When Gold was found in Georgia, the US government forgot its treaties and decided that the Native peoples needed to be herded like cattle from the lands so they could have free reign to all the land to harvest said gold, and claim everything for their own to own and do with as they choose.
One fourth of the Tsalagi Cherokee people died on the journey west. But the Great Spirit (God), looking down from heaven, decided to commemorate the brave Cherokees (Tsalagi) peoples.
So as the blood of the braves and the tears of the women and children dropped to the ground, the Great Spirit turned them into stone in the shape of a Cherokee (Tsalagi) Rose. This is why they are so plentiful in Oklahoma, which today is called: The Trail of Tears".
The State Flower of Georgia is also named "Cherokee Rose".
