'Trail of Tears' in Northwest Arkansas Is Focus of Indigenous Peoples of the Americas Observance at University of Arkansas

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Indigenous Peoples of the Americas Observance at the University of Arkansas will focus this year on one of America’s greatest tragedies: the forced removal of American Indians over the “Trail of Tears” during the 1830s.

The Trail of Tears was the result of a legislative declaration by the United States Congress that no foreign government could be physically located within the borders of the United States. The law principally targeted American Indian tribes, and under the law any tribe that failed to disband or move of its own accord to the specially designated Indian Territory (now Oklahoma), would be forcibly removed by federal forces. Thousands of men, women and children died during the 1,000-mile journey over what became known as the Trail of Tears. Part of this infamous trail crosses Northwest Arkansas.

This year the observance will be held Friday, Oct.12. It will begin at 11 a.m., in the Connections Lounge of the Arkansas Union, with the premiere of the documentary This is Sequoyah’s House, by Beth Turner. The film features Sequoyah High School in Tahlequah, Okla., an historic school established shortly after the Cherokee people arrived in the area.

From 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. members of the Honors Film Association, Anthropology Club, and OMNI Center for Peace, Justice and Ecology will discuss this sad chapter in American history, and read passages from journals kept by those who walked the Trail of Tears. Members of the public are encouraged to share their feelings and do readings relating to the Trail of Tears during this open forum. This will also be held in the Connections Lounge.

At 2 p.m. a procession will travel from the Connections Lounge to the marker on U.S. Highway 62 (Sixth Street) that commemorates the location where a thousand Cherokees camped during their journey to the Indian Territory in 1839. Further information about this historic site can be found at http://campusmaps.uark.edu/461.php.

Heritage Trail Partners, in conjunction with the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History in Springdale, is also commemorating the Trail of Tears in Northwest Arkansas on Oct. 12 and 13. A screening of the award-winning documentary The Trail of Tears: Cherokee Legacy, will be shown at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the Shiloh Museum, and a symposium titled “Cherokee Footsteps in Northwest Arkansas,” will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Saturday, also at the museum.  For additional information, visit the Heritage Trail Partners Web site at www.heritagetrailpartners.com.

The University of Arkansas Indigenous Peoples of the Americas Observance is sponsored by the Honors Film Association; the OMNI Center for Peace, Justice, and Ecology; the Honors College; and the departments of communication and anthropology. For more information visit the Web site at http://cavern.uark.edu/~hfa, or contact Frank Scheide at 575-5961 or fscheide@uark.edu.