How I Became a Ghost: A Choctaw Trail of Tears Story

The story opens with Isaac as a ghost introducing himself before jumping back in time to 1830 when Isaac is still alive. Ten-year-old Choctaw Isaac describes his family and highlights his adventures with his dog Jumper, whom he considers his best friend. After Isaac finishes his chores one day, he heads to the chicken pen with Jumper but sees his dad returning from a hunting trip without any meat and knows something is wrong. Isaac’s father tells Isaac’s mother they must move because there is Treaty Talk between the Choctaws and Nahullos (the Choctaw name for white men). Isaac explains that Treaty Talk is the reason he became a ghost.

Isaac waits for Mother and Father to finish talking. His brother Luke comes home for lunch, but when Isaac tells him what Mother and Father are talking about, Luke knows there will be no lunch and leaves. Isaac falls asleep on the porch and Mother wakes him at sunset. Mother takes Isaac into the woods to watch as 20 old Choctaw men cut their backs on the bark of the trees and sit in their blood: a farewell ritual for their home.