Personal Narrative: Looking For Home

Looking for Home
I remember when they kicked us out. It was only a couple of weeks ago. We Indians were minding our own business when the troops first came. They dragged us out of our tents and sent us walking with only the clothes on our back. My family decided to go to the Oklahoma region along with our tribe. And so here we are, walking through forests, woods, and plains on The Trail of Tears, looking for our destination. We have been walking since, and our clothing can do nothing against the harsh rain, snow, and coldness.
We try to consider our everyday lives, but it has proven difficult. We still pray to the sun everyday, but we have no entertainment. Usually, we play games, play music, dance, and have festivals, but now we can’t.
Not only do we not have fun, but we even have trouble surviving. My younger brother, my mum, and I stay with our tribe, the Cherokee, while our dad goes out to hunt with the men. We don’t have much to eat either besides what is given, which only consists of rabbit, deer, and berries, and our clothes are a complete wreck. The harsh weather, landscape, and climate has ruined my hide coat. We’ve been turned poor. Once, we were rich with plenty of land and power, but now we have no land or power.We have just crossed a giant plain and decided to take a rest during nighttime. Our chief informs us we are almost there. I know it is a lie. He has been saying that for the past week. “Where are we, mother?” I asked to my mother in our native language. We are sitting in a circle around a fire that father had made. A nice cooked rabbit hangs over the fire, emitting a sweet mouth-watering smell. My brother and I are sitting on the ground, crowding over the fire. Our mother and father sit on the opposite side, close to the fire, but still distant. “We’re almost there.” she said exactly in the tone of voice that our chief says it. “But everyone has been saying we’re almost over, for like... forever!” I respond, but she just gives me an irritated frown. “Jareb!” My father says firmly, “Don’t speak back to your mother negatively. We are your parents, and you do what we say.” “But, why aren’t we there yet?” I respond as firmly as I can.
He sighs and glances over at my brother, Jasal, now sound asleep. “Listen… Our tribe barely knows where we are going as well. The white men just told us to go southwest to camps.” he says, looking up into the night sky, “We don’t know what is going to happen after that. Hopefully, we could find home again.” “What? I don’t what to go into any camps! I want to find a home again!” I yell, “Why couldn’t fight the white men like one of our neighboring tribes had done! I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be controlled by white men my whole life!” “Calm down. You’ll wake up the whole tribe.” He looks into my eyes and I see sorrow, “Please...” I want to keep yelling, but I couldn’t bear bringing anymore remorse into him. Thus, I storm off into the night. Eventually, I find a small clearing away from my father and the tribe, where I can think about everything. I pray to all our gods that our situation will not get any worse. So far, we’ve traveled through snow, rain, mud, and the harshest weather with no supplies what-so-ever. And now, we have to start all over again, being ordered around by white men the whole time. I want to go back home. I want to find a place where we still have good soil, weather, and climate. But most of all, I want to find a home that can not be stolen from
us.