Paducah, Ky.–The 24th annual National Trail of Tears Association Conference and Symposium will be held at the Holiday Inn Riverfront/Paducah Convention Center October 11-13th. Registration begins at 9 a.m. on Friday, October 11, with keynote speaker Professor Ezra Rosser of American University College of Law, Washington D.C. officially opening the conference at 2 p.m. Speakers throughout the weekend will offer presentations related to the forced removal of Indian tribes as well as historic Cherokee and Chickasaw culture.
Paducah was a water route site that witnessed the passage of four of the 17 Trail of Tears detachments. Perhaps all of these detachments tied up to the Paducah waterfront. For example, the detachment headed by Gustavus Drane purchased some supplies in Paducah, and the Cherokees’ Principal Chief John Ross stopped here (as part of the Drew Detachment) during midwinter 1838-1839. This is one of the few water route sites where detachments are known to have stopped.
Additional highlights of the conference will include the dedication of several new interpretive exhibits at both the Paducah riverfront and Fort Massac in Metropolis, Illinois. Chickasaw musician Jason Burwell and Cherokee musician Tommy Wildcat will be providing entertainment throughout the conference.
Pre-registration for the conference and a tentative conference schedule can be found at www.nationaltota.com.
The Trail of Tears Association (TOTA) is a non-profit, membership organization formed in 1993 to support the creation, development, and interpretation of the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail. Designated as a national historic trail by Congress in 1987, the Trail commemorates the forced removal of the Cherokee people from their homelands in the southeastern United States to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) in 1838-1839. TOTA has state chapters in the nine states through which the Trail traverses. These states are Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.
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