Park hosts speaker on Cherokee, Trail of Tears

More than 40 people gathered Saturday morning to hear a leading authority on the Cherokee discuss their movement along the Trail of Tears and through Southeast Missouri.

Dr. Duane King, executive director of the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, Okla., described the Trail of Tears as the forced removal of the Cherokee from their native lands in lower Appalachia to Indian Territory, what is now Oklahoma, in 1838 and 1839.

King spoke of the harsh travel conditions and how several groups were stuck in Southern Illinois between the Ohio and Mississippi rivers during the winter.

During the presentation, titled "Northern Route of the Forced Removal of the Cherokee Trail of Tears through Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri," King also read several firsthand accounts from witnesses to the removal. One described the passing as "full of suffering."

There was no single route for the relocation, but the Trail of Tears followed well-established roads across nine states, King said. The Northern Route was traveled by more than 12,000 Cherokee with an estimated 4,000 Cherokee dying along the way.

The term "Trail of Tears" was first used in 1872 by a missionary to describe the Choctaw's removal, King said. But it later came to refer to the forced removal of the Five Civilized Tribes -- the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Seminole -- from their native lands to Indian Territory.

There were three main crossings of the Mississippi River into Southeast Missouri; the one that corresponds to Trail of Tears State Park was called Green's Ferry, while the other two, Bainbridge and Columbus-Belmont, were in Mississippi County, according to King.

The Cherokee bought feed for their livestock at Bollinger Mill, King said, and received assistance from residents of the area as they moved through Southeast Missouri.

King called Trail of Tears State Park one of the best interpretive sites and encouraged anyone to see what the Cherokee would have seen on the Trail of Tears.

Denise Dowling, natural resource manager at Trail of Tears, said she wanted to bring in King for a special event as part of National American Indian Month.

"History repeats itself," Dowling said. "The Trail of Tears is a nasty piece of our history, and this was a chance to educate the public to prevent this from happening again."

Saturday's presentaion, held at the Visitors' Center of the Trail of Tears State Park, was a companion to a lecture King gave Friday afternoon, "The John Benge Detachment: A Unique Route of the Cherokee Trail of Tears Through Southeast Missouri," at Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus.

Dr. Frank Nickell, professor of history at Southeast, saw King's presentations as excellent opportunities to learn about a fascinating but tragic time in history.

"Growing up, we didn't learn about the Trail of Tears," Nickell said. "It wasn't until Watergate, when Nixon opposed the Supreme Court that we uncovered the Trail of Tears. We found out Andrew Jackson first opposed the Supreme Court with the trail."

"This is part of our story", he said. "It is important that we learn about and understand this part of our history that we are all connected to."

Jennifer Case of Hillsboro, Mo., a member of the Cherokee Nation, said she learned a great deal about her own history.

"My ancestors came up through the trail. It was very interesting to see where they came from," she said. "And I learned I can vote in the Cherokee Nation."

Dowling said the park has several resources for anyone interested in researching the Cherokee removal.

For more information, call the park office at 290-5268.