In the latest Becoming Beloved Community Storytelling Initiative Interview, Mr. Alvin Blount, Diocesan Archivist, interview Mr. Elliott Wiggers, an ETNyouth who journeyed on the Trail of Tears Pilgrimage this year.
Transcript
– [Alvin] Well, good afternoon.
– [Elliott] Good afternoon.
– We are so happy to have the wonderful Mr. Elliott Wiggers in the house here, at the Diocese, in the house. And we had a chance to interact with each other a lot during the Trail of Tears pilgrimage, but before we talk about that, I want to find out more about Elliott Wiggers. Just tell us something about Elliott Wiggers.
– Something about me. Well, I go to Saint James Parish. My dad preaches there, of course.
– [Alvin] Right.
– I’ve been trying to become more active in the Episcopal Church and the Diocese, so I spend most of my summer at Grace Point Camp. And I don’t know, there’s not much to me.
– Well, you attend school where?
– Central High School.
– You attend Central High.
– Yeah.
– And you’ll be a senior?
– I will be a senior, yes.
– This coming year, and what are you planning on studying this year at Central?
– At Central I’ll be taking a lot of more advanced classes focused more on English and math than anything. But I’m looking at more psychology
– Great.
– as I work towards college.
– Great, so you’re thinking about studying that in college?
– Yes, yeah.
– Well, that’ll be wonderful. And I know your father, Father John Mark is the rector there.
– Yes.
– And well, great. And where you from originally?
– I was born in Atlanta, but I moved here when I was about four. So it’s been 12 years.
– Great. Great.
– 13 years.
– Well, that Trail of Tears pilgrimage was a blessing for me. And did you know much about the Trail of Tears before the pilgrimage with the youth?
– I would say that I maybe did, but looking back on it, I didn’t really know anything, so.
– So it was very, what was your, what did you enjoy about it the most?
– What did I enjoy? Just learning about some of the culture that was lost as like there was that forced cultural diffusion from missionaries. I don’t know, I think walking a portion of the Trail of Tears really did something for me spiritually. And I don’t know. It was nice to kind of step out of my Knoxville presence and get a idea of like what these people went through and what was happening at that time.
– Did you have a chance on the hike? That was my first hike. First ever hike. Some of you said it wasn’t hike. I said it was.
– [Elliott] It was a hike.
– But what did you contemplate mostly on that hike?
– I think-
– In the Suwanee area.
– Yeah, in the Suwanee area. I think being in the woods there just surrounded by nature, especially since the Cherokee culture was so based around that very nature that was taken from them, and how much we were enjoying just walking through. And I don’t know, it really made me think about that this was their land and that that was taken from them, and a land that I now enjoy. So I don’t know. It was weird in a way to think, this is land that was once somebody’s and then
– Exactly.
– taken away.
– And I noticed so much of that with the parks that we went to, the museums, the parks. Which was your favorite?
– I would say Red Clay
– Mine too.
– State Park. It just, we had a very good tour guide. I think I learned just the most encapsulating history of that time that I could.
– Yeah, he’s studying to be a history teacher, and it was obvious as well too. I enjoyed the Red Clay as well. Well, more than any of the others. So I’m hearing your takeaways from it. What do you plan to do using those takeaways that you learned on the Trail of Tears pilgrimage? And this is a two-part question. And have you and some of your friends who also attended, have you all discussed together what you could do to make this information more accessible, not just within the Diocese of East Tennessee but to your classmates, schoolmates, classmates, friends, family? What things do you see that you could do with us?
– You kind of asked this question on the last night, you and Bishop Brian, and I kind of had to palette that question, and I do plan to educate any time that I have the opportunity to because I once thought that I could, but now I know that I can talk about this and reconcile the pain. But going on and talking with my friends that were on the pilgrimage too, I feel like they were a lot more comfortable educating, like we said, and talking about some of the things that maybe we weren’t as comfortable talking about. So I plan to, when it comes up or maybe when I have the opportunity at school, or anywhere really, to educate people, I think mainly is what needs to be done.
– So have you discussed any of this maybe, in some of your history courses maybe?
– I took a AP U.S. History class, and it was definitely brushed over. And if I had the knowledge that I do now, I would’ve spent a lot more time on it for sure.
– I see. And so you would do this not just at school. What other places, for instance?
– Well, my family, they’re all very curious about this. Even I went to Pride Mass, and people talked to me and were like, “Hey, what was that about?” and I gave them a brief rundown. But, I mean, going on into college and eventually into to a job, I’ll have this knowledge that I can share with others.
– Great. Yes. It was a wonderful opportunity to empathize because you weren’t the only one that had it brushed over.
– Right.
– I remember being brushed over for me as well.
– Exactly.
– And it’s so important for us to take that ball and run with it, and this was a wonderful opportunity to do that with you.
– It was.
– And I notice all of you all get along so well.
– Yes.
– You seem to have a nice comradery.
– Yes, yes.
– You cook well together. You play well together. You all play hard.
– We do, we do.
– You really do have a good time. Well, I just can’t thank you enough for allowing us to host you today, to find out how you felt about it.
– Thank you.
– Any closing comments that you have about this and recommendations for those who have not taken part of such things as Trail of Tears?
– Yeah, I know that we all can’t be given this opportunity, maybe hopefully one day we will, but I challenge anyone listening to educate yourself and find ways or visit parks that can help you become more educated so that you feel more comfortable talking with each other and talking about things that are maybe hard to talk about.
– Yeah, one thing that fascinated me so much was the language developed by Sequoia.
– Yes.
– And also the culture and the, well, regarding Cherokee women, that I found out so much too. See, I knew nothing about that. And that to me, I would just like to see adults, an adult pilgrimage doing the same things that we did with the youth.
– I think that’d be amazing, yeah.
– It was just an amazing thing, was an eye opener for so many of us.
– Yeah, I signed up pretty last minute, and I wasn’t really looking to take much out of it, but I definitely did, so I’m grateful for that.
– You left there like I did, gaining way more than you anticipated.
– Absolutely.
– Right. Well, I thank you so much.
– Thank you.
– For talking with us and teaching us more about the Trail of Tears and getting us, helping us to get to know you. Thank you so much, Elliott.
– Thank you. Thank you very much.