Diary #1

September 30th, 1842
Dear Diary,

I’m Mohaka. I am 12 years old and I live in Calhoun, Georgia. I am an only child. My mother is called TukiTuki and my father is called Strongman. I live in the middle of nowhere and I only have one friend.
My friend’s name is Youngbird. She was parted from her family in the Trail of Tears. The Trail of Tears was when all of the Indians were relocated to places around Georgia and Florida. I am lucky because I was born in Georgia, so I didn’t have to take part in this terrible action of the white peoples prejudice against Indians. Youngbird and I do everything together. She is only eight, but I love her imagination and her creativeness. It always brings my mood up when I’m having a bad day.

Today, Youngbird and I are going to the trading post with my mother. The trading post is a place where you can buy, sell, and trade all sorts of things. It is seven miles away from home but we only go there every twelve sunsets so it is not that bad. We walk in silence until Youngbird spots a bird.
She cries out “Look Look! There is a tsisgwa!” or bird.
I laugh and remind myself of how young she is. She flaps her ‘wings’ and makes odd bird noises. When we get to the store, Ma lets me and Youngbird pick out one thing. I know what Youngbird is going to get, a Mexican jumping bean! She has a whole collection of them. My family is very wealthy compared to others. Pa is a blacksmith, and Ma is a nurse. I went over to the candy section and picked out a piece of licorice. All of a sudden, I hear a crash! I run over to the toy area and Youngbird is sitting on the ground with the whole shelf of toys on top of her. “Help me Mohaka!”
I take the shelf of her tiny little head and the store owner comes and starts yelling at Youngbird. Poor thing! She is crying by the time my Ma comes. We pay for our items and then hustle out. I give Youngbird a piece of my licorice and tell her that everything is going to be alright.

Mohaka