Rediscovering the Trail of Tears in Missouri
Thursday, June 8th. 2023 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Wildwood Springs Lodge 122 Grand Drive, Steelville, MO 65565122
In 1838 Cherokee people were forcibly taken from their homes, forced to walk more than a thousand miles, and removed to Indian Territory, now Oklahoma. More than 4,000 died and many are buried in unmarked graves along “The Trail Where They Cried.”
Come Join us Thursday, June 8th. 2023, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.at Wildwood Springs Lodge, 125 Grand Dr, Steelville, MO 65565. The Meeting is FREE and open to the public.
Dr. William Ambrose and Chris Dunn will retrace the trail that leads through Steelville. During the removal at least 10 of the groups camped at what is now the city park in Steelville Missouri. What brought them here? What was their route through Missouri? What did they experience on the trail?
Cherokee Nation Remember the Removal Bike Ride
Steelville Community Park, 101 E. Highway 8, Steelville, MO 65565
June 15 @ 2:00 pm – 6:30 pm
The Cherokee Nation, Remember the Removal Bike Ride is stopping at the Steelville City Park on June 15th. The city park was the location of a camp site of about 10 groups of Cherokee that were being forcibly removed from their homes and moved to Oklahoma.
The Remember the Removal Bike Ride was started by the Cherokee Nation in 1984 for Cherokee youth to retrace the Trail of Tears and get a glimpse of the hardships their ancestors faced when they made the same trek on foot years before.
The ride became an annual event starting in 2009 and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians joined the ride in 2011. Today, the riders are selected based on an interview process. Then, the riders will complete a physical test and train for six months.
visit the Kituwah Mound in the original Cherokee homeland. They stop at unmarked graves of their ancestors; visit New Echota, the former Cherokee capital in Georgia; stop at Blythe Ferry along the Tennessee River, where Cherokees gathered during their forced removal; and take time to reflect on their ancestors at Mantle Rock and other historic sites historic to the Cherokee people.
More information on the Remember The Removal bike ride can be found here; https://www.cherokee.org/about-the-nation/remember-the-removal/Rediscovering the Trail of Tears in Missouri
