TRAIL OF TEARS NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL

**STRATEGIC PLANNING**

**JUNE 11-12, 2002**

**MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE**

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# INTRODUCTION

On June 11-12, 2002, members of the Trail of Tears National Historic
Trail Advisory Council, Board Members of the Trail of Tears Association,
and National Park Service staff met to develop a sustainable future for
the Trail of Tears. Those in attendance were:

Advisory Council Members:

Beverly T. Baker\*

Jack D. Baker\*

Debra Charles\*

Melissa Sue Folsom\*

Barbara Heffington

Duane King\*

Billy H. McAfee

Mary Ellen Meredith

Troy Wayne Poteete

Mildred P. Taylor

Mary S. Tidwell\*

Thomas Yahola

Trail Of Tears Advisory Board (TOTA) Members and Staff

Paul Austin

Jerra Quinton

Ginger Abernathy

Dola Davis

Ed Henshaw

Donald Lance

Shirley Lawrence

Rowena McClinton

Hershel Price

David Rabon

Mary Riesberg

Patsy Edgar

Bill Jones

Dan Littlefield

Bill Woodiel

Mary Ann Thompson

National Park Service (NPS)

Mike Snyder

Pat Parker

Mary Bomar

Cyd Martin

John Wessels

Jim Wood

John Conoboy

Aaron Mahr

Steve Burns

Andrea Sharon

Josina Cisneros

Others

Linda Guerrant

Dee Pearl

\*Also TOTA Board Members

# TRAIL PURPOSE

Trail purpose reflects Congressional intent for management of the Trail
of Tears as reflected in amendments to the National Trails System Act.
The group identified the following purpose statements.

-   To preserve the history of and protect resources (artifacts and
    remnants) associated with removal of the Cherokee Nation.

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-   To include all routes used for the Cherokee removal.

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-   To interpret the story of the Trail of Tears and provide for
    recreation use and enjoyment associated with historic appreciation.

**TRAIL SIGNIFICANCE**

Significance statements reflect why Congress established the Trail of
Tears and represent a cumulation of knowledge and research to help
connect people of this country and the world with the Trail of Tears
story. Significance statements identified are:

-   The Trail of Tears represents the tragic impact of Indian removal
    policy on the history, culture, and soul of our nation, an event
    that changed the course of history.

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-   Trail of Tears is a quintessential story about the thriving and
    surviving of native peoples through a living landscape.

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-   In telling an accurate, universal story of injustice and cultural
    survival, communities may experience the financial benefits of
    international and domestic tourism.

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-   The Trail of Tears represents tenacity, perseverance, and resilience
    as survivors relocated/rebuilt their institutions despite great
    adversity.

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-   Cherokee court cases dealing with removal established relationships
    of tribal nations to Federal and state governments that are still in
    effect today (i.e. tribal sovereignty).

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-   The Trail of Tears provides a basis of re-evaluation of what America
    is, as opposed to what it was (ethnic cleansing, relocation camps,
    disregard for human rights) and the need for eternal vigilance to
    avoid these travesties.

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-   The historic significance of the Native American's contribution to
    the nation's founding is being lost. TOT gives us the opportunity to
    highlight the contributions as well as the native losses in
    developing the history of America.

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-   The TOT offers opportunities for local communities to define their
    roles in the national history of the Removal Period through
    education, preservation, recreation, and cultural tourism.

-   The TOT provides the opportunity for Indian and all people to
    reconnect with places that evoke the most important event in their
    history, and for others to learn the story of a failed policy of the
    U.S. government in the context of the places where it happened.

**GOALS**

These goals reflect a common vision or desired futures developed by
Trail of Tears stakeholders. The priorities are relative and do not
consider sequencing of efforts that will be required.

**PRIORITY 1**

The Trail of Tears has sustainable levels of funding that grows support
and provides for the needs of the trail and its partners.

-   Private

-   Corporate

-   State

-   Tribal

-   Federal

-   Heritage conservation trail (trust)

-   High profile board (celebrities and scholars)

-   Grass roots people

**PRIORITY 2**

Available, accessible, and protected archival material that is
catalogued indexed and uses best available technology.

-   National Archives

-   Cherokee, North Carolina, and Tahlequah, Oklahoma

-   Other local place

-   Libraries

-   Library of Congress

-   Advertise for material/documentation related to tribes (monetary
    rewards)

-   Locate artifacts related to removal

**PRIORITY 3**

All routes and stories of all Five Civilized Tribes are included as part
of the Trail of Tears.

-   Site protection

**PRIORITY 4**

Tell the Trail of Tears story to connect with people today and provide
relevance to their daily lives (living experience).

-   Interpretive film

-   Interpretive centers

-   Interpretive exhibits/waysides, standards/customized/adaptable to
    local communities

-   A monument of names

-   Utilization of public meetings

**PRIORITY 5**

The Trail of Tears story is developed and understood in a truthful,
comprehensive, compelling, and evocative way.

-   Tribal identity

-   Community identity

**PRIORITY 6**

Tie the Trail of Tears story to places.

-   Auto Tour Route

-   Interpretive exhibits, waysides, standards/customized/adaptable to
    local communities

-   Tribal maps

-   Public service promo

-   Outreach education

-   Waysides along the routes

-   Interpretive centers

-   Re-tracement opportunities

-   Public access and use trails

**PRIORITY 7**

Improve existing facilities

-   Improve existing facilities

-   TOT State Park -- Mississippi River crossing -- both sides

-   More and better NPS signage

-   Provide financial helping in developing significance and sites on
    TOT regardless of size

**PRIORITY 8**

The Trail of Tears is managed by an adequate staff whose work and
decision-making is customer driven taking into account a long view.

-   Practice problem solving

-   Local impact

-   Coordination among states and stakeholders

-   Agreements

**PRIORITY 9**

System to document contemporary tribal feeling and oral histories
regarding the removal.

**PRIORITY 10**

The story told in a way to be accessible to and comprehendible at all
levels and by a diverse population.

-   Traveling exhibits

-   Curriculum

-   Interpretive film

-   Public service promo

-   Outreach education (youth/seniors)

-   Waysides

-   Website

-   CD rom

**PRIORITY 11**

The Trail of Tears includes all major routes with ties to a larger
constituency base.

**PRIORITY 12**

The site certification process is streamlined and efficient and all
certification work is available to constituents. All sites eligible for
the national register have complete documentation and are nominated.

-   Site protection

**PRIORITY 13**

Coordinated research programs to keep the story up-to-date.

-   Scholarships

-   Journal

**PRIORITY 14**

Through partnerships with State DOTs and tourism agencies, comprehensive
signing and marking of the Trail of Tears is in place.

-   State maps

-   Web site

-   Geographic names into system

-   Highway maps

-   Scenic maps

**PRIORITY 15**

The story of the Trail of Tears told in context of Federal Indian
Policy.

-   Tribal identity

-   Community identity

**PRIORITY 16**

Create information banks regarding TOT in county libraries.

**PRIORITY 17**

Every place where it is possible to retrace routes of TOT should be
appropriately developed to allow this to happen by water, horseback,
auto, hiking, biking.

**PRIORITY 18**

The Trail of Tears has state based research centers and endowments to
support sustainable research and education efforts.

**ACTION PLAN**

This action plan reflects what participants agreed would be pursued in
the next year. It is based on five simultaneous efforts in research,
interpretive planning, legislative amendments, continued efforts with
the Cherokee removal story with the existing Trail of Tears, and
administrative actions that can take place to include the larger story
and trail segments.

In 2003 participants agreed to meet again to review their progress and
determine how their vision will be pursued in subsequent years.

**Research**

**1. Action:** Identify who is doing research on Indian removal in each
state for all five tribes.

**Responsibility:** Trail of Tears Association will do nine states;
March Christ will do LA, MS, FL

> **Date:** October 2002

**2. Action:** Determine status of story of removal for each tribe and
identify gaps in research

> **Responsibility:** Dan Littlefield
>
> **Date:** June 2003

**3. Action:** Prepare a draft strategy plan for filling research gaps

**Responsibility:** Group (Cyd is leader)

**Date:** June 2003

**Interpretive Planning** - The Trail Of Tears Story is developed and
understood in a truthful, comprehensive, compelling and evocative way.

**1.** **Action:** Host Comprehensive Iinterpretive Plan (CIP)
development meeting

**Responsibility:** Advisory Council/NPS

**Date:** March 2003

**2.** **Action:** Collect known research

**Responsibility:** Research team

**Date:** October 2002

**3.** **Action:** Invitations to meeting

**Responsibility:** Advisory Council/TOTA/NPS

**Date:** January 2003

**4.** **Action:** Schedule meeting

**Responsibility:** Advisory Council/TOTA/NPS

**Date:** January 2003

**5.** **Action:** Site/date

**Responsibility:** Advisory Council/TOTA/NPS

**Date:** January 2003

**6.** **Action:** Logistics

**Responsibility:** Advisory Council/TOTA/NPS

**Date:** August 2002

**7.** **Action:** Examples of CIP distribution

**Responsibility:** Andrea Sharon

**Date:** July 2002

**8.** **Action:** Written document

**Responsibility:** NPS

**Date:** Fall Conference 2003

**9.** **Action:** Evaluation/updates

**Responsibility:** Advisory Council/TOTA/NPS

**Date:** Every other year

Advisory Council -- Bobbie Heffington

TOTA -- Jack Baker

NPS -- Mike Snyder

**Legislative Amendments**

**1. Action:** TOTA resolution

**Responsibility:** Jack Baker

**Date:** June 11, 2002

**2. Action:** Advisory Council resolution

**Responsibility:** Troy Poteete

**Date:** June 11, 2002

**3.** **Action:** Five Tribes -- Inter-Tribal resolution

**Responsibility:** Thomas Yahola and Jeannie Barbour

**Date:** July 2002

**4.** **Action:** Draft desired amendment to the existing Act

**Responsibility:** Troy Poteete

**Date:** October 1, 2002

**5.** **Action:** Tribal review of NPS review of legislation
simultaneous with #6

**Responsibility:** Troy Poteete

**Date:** January 1, 2003

**6.** **Action:** Research documentation of Trail Of Tears

**Responsibility:** Tribal cultural resource offices to Dan Littlefield

**Date:** January 3, 2003

**7.** **Action:** Gain Congressional sponsor

**Responsibility:** All

**Date:** February 2003

**8.** **Action:** Lobby Congress

**Responsibility:** All

**Date:** March 2003

**Continuing Efforts with the Cherokee Removal**

**1. Action:** Interpretive Center, Murphy, NC

**Responsibility:** NC Chapter TOTA, Cherokee Co. History Museum

**Date:** 2003

**2.** **Action:** GIS Database for trail available on Internet to all
partners

**Responsibility:** NPS

**Date:** Ongoing

**3. Action:** Certify sites to add to the trail

**Responsibility:** NPS and Chapters

**Date:** Ongoing

**4. Action:** Complete planning and design for Chattanooga, Hamilton
City, TN, Eastern TN

**Responsibility:** City of Chattanooga

**Date:**

**5. Action:** Install exhibits, contracts construction documents,
fundraise for Blythe Ferry

**Responsibility:** Exhibits -- Andrea; Contract CD's -- Meigs County;
Fundraising -- Shirley Lawrence

**Date:** June 2003

**6.** **Action:** National Park Service complete site certification
work for removal forts including: Fort Butler, NC; Hunter Store, NC;
Baptist Mission, NC; Tatum Gap Road, NC; Turnkpike, NC; Unicoi; Spring
Place, GA; Fort Doolonaga, GA; Fort Hembree, NC; Fort Dahlany, NC; Fort
Lindsey, NC; Montgomery, NC; Hunters Ferry, NC

**Responsibility:** Steve Burns

**Date:** June 2003

**7. Action:** Protect site segments from threats as need arises

**Responsibility:** NPS

**Date:** Ongoing

**8. Action:** Continue pursuit of Trail Of Tears film funding

**Responsibility:** John Conoboy

**Date:** Ongoing

**Administrative Action**

**1a. Action:** Request Solicitor opinion

**Responsibility:** Jim Wood

**Date:** June 17, 2002

**1b.** **Action:** If yes, NPS request funding internally

**Responsibility:** John Conoboy

**Date:** Draft August 31, 2002

**1c. Action:** Support funding from outside

**Responsibility:**

**Date:**

**2a.** **Action:** If Solicitor says no, finish report

**Responsibility:** Aaron Mahr

**Date:** August 31, 2002

**2b.** **Action:** Get report to Congress

**Responsibility:** Duane King

**Date:** September 15, 2002

**2c.** **Action:** Push for passage

**Responsibility:** Jack Baker

**Date:** September 16, 2002

**3a. Action:** While waiting for 1 and 2, continue research in TN on
Benge Route

**Responsibility:** Floyd Ayers/Bill Jones

**Date:** Ongoing

**3b.** **Action:** Sign plan for all routes

**Responsibility:** Steve Burns, et al.

**Date:** May 23, 2002

**3c.** **Action:** Support ongoing efforts (Pulaski CO, Cotter AR,
etc.)

**Responsibility:** Paul Austin

**Date:** Yesterday

**3d. Action:** Two Association resolutions; their mission includes all
routes, their opinion is that current legislation includes all routes

**Responsibility:** Jack Baker

**Date:** Today