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

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

What is the Trail of Tears, and what might have caused it? Who are the people who were involved in the Trail of Tears? Why is the Trail of Tears an important event in history to remember?

Teaching Suggestion: In the novel, Isaac, the protagonist, explains that he is a ghost due to the forced removal of the Choctaws from their lands. The Choctaws prefer to call the forced removal from their homes “Removal” rather than the “Trail of Tears,” as the name Trail of Tears was established by the Cherokee people. Consider discussing the Trail of Tears, the forced removal of the Choctaw people from their homes, and the Indian Removal Act.

• This 3-minute video describes conditions on the Trail of Tears.
• This article describes the Indian Removal Act, the conflicts between the US government and Indigenous peoples, and the Trail of Tears.

Short Activity

Look at photos of the Choctaw people to formulate responses related to Choctaw culture and lifestyles. What do you notice about the clothing of the people in the photos? What kinds of occupations did some of the Choctaws hold? What traditional skills were part of daily life? What sports do the Choctaws play?

Teaching Suggestion: Isaac is a member of the Choctaw tribe during the removal of Indigenous people following The Indian Removal Act. Students can respond to the lifestyle and culture details they see in images they find or view. Another way students can generate responses to photos is to view posted pictures around the room and permit students to analyze the images in small groups, writing responses about what they notice in the pictures. Consider posting pictures of daily life for the Choctaws, the path the Choctaws were forced to take during their removal, and the artistic renditions of their removal.

• This website provides historical photos of Choctaw people performing daily tasks.
• This official website of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma offers a wealth of information regarding the history and culture of the Choctaw people.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the novel.

Describe a time when you were forced to do something you did not want to do. How did it make you feel? Are you more or less likely to do something when forced?

Teaching Suggestion: The Choctaws were forced off their lands by the US government and given no choice in where and how they would live following their removal. Consider discussing the power differential that comes with forcing someone to do something and people’s reactions to being forced.

Differentiation Suggestion: For students who require an additional challenge, consider permitting students to expand their exploration of the Trail of Tears to other hardships suffered during this time in history by Indigenous people. Students might collect their information in an electronic file and share it as added resource material.