The Legend of the Cherokee Rose

The Cherokee Rose, also known as Rosa laevigata, is a white, fragrant rose. This rose is native to southern China and Taiwan and is invasive in the United States. This rose is also Georgia's state flower because it represents the removal of the Cherokee from that area in 1838.

The Cherokee Rose got its name from the Cherokee Native American tribe, who widely distributed the rose.

The Cherokee have a legend about how this beautiful rose appeared during a time of great despair.

On May 28, 1830, American President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act. The Act provided the president with the power to move the Native tribe from their land in and around the state of Georgia. They would be moved to a reservation in the state of Oklahoma. 

The tribes forced to move were the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee, and Seminole tribes, also referred to as the "Five Civilized Tribes". These tribes worked so hard to be accepted, changing their ways and customs to match the white men's way. Still, they were forced to move after gold was discovered on their land.

Between 1830 and 1850, approximately 60,000 were forced to leave their homes and walk towards Oklahoma. This trip was torturous and about 15,000 died during the journey.

The Trail of Tears is where the Legend of the Cherokee Rose starts.

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The treacherous journey along the Trail of Tears caused the death of so many. The hearts of the Cherokee were filled with grief and sadness. 

The Elders knew that the survival of the children depended on the mothers of the Cherokee. The mothers were so filled with sorrow that the Elders worried that the children would not survive the journey and there would be no one to rebuild the Cherokee Nation. The Elders prayed for a sign that would give the mothers strength. They called upon Heaven Dweller ( ga lv la di e hi) and told Him of the peoples suffering and tears. He told them,

"To let you know how much I care, I will give you a sign. In the morning, tell the women to look back along the trail. Where their tears have fallen, I will cause to grow a plant that will have seven leaves for the seven clans of the Cherokee. Amidst the plant will be a delicate white rose with five petals. In the center of the blossom will be a pile of gold to remind the Cherokee of the white man's greed for the gold found on the Cherokee homeland. This plant will be sturdy and strong with stickers on all the stems. It will defy anything which tries to destroy it."

In the morning the mothers looked back along the trail where their tears had fallen. They say that where every tear had fallen a small green plant had begun to grow. 

The white pureness of the roses' petals shows the tears f the Cherokee mothers. The gold in the center shows the greed of those who drove the Cherokee from their ancestral lands.

The mothers wept at the sight of the little green sprouts. Every time they looked back they saw a trail of green small plants and forgot their sadness. The green sprout bloomed into the beautiful white rose by noon. As the rose bloomed, it made the mothers feel beautiful and strong.

Today the seven rose petals represent the seven Cherokee clans. The flower itself symbolizes the pain and suffering the Cherokee had experienced.