Author Mines Family And Tribal History For Novel 'Cherokee America'

Author Margaret Verble taps into her Cherokee heritage for her books, starting with her Pulitzer Prize finalist novel, “Maud’s Line.” Her follow up, “Cherokee America,” takes place in Indian Territory just after the Civil War.

The Cherokee and other tribes were removed from their land, which was mostly southeastern states, and relocated to land now known as Oklahoma in forced marches that became known as “The Trail of Tears.” Thousands died along the way.

Cherokee America Singer, the lead character in Verble’s new book, is the matriarch of a prosperous farm family in Indian Territory, Verble tells Here & Now’s Eric Westervelt. She is inspired by a real-life woman named Cherokee America Rogers that Verble’s grandmother told her about.

“The reason grandma felt so fondly of her is because when her father, who is my great grandfather, and his brother came as orphans of the Civil War into Indian territory trying to find work and place to live, Mrs. Rogers took them in, and she essentially made their lives,” Verble says. “They became farmers there in eastern