Kentucky
Trail of Tears National Historic Trail - History
By Sarah Lane
Jan 25, 2005, 14:03

Trail of Tears National Historic Trail - History

Imagine being told that you had to pick up and walk across several states and begin your life anew. The Trail of Tears is an actual trail that over 16,000 Cherokee Indians had to traverse after being forcibly removed from their homelands. In 1838 the US Government sent them to what was called ‘Indian Territory’ but what is now known as Oklahoma. As you can imagine hundreds of people died during the trip west and thousands more died later as a result of this relocation. This move was a result of the Indian removal Act of 1830, which instructed all American Indian tribes east of the Mississippi River to move west.

Today the Trail of Tears Historic Trail commemorates this sad chapter in American history. It spans 2,200 miles over land and water, and crosses nine different states. There is no way to undo the monumental damage that was done to the Cherokee peoples when this act was initiated, however, we can appreciate the hardships they suffered as well as remember the incredible loss of life on the trail itself.

Source: NPS, Dept. of the Interior