Trail of Tears Bell's Route Memorial Re-enactment Walk
About Us
Home
Supporters
T-SHIRTS
WELCOME
About Us
Contact Us
Recent and Upcoming Events
Getting Involved
Links

Connecting on a personal level is an important part of sharing ideas. On this page we'll present some details about our organization and the people behind it.

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this is to help educate people and to remember our ancestors. I started this project in 2001 and it has grown since then. At first I was just a Bell’s route researcher, I helped research where the trail went through my county and then it just snowballed. I wanted to have a social and get all us Indians together to share a meal and some drumming. Then it dawned on me that we could have it and a memorial ceremony for the Trail of Tears. And then the Bell’s route memorial was formed. I work with a number of groups across the State. One of which is building a Memorial interpretive center and museum. So we try to do stuff to raise money for that. So here I get my family and friends all involved and we have nothing to show for their efforts. I thought that we could do patches and sell those and the people would have something to take with them besides memories. But patches are too expensive. So my good friends John Hedgecoth and Pamela Pry go into the Tee-Shirt business. And guess what, John and I design a tee shirt that we can sell and make a little money for the different groups across the State. So here we are today.

Thanks to my Sister Cathy Stewart and both of our children and husbands we can now offer you a Trail of Tears Memorial Bell’s route re-enactment walk tee-shirt.So thanks to the efforts of a lot of friends that come and walk and drum and sing we are here now.

 

CHEROKEE ROUTES
cherokeeroutes.jpg

chickmap.jpg

VICKY WAS ASKED BY THE MAYOR TO SUGGEST WORDING FOR A TRAIL OF TEARS SIGN/MARKER AT THE OVERLOOK IN GILES COUNTY.  BELOW IS THE WORDING OF THE SIGN THAT IS STILL TO COME...

They Passed by Here.

The Cherokee Trail of Tears crossed

Richland Creek

near here in the autumn

of 1838.John Benge led one group

of nearly 1100 Cherokee

through Pulaski in October during

their trek from Ft. Payne

Alabama to Indian Territory.

Following what today is U.S. Highway 31

from Ardmore,

north to Elkton, then following the

Old Stage Road,

then back onto what is U.S. Highway 31

into Pulaski; turning west and then

following a northwestern trek

through Tennessee.

A few weeks later, in November 1838,

a second detachment of Cherokee

came through Pulaski, Led by

Conductor John Bell.

The 650 Cherokee in the Bell detachment

began their journey west at the

Cherokee Agency in Charleston,

Tennessee in mid-October.

They arrived in Pulaski via

Jefferson Street on November 3,

and then continued west,

crossing the Mississippi River at

Memphis. In early January 1839,

the Bell Detachment disbanded near

Evansville in northwest Arkansas

 

 

The BILL below was introduced, as you can see, in the HOUSE in June
and moved to the SENATE in November.
 
 
109th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 3085
 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 

June 28, 2005

To amend the National Trails System Act to update the feasibility and suitability study originally prepared for the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail and provide for the inclusion... (Introduced in Senate)

S 1970 IS

109th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 1970

To amend the National Trails System Act to update the feasibility and suitability study originally prepared for the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail and provide for the inclusion of new trail segments, land components, and campgrounds associated with that trail, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

November 7, 2005

Mr. COBURN (for himself, Mr. FRIST, and Mr. ALEXANDER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To amend the National Trails System Act to update the feasibility and suitability study originally prepared for the Trail of Tears National HistoricTrail and provide for the inclusion of new trail segments, land components, and campgrounds associated with that trail, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. REVISION OF FEASIBILITY AND SUITABILITY STUDY OF TRAIL OF TEARS NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL.

    Section 5(a)(16) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1244(a)(16)) is amended--

      (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking `subsections' and inserting `sections'; and

      (2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:

      `(C) Not later than one complete fiscal year after the date of the enactment of this subparagraph, the Secretary of the Interior shall submit to Congress a study regarding the feasibility and suitability of designating, as additional components of the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, the Benge and Bell routes, the land components of the designated water routes in Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, the routes from the collection forts in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee to the emigration depots, and related campgrounds located along such routes and in such land components, by which the Cherokee Nation was removed to Oklahoma. Upon completion of the study, if the Secretary determines that such routes, land components, and campgrounds are a feasible and suitable addition to the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, the Secretary shall designate such routes, land components, and campgrounds as components of the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail. The Secretary shall publish notice of the designation in the Federal Register.

      `(D) No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated to carry out subparagraph (C). The Secretary may accept donations for the Trail from private, nonprofit, or tribal organizations.'.

All proceeds go to helping to preserve the history and legacy of the Bell's Route of "The Place Where We Cried"