Lenten Photo Discipline – Day 4: Injustice (x3)

This photo was taken at the site of Major Ridge’s home near Rome, GA.  Major Ridge was a chieftain of the Cherokee people, and both a perpetrator and victim of injustice.  As a large landowner, Major Ridge had slaves (both other Native Americans, and those enslaved from Africa).  Facing the inevitable removal of the Cherokee people from the mountains of Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas, Major Ridge (without the legal backing of his people) negotiated a treaty with the US government for removal.  This treaty is what the US Government used to force the removal of the Cherokee nation, resulting in the infamous Trail of Tears.  Because he negotiated this treaty without the consent of the rest of the Cherokee council, Major Ridge and his family were deemed traitors and subsequently murdered by their own people.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. ~ Jesus