Oklahoma Indian Territory on the Trail of Tears Essay

Oklahoma Indian Territory on the Trail of Tears - Essay Example Tomorrow, all the living and non-living things will be strange to me. How can I part with the rivers and trees in my locality? Will I be able to survive in a different land? My future will give an apt answer. Here, I shall share some facts about my tribe, my motherland and my feelings on the possible removal to Oklahoma Indian Territory on the Trail of Tears. Facts about my tribe The history of my tribe/community is interconnected with history of the early inhabitants of the United States of America. Earlier, we did not face any problem from others because we were self-sufficient. One can see that my tribe is the largest ethnic group within the tribal groups in America. My ancestral heritage is deeply rooted in the old Cherokee Nation or The Nation (18th and 19th Centuries). As pointed out, we were self-sufficient because we used to consider the nature as our mother. Besides, the members of the Old Cherokee Nation did not consider nature as an unending source of resources that can be exploited without any solid reason. But the people who live in large cities and towns are not able to understand the relationship between ethnic communities and nature. To be specific, our rituals, customs, and the events in day to day life are interconnected with nature. Earlier, we used to live in the Appalachia region. To be specific, the leaders of our tribal group were not aware of the importance of unity among different groups and the need of a strong central authority. On the other side, the tribal chiefs appointed by the British and the American authorities had little influence among the members of our community. Now, the government is planning to implement the Indian Removal Act of 1830 to relocate us to another part of America. In short, we are facing a number of problems related to survival because we are forced to relocate to the Trail of Tears. Burgan stated that â€Å"The U.S. government had forced them from their homes and set them on this march of about 800 miles ( 1,287 kilometers)† (4). If one is not so attached to one’s motherland, relocation is not a major problem. But my life is interconnected with my motherland. So, I do not feel confident to declare that I can survive in a different land. Now I feel so attached to my motherland because I am aware of the fact that relocation is unavoidable. About my motherland My motherland is in New Echota, within North America. One can easily identify that my motherland is rich in natural beauty and fertility because two beautiful rivers (say, Coosawattee and Conasauga) are flowing through my mother land. Besides, both the rivers join together and form another river, namely Oostanaula. All these rivers flow to another river, namely Coosa. The modern people provide less value to the importance of rivers in tribal life because they are not aware of the influence of the same in human life. These rivers helped use to realize the importance of water which nourishes the flora and fauna of this r egion. As the members of an indigenous community which ruled over the Northern Part of the American continent, we consider ourselves as the owners of the land. This is utmost important for us because the problems related to our life in this region is interconnected with autonomy and ownership of fertile land. We are totally against the exploitation natural resources to fulfill the selfish motives of human beings. But most of the human beings are not yet ready to

Topic Proposal on Should Testimonies of Lay Witnesses be Allowed in Coursework

Topic Proposal on Should Testimonies of Lay Witnesses be Allowed in Court - Coursework Example The law in some cases permits the witnesses to give their opinion evidence that can be categorized into expert opinion and lay opinion. â€Å"While the courts have made concessions in certain recurring situations, necessity as a standard for permitting opinions and conclusions has proved too elusive and too unadaptable to particular situations for purposes of satisfactory judicial administration† (Legal Information Institute, 2011). Lay witnesses give their opinions when they are based rationally on their perceptions, prove helpful in determining facts in the issue, and when they are not based on technical, scientific, and other kinds of knowledge in the expert testimony scope. Lay witnesses are permitted to give their opinion to help determine the weight, height, dimensions, quantity and such other features of things despite the lack of precision of their testimony. By definition, lay witnesses cannot be considered as experts on a specific matter. Even lay witnesses themselve s are not willing to appear as witnesses when they are given subpoena from the court. â€Å"For most inexperienced witnesses, the prospect of testifying in a deposition or courtroom fills them with dread† (Heaney and Koonan, 2007, p. 1). When lay witnesses meet other witnesses before appearing in the court, it reduces the chances of collusion and fabrication (Slovenko, 2004). This imparts the need to study to what extent the parties involved in the judicial cases are optimistic about the reliance of lay witnesses for evidence. Research in this field is very limited. By studying whether testimonies of the lay witnesses should or should not be allowed in court, this research would fill gap in the literature. This research would identify the response to the question; whether testimonies of lay witnesses should be allowed in court or not. Answer to this question would be obtained from different categories of people