The Hardship Journey

Life is a hard trip no matter where you live. My husband took me to Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and I thank him for his consideration. Tahlequah, OK is the capital of this Indian country. It was October in Tahlequah when we went there, so the autumn leaves were so beautiful. We entered the city where we saw several signs that said Osiyo, which means “Welcome,” in English. Among the country's national songs, exists “Paradise Joseon.” There was also a symbol of the Taegeuk in the Five Indian Tribal Museum, and it is amazing. Some scholars even said the Indians refer to the Gojoseon. 

 

While I was there, I slept overnight at a bed and breakfast and saw Five Indian Tribal Museum and a Cherokee Indian Museum. Five Indian nations, the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chikasaw, Creek, and the Seminole were ordered and forced to migrate to Oklahoma in 1831. Their last migration was in the winter of 1838. Many of the Cherokee Indians who migrated in the cold winter died during the trip, which is called the "Trail of Tears.” Migration from the southeastern United States to Oklahoma in the winters of the early 1800s was miserable and painful. Why did they leave the warm season and why were they forced to migrate in the cold winter? It is questionable. So, many Indian painters painted themselves on the “Trail of Tears.” The seventh President, Andrew Jackson of the United States, forced the five Indian tribes who were living in the southeast in 1831 to migrate to Oklahoma.

 

In Five Indian Tribal Museum, I bought one of the works on paper, titled Hardship Journey, 1966. It's a painting by Jerome Tiger who lived from 1941-1967. It was 50 dollars, but my husband and I felt in our hearts that we needed to buy it. The woman in the picture wanted to live, and she was traveling alone in a snowstorm. The painting seemed to reflect my life, and my journey to the United States from Korea. However, I am different from her as I walk the path of life with Jesus. I left my hometown of Seoul in Korea, and now live in America as a traveler on Earth.