The tribe wants to get at least 40,000 more signatures before presenting it to the state Department of Transportation. The Tuscaroras have tried before to get the name changed, said Sandy Nance, assistant to the N.C. Department of Transportation highway administrator. This is the same group of people with the same objections, Nance said. The Tuscaroras sent petitions to the department in July 1980 and in December 1994. The department did not act on their requests before, but it s been a few years, Nance said.
Boards change, policies change and opinions change.
I ve never seen the name for a road or bridge changed once it s been approved by the board, she said. The process for renaming a road or bridge should involve getting the support of local governments first, Nance said. Chavis said he and other Tuscaroras compare Andrew Jackson to Adolf Hitler. Jackson was responsible for the slaughter and forced removal of thousands of American Indians, as Hitler did to the Jews, he said. He also created legislation leading to the Trail of Tears.