CHEROKEE REMOVAL MEMORIAL

BACKGROUND AND CURRENT SITUATION

December 15, 2011

Shirley Hoskins

I grew up in Oklahoma as an enrolled Cherokee and moved to East Tennessee in 1965. That is when I learned about the Cherokee Removal which has become known as the “Trail of Tears”. I studied Cherokee history and genealogy and wrote books, a newsletter and conducted workshops to helped others trace their Cherokee Ancestry. It became my goal to build a Memorial to the Cherokee people who were removed to make room for white settlers. Today We take pride in being champions of human rights and opponents of ethnic cleansing but we have a dark chapter in our history. Who these people were and what happened to them should not be forgotten.. The Memorial will contain the names of Head of Households from the 1835 Cherokee Census taken to determine those to be removed pursuant to the illegitimate 1835 New Echota Treaty.

The Meigs County Tourism Board adopted the Cherokee Removal Memorial as a tourist attraction related to the County’s history. The County was named for Return Jonathan Meigs who was the U. S. Agent to the Cherokees and proponent of Indian Removal. The plan was to build the Memorial at Blythe Ferry which had a significant role in the Removal. It was the major exit point from the Cherokee Nation where most of the Cherokees camped for up to six weeks waiting to cross the Tennessee River into an uncertain future. In 1996 the County entered into an agreement with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency(TWRA) for a proposed Cherokee Memorial Park at Blythe Ferry on the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge leased from the Tennessee Valley Authority(TVA). The mission of the Park was to commemorate, interpret and educate the public about the forced removal of the Cherokee Nation from their ancestral land and promote and educate about the unusual wildlife in the area. TVA granted the County a 25 year easement for the Park which expires in 11 years.

Site development began in 1998 and no significant progress was made until Congressman Zack Wamp secured a federal grant which together with state and local funding provided $1,650,000 for the Park including: a History Wall to tell the Cherokee story, a Visitor Center and the Memorial as well as other supporting facilities. It was decided to defer building the Memorial until the supporting facilities were complete. Construction of the Visitor Center begin in 2008 and was opened to the public in 2009. Due to a misunderstanding on allocation of funding from various sources work on the Memorial was delayed. When the financial issues were finally resolved in 2011 only about $180,000 was available for the Memorial that would be lost if not used by October 2012. It would also be necessary to raise an additional $45,000 in matching funds which would provide a total of $225,000 for the Memorial. We can build the basic Memorial for this amount, but might require deferring some desirable features such as interpretive panels, decorations and landscaping until later.

Rural Meigs County is having financial difficulties and are unable to provide the matching funds although they continue to support the Park by paying utilities and providing a Park Manager to keep the Visitor Center open four days a week. Plans for the Memorial were in limbo until Greg Vital stepped forward and contributed $20,000. My husband and I are contributing $5,000 and an additional contributions of $8,500 have been received for a total of $33,500. This will be adequate to start Memorial design and preparing to take bids for construction. We will need an additional $12,500 by March 2012 if the project is to proceed. Any amount received above the $45,000 will be applied to items that were deferred..

If we are unable to take advantage of the funds currently available I believe the Memorial will never be built and without the Memorial the future of the Park may be in jeopardy. With the Memorial we will have a tribute to the Cherokee People and the Trail of Tears of National and International importance that is unlikely to be equaled anywhere. The Memorial increases the chances of the State or Federal Governments taking over the Park when the County’s easement expires.

We will be very grateful for any help you may be able to provide. Tax deductible contributions are to be made directly to: Mayor Garland Lankford, Meigs County/Cherokee Removal Memorial, P. O Box 156, Decatur, TN 37322, (Phone 423 334 5850). Contributors will receive a letter from the Mayor thanking them for their support and a certificate recognizing their contribution.. The names of those that contribute $1,000 or more will be placed on a prominently displayed plaque.

Thanks to Congressman Zack Wamp funding has been provided for the park visitor center and the memorial. The visitor center is now open.

VISITOR CENTER DEDICATION March 4, 2008

Congressman……..Alva……..Shirley……..Mayor.

Zack Wamp……….Crow……Hoskins….Ken Jones

Congressman…Alva……Gloria…….Mayor……Shirley

..Zack Wamp….Crow…Schouggins..Ken Jones..Lawrence

Congressman Cherokee Nation Eastern Cherokee Band Mayor

Zack Wamp Chief Chad Smith Chief Mitchell Hicks Ken Jones