The Cherokee Legend of the Rose Rocks

ROSE ROCKS

My brief video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPxtAMVK6kc

Rose Rocks are rare. They are more common to Oklahoma than anywhere else in the world. The state name, Oklahoma, is translated from Native American to English as, “home of the red man.” Oklahoma was previously known as “Indian Territory.”

There is an Oklahoma legend attributed to the Native American Cherokees. In the legend, The Creator formed the Rose Rocks

in the earth of the Indian Territory. Indian Territory was designated as the territory to which the Cherokee were forcefully relocated in 1838.

The Creator formed the stones as the Cherokee treaded for many months, suffering weather, inadequate clothing, little shelter, much hunger and thirst, and exhaustion along the infamous “Trail of Tears,” walking from their historical homelands, that had included virtually all of later-day, Kentucky and Tennessee, and major parts of three other states as well.

In the legend, the Creator felt the Cherokee’s sorrow and recognized their courage, during the time they were being force-marched 1,200 linear miles, nearly 2,000 miles by the meandering trails of the era, loosing between 6,000 and 15,000 lives. The crystalized Rose Stone characterized their courage and the pale reddish color accounted for the blood shed by the men, diluted by the tears wept by the women and children, who also bled.  

The legend might explain why Oklahoma happens to have more Rose Stones than anywhere else in the world.