Tracing the Trail of Tears in Macon County

Anissa Holland for The Franklin Press

The 25th Annual Trail of Tears Association Conference & Symposium took place Sept. 19-21 at Harrah’s Convention Center in Cherokee. The three-day summit featured a day trip to Franklin’s two historic Cherokee mounds for the Nikwasi-Cherokee Cultural Heritage Corridor Pilgrimage.

The North Carolina Chapter of the Trail of Tears Association (TOTA) hosted this year’s conference to commemorate 184 years since the forced removal of Native American tribes from their homelands. TOTA is a non-profit organization that supports the creation, development and interpretation of the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail. TOTA has chapters across nine states –Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Tennessee – through which the trail passed.

On Tuesday, Sept. 20 conference attendees departed from Cherokee and traveled to Nikwasi mound in downtown Franklin. Bob McCollum, co-chair of Nikwasi Initiative, welcomed more than 180 guests, sharing with them a brief history of the area. Macon County is the farthest eastern point of origin for the removal of the Cherokee, and is home to two well-preserved mother town mounds, Nikwasi and Cowee. These historic Cherokee settlements are located adjacent to the original Trail of Tears and are included in the development of the Cherokee Cultural Heritage Corridor Project.

Conceptual design for the project includes educational kiosks and other interpretive information showcasing past and present elements of Cherokee heritage. “The Cherokee culture is not an artifact,” said McCollum. “It has a long history, but it’s not all historic. It’s a practicing culture still alive today.” The corridor itself is all-encompassing of the Cherokee homelands here, spanning approximately 60 miles along the Little Tennessee River. The Nikwasi and Cowee mound and town sites will be prominent stops along the corridor.

Local, state, federal and tribal officials attended the program at the Nikwasi mound, as well as representatives from the three federally recognized Cherokee tribes: the Eastern Band (EBCI), the United Keetoowah Band (UKB) and Cherokee Nation (CN).

“It was important to have tribal members here, as well as officials from all levels of government, but especially folks from the federal government,” said Stacy Guffey, representing Franklin Town Council. “To officially honor the memories of these people who were marched along those trails.”

Extensive research by historian Lamar Marshall has led to the identification of a Trail of Tears route through Macon County. Guffey called on the National Parks Service and other agencies to officially recognize and certify those sections of Trail.

“We know those trails exist and there’s documentation surrounding them” Guffey said. “Our great-grandparents’ great-grandparents saw Cherokee removed from their homes and assemble at Camp Dudley here in Franklin and be marched out along the river to join the others who were rounded up for the Trail of Tears.”

Guffey also outlined the history of cooperation between Cherokee and non-Cherokee people, as well as local organizations in trying to preserve important town sites and bringing tribal involvement back into the picture.

“It’s important for us locally to see the impact of projects we’re doing here, because they’re seen and felt on a national level,” said Guffey. “These are really important things – the preservation of Cowee and Nikwasi mounds, the effort to designate the section of the Trail of Tears, conservation efforts that began on Watauga mound last year – it’s not just local. This helps Cherokee and mountain people tell the story of who we are.”

Dr. Brett Riggs, Sequoyah Distinguished Professor of Cherokee Studies, and Dr. Ben Steere, associate professor of anthropology at Western Carolina University, traveled with the group on buses, leading discussion about the archeological history of the corridor. Beginning at Nikwasi, the buses traveled Highway 28 to the Watauga town site and culminated at Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center. At the school, the group listened to presentations on the history of treaties with the Cherokee leading up to and through the Trail of Tears, and heard from Marshall, who shared his newest findings and updated trail maps.

“The significance of taking this route is the real story” said Dr. Riggs. “We were retracing the route that Cherokee deportees had followed in June of 1838.” The route spans over 48 miles, almost entirely in Macon County, along the Tennessee River Turnpike. In these mountains, displaced Cherokee were marched from Fort Lindsay to Fort Butler, in present-day Murphy. From there, they were marched into Eastern Tennessee.

“This is the longest march on the Trail of Tears of any Cherokee people,” said Riggs. The trail went up the Cowee valley, making its way into Franklin, running through the Cartoogechaye valley, up Wayah Creek and over Wayah Gap, and down the other side.

Many attendees were not local, with the majority coming from Oklahoma. Riggs explained how many were looking at the landscapes of their ancestors, some for the first time. “Place is powerful,” he said. “It’s one thing to tell it, but it’s another to be able to put people back on the grounds and see it, the experience is many times more immediate and effective to actually be there in that place. When you are in the Cherokee homelands, it’s a much more visceral experience.”

The Trail of Tears was designated as a national historic trail by Congress in 1987 to commemorate the forced removal of the Cherokee people from their homelands in the southeastern United States to Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma from 1838 to 1839. Today, the Trail spans across nine states and covers roughly 5,043 miles of water and land routes.

In 1993, TOTA entered a cooperative agreement with the National Parks Service, with the joint mission being to identify, protect and preserve the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail resources. In addition, the agreement promotes awareness of the Trail’s legacy, including the effects of the U.S. Government’s Indian Removal Policy on the Cherokee and other tribes, including the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee Creek and Seminole. The management and development techniques are also consistent with the National Parks Service’s trail plan.

For more information, visit nationaltota.com, call 918-464-2258, or email nationaltota@gmail.com.