The Legend of Cherokee Rose

                                                                    Nina Rose

The Legend of Cherokee Rose

The forced relocation of the Cherokee Nation from Georgia to Oklahoma is one of the greatest tragedies in American history.

After gold was discovered on Indian land in Georgia this "removal to the west" was skillfully engineered. Greedy politicians and other

citizens would break the treaties and confiscate all possessions of the Cherokee people.

Over 4,000 people died on that journey and the survivors could only look forward to a life of poverty, neglect and abuse.

The Cherokee Rose Legend, handed down through many generations, is a representation of the People's suffering and

loss ,as well as, their hope and survival.

As the story goes, during the Trail of Tears the mothers of the fallen Cherokee grieved greatly and my family lives today because of their courage. Our grandmothers say that the Creator knew how difficult this time was for all the people *** but especially for the mothers who wept for their lost children.

The Wounded Cherokee Heart

So the Creator gave us a gift to remind us that life is a cycle and that the Cherokee people will always survive. She planted a Cherokee rose along that trail where the tears of the mothers fell. She made the rose "ah-dee-oo-ni-gay" (white) for the innocence of the people who died while not understanding why they could not remain in their homeland.

She made the center "dah-loh-nee-gay" (gold), like the gold that had driven the whites mad, to remind us never to harm others for petty gain. Then, she placed seven leaves on each stem *** one for each of the seven remaining clans of the Cherokee people that walked the Trail of Tears.

The Cherokee Rose is designated as the state flower of Georgia. It is believed that the rose was introduced into the State, perhaps directly from China or from China by way of England. One well-known horticulturist agreeing with this view gives the year 1757 as the date of it's introduction into England and advances the belief that it reached the United States shortly afterwards.

The name, Cherokee Rose, is a local appellation derived from the Cherokee Indians who widely distributed the plant, which elsewhere is known by the botanical name of rosa sinica. Growing wild the rose is a high climbing shrub, frequently attaining the proportions of a vine, is excessively thorny and generously supplied with leaves of a vivid green. It's blooming time is in the early spring but favorable conditions will produce a second flowering in the fall of the year.  

In color, the rose is a waxy white and large golden center and the petals are of an exquisite velvety texture.