Archives of Alabama Waterfowl Association , Inc. the founding organization April 27, 2002

Trail of Tears History

The Indian Removal Act of 1830 called for the voluntary or forcible removal of all Indians from the eastern United States to the state of Oklahoma. May of 1838 marked the deadline for voluntary Native American removal. The military was prepared to use force and did so under the command of General Winfield Scott. General Scott ordered the round up and removal of over 17,000 Cherokees who refused to leave. So began the Cherokee "Trail of Tears," one of the darkest episodes in relations between the United States and American Indians.

The process was swift and brutal. Detachments of soldiers arrived at every Cherokee house and drove men, women and children out of their homes with only the clothes on their backs. They were placed in concentration camps where conditions were horrendous. Food and supplies were limited and disease was rampant. Many perished.

By late June of 1838, the upper Tennessee River had become too low for navigation due to a drought. The U.S. government hired wagon master J.C.S. Hood to transport 1,070 Native Americans by foot and wagon from Ross' Landing in Chattanooga, Tennessee to what is now Waterloo, Alabama approximately 230 miles. Much of the journey followed what is now U.S. Highway 72.

Upon reaching Waterloo, the survivors were in despicable condition. Migration had to be suspended until the river was high enough for navigation. Many died in Waterloo and others escaped into the surrounding hills. Many area residents can trace their Native American ancestry to those who fled.

Estimates of as many as 4,000 deaths occurred because of this forced removal of civilized Native Americans from their rightful homes.

In the end, members of the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek and Seminole Nations suffered the same fate as the Cherokees.

“Join us as we honor those from the past who traveled this Trail of Tears. Let us learn from this mistake, accept each other as we are, and walk together in peace”.

History of the Commemorative Ride
 

By 1993, Jerry Davis, of Scottsboro, Alabama, had become increasingly aware of the richness of Native American history surrounding his area. Through research, he had learned that the Trail of Tears removal had traveled directly through his area, the general route of present-day Hwy. 72. He began talking with longtime friend, Bill Cason, of Whitwell, Tennessee about what they could do to bring more public awareness to this event and the area traversed. He also felt that this route should be officially recognized and historically marked. Conversation after conversation took place. One day Bill Cason, a Harley-rider, suggested that the best way he knew to get people's attention was to have a bike ride.

Thus began plans for the First Annual Trail of Tears Commemorative Motorcycle Ride. On October 8, 1994, eight motorcycles began the ride at Ross' Landing. By ride's end the number had increased to approximately 100.

By 1999, the 6th Annual Commemorative Ride began with 15,000 motorcycles and ended with a reported 35,000 motorcycles pulling into historic Waterloo, population 250+. Once at Waterloo, festivities include an all-weekend Pow Wow, and Native American arts and crafts are abundant. The annual Trail of Tears Commemorative Motorcycle Ride TM has become the largest organized motorcycle ride in the world for the distance of 230 miles.

In 2001 the first year the Trail of Tears Commemorative Motorcycle Ride TM had over 100,000 motorcycles in the parade and some 300 rode all the way to Eagle Town, Oklahoma. The 2002 Trail of Tears Commemorative Motorcycle Ride TM will ride to the Cherokee Nation in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

Everyone is welcome to join and the ride has no entry fee.
 

Event Accomplishments
 

Darla Graves, Executive Director of the Alabama Indian Affairs Committee, and Jerry Davis, CEO of the Alabama Waterfowl Association, initiated meetings and served on a committee that helped write the legislation for the Trail of Tears Corridor of North Alabama. On July 13, 1995, this legislation passed, as Joint House Resolution 95-346 designating this Hwy. 72 route as an Alabama Trail of Tears Corridor. In 1996, this overland route was recognized by the National Park Service as an official trail and added to their Trail of Tears National Historic Route brochure.

Three Trail of Tears Historic Markers have been installed - the first in October, 1995, in Waterloo, AL, funded by the Alabama Waterfowl Association. The second Historic Marker was placed in Bridgeport, AL, near the AL-TN state line. Richard Sheridan and Jerry Davis wrote the text for the first two signs. The third Historic Marker was written by Jerry Davis and placed at Ross' Landing in Chattanooga, TN in September of 1998.

By September of 1998, over 70 trailblazer signs had been erected marking this historic route. Much of the funding for the signage has been made possible by donations from the many thousands of motorcyclists' acquisitions of t-shirts, pins and programs.

In 2000, the original AL-TN Trail of Tears Corridor Committee acquired a 501(c)(3) non-profit status as the AL-TN Trail of Tears Corridor Association, Inc. As additional funds are raised, the Association will continue to raise awareness through ongoing and additional Trail of Tears educational projects.

According to data from the Florence/Lauderdale County Tourism Association the two day event had an economic benefit to Alabama and Tennessee of over 40 million dollars.

 

The Legend of the Cherokee Rose

 No better symbol exists of the pain and suffering of the "Trail Where They Cried" [the Trail of Tears] than the Cherokee Rose. The mothers of the Cherokee grieved so much that the chiefs prayed for a sign to lift the mother's spirits and give them strength to care for their children. From that day forward, a beautiful new flower, a rose, grew wherever a mother's tear fell to the ground. The rose is white, for the mother's tears. It has a gold center, for the gold taken from the Cherokee lands, and the leaves on each stem represent the Cherokee clans that made the journey. To this day, the Cherokee Rose prospers along the route of the Trail of Tears.

Archives of Alabama Waterfowl Association April 27, 2002

 

TRAIL OF TEARS DESIGNATION