Aiden

Petals in Pain by Aiden Brocksberger

My artwork is about the Trail of Tears and its path through northwest Arkansas, particularly the area around Springdale. The Trail of Tears was the forced displacement of about 60,000 people from the Five Civilized Tribes between 1830 and 1850. Families were forced to leave their homes and walk hundreds of miles to Indian Territory, and many people died along the journey due to hunger, disease, and harsh conditions. In the center of my design, I placed a Cherokee rose because it is deeply connected to the history of the Trail of Tears. I chose footprints as a border to symbolize the two routes that passed through northwest Arkansas—the Bell Route, which went through Fayetteville, and the Northern Route, which came through Springdale. When people see my design, I want them to feel the weight of the suffering and loss endured by those who were forced to walk the Trail of Tears, and to remember the countless lives that were tragically lost along the way.