高中二年级英语(人教版)下册 Unit 16 Integrating Skills 2

　　One of the best-known examples of the hardships suffered by the Native Americans is the sad story of the Cherokee tribe. The Cherokees lived in the southeast of the United States. They lived by farming, hunting and fishing and had been able to adapt to modern society. The Cherokees had built homes and farms, developed a written language and made their own laws. Despite their hard work, the Cherokees were not treated fairly. When the government began driving the Native Americans away, the Cherokees were among the last to go. In 1838, the government began putting Cherokee men, women and children in camps and made them walk a thousand miles. The winter was cold and there was not much food. About 4,000 Cherokees died during the march, which became known as the "Trail of Tears" or "the trail where they cried".

　　In the years that followed, Native Americans lived through one of the darkest times in their history. By the end of the nineteenth century, only some 250,000 Native Americans had survived. Their culture and way of life had been destroyed, their land had been taken away from them, and they were not given the rights most other Americans enjoyed. Most of the Native Americans were forced to live in special places, called "reservations", often in poor areas with few resources, given to them by the government. Few Native Americans were able to get an education and many lived in poverty.

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