Trail of Tears

Locate the interpretative panel that describes the Trail of Tears in Tennessee. In 1835, the Treaty of New Echota was signed by an unauthorized faction of Cherokees living in Georgia. Though the Cherokee government protested the treaty’s legality, President Andrew Jackson and state governments recognized the treaty to justify the seizure of Native American land. In 1837 and 1838, the federal government ordered the tribe’s removal from North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. The Cherokee people were driven from their homes following various routes, and the Northern Route ran through Nashville (click on the images above for a map). Along the way, family members were separated, and many did not survive the 800-mile journey to Oklahoma—infamously remembered as the “Trail of Tears.”

At the time the Treaty of New Echota was signed, 2,500 Cherokees were living in Chattanooga and Red Clay, in Southeast Tennessee. Over 7,000 of 15,000 total people were held in Tennessee in what were called “Removal Camps.” According to the National Park Service, the Cherokee used many different routes to reach their new home in the West. Most started in Tennessee. In June, three groups of Cherokee left Ross’s landing to begin their journey to Indian Territory. Dire conditions and death plagued the last two groups. Many in these later deportations left Fort Cass and followed the Northern Route through Nashville. On this route, they traveled over the Cumberland Mountains averaging 10-12 miles a day.

U.S. commander Elijah Hicks wrote on October 24, 1838: “The detachment of the people are very loth [sic] to go on, and unusually slow in preparing for starting each morning. I am not surprised at this because they are moving not from choice to an unknown region not desired by them.” Nearly eight months after the Trail of Tears began, the last group of Cherokees arrived in Oklahoma, known as Indian Territory, on March 24, 1839 after traveling through a brutal winter. It is estimated that between 2,500 and 6,000 Native Americans died on or from complications related to the journey on the Trail of Tears. This interpretative sign honors today’s Cherokee Nation, which continues to thrive in Cherokee, North Carolina, while acknowledging the pain of the past.

Continue walking up Gay Street. Once you walk under the second overpass, you will see a set of curved brick stairs on your left. Once it is safe to cross, go to the other side of the street and go up the stairs. Continue walking along the path. Once you have reached the second set of stairs on the back of the building, climb them to reach James Robertson Parkway. Turn RIGHT once you have reached the top of the stairs to reach our next stop, the Ben West building.