# data[].attributes.body
The Native Americans faced a large amount of unfair hardships along the Trail of Tears. Thousands died because of disease, weather, and lack of food and water. They faced the emotional struggle of leaving behind their homes, places of spiritual importance, and losing loved ones.

# data[].attributes.body
"And I have known as many as twenty-two of them to die in one night of pneumonia due to ill treatment, cold, and exposure"

# data[].attributes.body
"Children cry and make men cry, and all look sad like when friends die, but they say nothing and just put heads down and keep go towards West."

# data[].attributes.body
Most Native Americans were forced to move to the Indian Territory on land. There was not enough food or water, so death was a daily occurrence. They trudged through rain, which made the ground muddy, making everything much more difficult because their wagons would get stuck. They also made the move during the winter. They walked through snow, and had to sleep on the cold ground with one or no blanket at all. Many died from pneumonia, malnutrition, and smallpox

# data[].attributes.body
Many Native Americans were ripped from their homes with nothing. Many had little clothes and no shoes. The Native Americans were rounded up before their removal and moved into stockades to serve as temporary housing. They were then moved to internment camps.

# data[].attributes.body
4,000 out of 15,000 Cherokee's died throughout the journey

# data[].attributes.body
This image was created in 1942 by Robert Lindneux. It depicts the forced removal of the Native Americans. If any depictions of the march were created during the march, they were not saved.

# data[].attributes.body
The government offered some Native Americans clothes and food, but many refused because they believed if they accepted these things they were accepting their removal.

# data[].attributes.body
Many Native Americans were forced to take a route of mostly water. They started their journey in the summer, when the water levels on the river were too low for travel. In the heat of the summer, thousands died because of lack of water, bad diets, and physical exhaustion. Many who died were children.