In 1838, the Cherokee Indians were forced to leave Georgia by United States soldiers.  As the Cherokees walked west to Oklahoma, they wept many tears of profound sadness at having to leave their homeland.  This path was called the Trail of Tears.  Legend has it that wherever their tears fell, a small plant resembling a cornstalk sprang up.  As the plant grew and bore seed, the seeds looked like the tears they had shed.  Since there is a natural hole formed through the seed, the Cherokees strung them to wear as jewelry as a reminder of their intense suffering.

 Today, these plants can still be found, growing wild in the places where the Cherokees once walked...on the Trail of Tears.
I grow the Cherokee corn plant, harvest the seeds, and fashion them into earrings.  The seeds are naturally formed in shades of white, gray, and charcoal with a luster that gives them a pearl-like quality.  Each pair of earrings is truly unique and makes a lovely gift.

Seeds and Earrings will be offered in my 2010 mail-order catalog.
Click here to request a catalog.