Photo of Jane’s father, Rev. Jesse Bushyhead, as painted by Charles Bird King
Jane Bushyhead’s Trail of Tears journey
Words Spoken True
Jane Bushyhead dreams of one day becoming a teacher. But everything changes when she and her family are forced from their ancestral Cherokee homeland by US soldiers at gunpoint. After months of imprisonment and uncertainty, Jane and her people are then ordered to march eight hundred miles to “Indian Territory” (modern-day Oklahoma) during one of the worst winters of the 19th century.
It’s a grueling journey–many of the Cherokee people are barefoot and unprepared for the freezing weather–and all go hungry as supplies dwindle and sickness abounds. Yet, Jane finds romance with a young man who has been adopted by the Cherokees and comfort within the loving embrace of her family.
As the dangerous journey unfolds, and Jane finds purpose in teaching and recording the stories of her people, she will be forced to bear witness as they perish from starvation, disease, and deadly hazards of the trail. Soon, Jane will have to face an impossible choice between love and her own family.
Award-winning author and enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, Anne Broyles brings the Trail of Tears to desperate, vivid life in this beautiful story about courage, community, memory, and love.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (STARRED REVIEW)
Jane and many other members of her community were inspired by real people, brought vividly to life through aching prose, poems, and fictionalized diary and journal entries. Digestible renderings of the era’s political landscape seamlessly permeate Jane’s intimate, multifaceted narration. It’s a triple-threat: an illuminating historical telling, a vulnerable portrait of adolescence, and a harrowing call to action against the country’s inhumane treatment of Indigenous people.
Vivid, empathetic, and thought-provoking storytelling.
Photo of Jane’s father, Rev. Jesse Bushyhead, as painted by Charles Bird King
Jane Bushyhead’s Trail of Tears journey