record straight, first writing a historical novel, “Roswell Redemption,” and then going on a campaign to expose the history that had been swept under the rug.

As she set out to promote her novel at local speaking engagements and book signings, Crane said it became very clear audience members wanted to know more and to somehow honor the Cherokee.

“The truth of the matter is it became very personal,” she said.

Although Crane had hit a wall researching her husband’s link — his paternal grandmother — to the Cherokee Nation, her search set her on a path to educate others, who like her, live, work and play on the land once owned by the Indians without realizing it.

In 2011, she sent a copy of “Roswell Redemption” to Mayor Jere Wood and suggested Roswell build a monument to the Cherokee.

Wood agreed but told Crane she needed a nonprofit to manage the project.

While the city worked on a master plan for its parks, Crane and Johanna Harned, president of the Roswell Historical Society, drew up a plan for the memorial.

“One of the things we’re endeavoring to do is broaden our historical scope,” Harned said. “This gave us the first forum to do that.”

One day last year, Crane said she ran into Wood. Frustrated, she told him the project wasn’t going anywhere. He invited her and Harned to his office.

In March, Crane and Harned made their case before the full City Council. The decision to build a monument in Riverside Park was unanimous.

In July, the $20,000 project, which includes awarding scholarships to Cherokee students, was complete. It was unveiled during a dedication ceremony July 19.

“As a nod to the Trail of Tears, the monument meanders along the walking trail in the park from Riverside Drive west to Azalea Drive,” Harned said.

With the monument complete, Crane said the education component and the work to incorporate the Cherokee Nation’s history into the city’s begins.

“We’ll be conducting tours of the monument to continue educating others,” she said.

Troy Wayne Poteete, a Cherokee Nation Supreme Court justice and executive director of the Trail of Tears Association, said the Roswell memorial is one of several efforts across the nation to mark the history of the removal route of the tribe and recognize the role of Indians in local history.

“We commend the Roswell community for their effort,” Poteete said. “Our ancestors recovered from that tragedy and passed on to us a heritage of triumph over tragedy. We draw inspiration from those events because they refused to be victims, but rather rebuilt the Cherokee Nation.”

Steve Crane said he worried at first that his wife might be stirring a hornet’s nest, suggesting the city acknowledge its ties to his ancestors.

“She has really amazed me with her conviction, and I am so glad that she was able to get the support needed to make this a reality,” he said. “I am very proud of her.”