John Leak Springston " Oo ne qua ti " ᎤᏁᏆᏘ ( 1844 – 1929 ) , a Cherokee , is best known as an Indian activist ; during his life he was a Cherokee Interpreter , Editor , Lawyer , and Keetoowah Revivalist . Springston was born in the fall of 1844 in Indian Territory near Lynch 's Mill , five miles east of the present site of Spavinaw Dam in the state of Oklahoma . He was the son of Anderson Springston and Sallie Eliot , Cherokees who walked the Trail of Tears from Gunter 's Landing , Alabama on the Tennessee River , some 600 miles to Indian Territory . After removal , Anderson practiced law in the Cherokee courts of the Delaware and Tahlequah Districts , and as a young boy , John received instruction in tribal law and Cherokee culture at his father ’s side
Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears
John Leak Springston