The Girl Who Chased Away Sorrow: The Diary of Sarah Nita, a Navajo Girl, New Mexico, 1864

What if one day, someone told you that you had to leave behind the only world you had ever known? As more and more people pushed westward, Native Americans found their lands being snatched away from them and their way of life was under attack. One Native American tribe, the Navajo of New Mexico, raided the ranches of white settlers when there was not enough food. In 1862, the American government decided to remove the Navajo from their land and bring them to Fort Sumner in eastern New Mexico, where they could be taught the white man's ways: to farm, to be peaceful, and to become Christian.

Forced to surrender and leave their homes, 8,500 Navajo prisoners marched through the winter snow in 1863 to Fort Sumner. Men, women, and children traveled over 400 miles in a harsh winter. Many people died along the way from exhaustion, cold, lack of proper clothing, and drowning as they crossed rivers. When the Navajo finally reached Fort Sumner, conditions there were not much better. Food was scarce and the Navajo were expected to farm, but their crops would not grow. For four years, the Navajo were essentially prisoners. No one was taught to read or write, and they suffered through terrible conditions. Finally, the Navajo were allowed to return to their native lands, and they agreed to stop raiding settlements and send their children to the white man's schools.

Explore Native American Cultures with Scholastic Explorers.

Meet Sarah Nita

Sarah Nita lived with her family on traditional Navajo lands. However, white soldiers forced her and her family to move to the fort. Here she describes the start of her terrible journey known as the "Long Walk."

A strange sound blasts through the air, making us all jump. The horses prance forward as the soldiers ride beside and in back of us to keep us moving. "When I look over my shoulder, the shuffling line of Dine (Navajo) makes me dizzy." My people's faces are weary, lined with cold and hunger. Dressed in torn blankets, some are almost naked and have only a few herd animals ahead of them….

When we reach the mouth of the canyon, there are more soldiers waiting there, with heavily loaded mules. I wonder if food is in those packs, and Grandmother says she hopes so. She is holding tight to Grandfather's hand, helping him move forward. In the time in the rock house he was fierce and protected us, but now that we are captured, his shoulders sag and his feet move slowly.

My sister walks beside me, shaking the snow out of her moccasins from time to time, for the snow comes well over our feet now. I promise that when we stop, I will stuff more dried grass into her moccasins to keep her warm. I have to take care of her; I cannot shuffle or droop, or fall behind. Besides, the soldiers might do something terrible to me if I do!