1875: The March of Tears (Exodus Day). (27 feb 1875 año – 17 mar 1875 año)

Descripción:

In 1875, George Cook, who was the commander of the Department of Arizona, answered the requests of many Ango-American settlers. Cook, along with a large band of soldiers marched from Tucson to Verde Valley and Prescott and commenced the official forced and unethical removal and relocation of the Yavapai and Tonto Apache tribes to San Carlos. The people who survived the 180 mile march to San Carlos were forced to remain there for 25 years. Recorded below is the story a Yavapai Elder's grandmother told him about the mistreatment of 1,500 indigenous people during the event, which is known among the Yavapai and Tonto Apache tribe as “The March of Tears” and "Exodus Day".

“I wonder why the White people hate us. Why they want to kill us. We don’t do anything to them. When they march them to San Carlos it is winter time. It is raining, so there is lots of water in the washes and rivers. But the soldiers make them cross the rivers. First time they cross, lots of my people go down the stream. So some men go and get long sticks. Make a rail with it…People hold on to it and go across. They used it in lots of places.”

“The soldiers make the people cross the rivers at winter time. On cold days. There is lots of water in the rivers and they make them walk through. And that poison, when they cross the cold water gets stronger and kills lot of people. My grandmother was sick and they had to cross the river. Maybe she was slow. The scout hit her with a gun right at the wrist. Her wrist was crooked all the time”

“There was an old lady whom I knew when I was young. She had no ears…Later my grandmother told me, up in the hills, the soldiers cut that woman’s ears off. And she told me, another woman, they cut the fingers off with the bayonet. I don’t know why the White people hate Indians so much.”

“On the way to San Carlos, when a baby was born, the soldiers don’t let them rest. They just push them along. Sometimes they can get up and walk along. But sometimes they have to wait, maybe an hour or two hours. They have to wait and cannot do anything. But the soldiers push them right along. I don’t know why they do that.”

“My grandmother said, when the soldiers take the people on the trail down to San Carlos, they had a chance to kill all the soldiers. There were not many soldiers that take them there. But the chief had said, “Don’t kill the White people.” So they don’t do it. The chief said, “They don’t let us go if we kill these White people. Others will come after them.” So they just walk on to San Carlos. Not many of them get there.”

Image 1 and 2: The Yavapai-Apache tribe commemorates Exodus Day

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