''Walking the Trail: One Man's Journey along the Cherokee Trail of Tears'' is the 1991 book by Jerry Ellis telling the story of his 900-mile walk along the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

Trail of Tears The Trail of Tears was an ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of approximately 60,000 people of the " Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850 by the United States government. As part of the Indian removal, members of the Cherokee, ...

, the same walk his ancestors were forced to take in 1838. ''Walking the Trail'' has been used in classrooms and as a teaching resource by award-winning educators, including James Percoco who is in the National Teachers Hall of Fame.

Reception

The work was well received, with the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' stating that "Jerry Ellis is an ideal companion for a long ramble along the back roads of America, which is precisely what he provides in Walking the Trail, a picaresque account of his trek over the Trail of Tears in commemoration of his Cherokee ancestors and in search of some elusive ideal of freedom and fulfillment."

References

1991 non-fiction books American memoirs {{US-hist-book-stub