Question

he Trail of Tears refers to a forced relocation of Native American tribes from the eastern to the western part of the United States. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 made this forced relocation legal. More than 4,000 Cherokee Nation members died in 1838 on the difficult trek west.

I feel as though I have been walking for 1,000 years. My limbs are numb from the cold, and I am dreaming of a hot meal. Still I push on with my brother and sister Cherokees to some unknown land in the West. We are not the only ones on this grueling journey. The Seminole, Creek, Chickasaw, and Choctaw peoples are also following the mysterious road to the West.

I am frightened for my four-year-old son who walks by my side and asks me to carry him. I try to carry him from time to time, but I am not strong enough to carry him the whole way, and it breaks my heart. A mother should be able to care for her child, but this journey has weakened me. My throat is sore, my breathing is heavy, and I am sweating even though it is cold outside. Still my heart is filled with hope.

I wonder how many miles we have walked from our land. Will we ever see the land of our Cherokee ancestors again, or is it lost forever? How could the government do such a thing to us on our own land? These questions haunt me day and night as I have nothing else to do on this journey but think. Think and push on. Will I be able to endure through this journey? For the sake of my son, I keep walking, and I even manage to smile so that he will not worry.

“Can we sit down a while and rest?” he asks me as I cringe.

“No, we cannot. We must keep going, just a little while longer.”

I tell myself the same lie—just a little while longer and we will be in a better place. We will build new homes and keep the Cherokee traditions alive. But many tribe members have already become sick, and some have died as the winter grows deeper. That is the harsh reality of this journey away from everything we know. Even the air smells different away from home, and I miss the sweet scent of the southeastern summers when the air is humid.

I look behind me, wishing I could turn back and end this nightmare. But my son gazes up at me with his innocent brown eyes, and I keep walking even though I am losing hope. I keep telling myself, just a little while longer . . .


Questions
Based on the beginning, what can the reader infer about this text?

It is based on actual events that happened in the past.

It is a purely fictional story with no basis in reality.

It is a primary source from the journal of a Cherokee member, making it an informational text.

All of the above

Answer 1

It is based on actual events that happened in the past.

Reason: The opening factual statements (Indian Removal Act of 1830, Cherokee deaths in 1838) tie the narrative to historical events. The first‑person account reads like a fictionalized or dramatized perspective, not necessarily an actual primary journal, so the other choices are incorrect.