Trail of Tears Association (TOTA)
OUTREACH
Events — TOTA worked with the Hiwassee River Heritage Center in Charleston, TN to dedicate new exhibits at the grand opening of a signed walking trail, featuring two days of events with information booths and lectures that attracted standing room only crowds. TOTA teamed up with the Charles Hall Museum of History and Heritage to stage a Great Tellico History Day in Tellico Plains, TN, featuring living history presentations about the Cherokee removal, a commemorative memorial walk, and classes. TOTA joined the Funk Heritage Center, Georgia’s Official Southeastern Indian Interpretive Center, for its 20th anniversary celebration and the opening of a new exhibit, “Resistance and Resilience: The Cherokee Trail of Tears.” TOTA participated in the Village of Caledonia, MO Official Bicentennial Celebration with a presentation on the Cherokee Removal and a resolution from TOTA commemorating the influence of intermarried Scots on the Cherokee Nation during the Trail of Tears era. NPS presented an education session to Cherokee Youth Remember the Removal Riders about the trail, NPS, and related careers.
Partnerships — NPS entered into a partnership certification agreement with the Henry E. Davis homestead in Steelville, MO. NPS continued work on the Middle Tennessee State University CESU project exploring transportation methods along the Trail of Tears.
PROTECTION
Signage — NPS facilitated the completion and review of the Hamburg Hill Trail of Tears NHT signing and interpretation project in partnership with the USFS, including preparing a Hamburg Hill area signage overview map for USFS review and purchase. NPS developed road and pedestrian signing, including a unique site identification sign, and designed 11 orientation panels for the Water Route in Arkansas with Army Corp of Engineers; nine panels were fabricated in Fiscal Year 2019.
