The Trail of Tears Association is holding their annual conference and symposium in Hopkinsville this week. The four-day conference includes board meetings, trips to Trail of Tears sites, panel discussions, informational sessions and a tour of the Trail of Tears Commemorative Park in Hopkinsville.
Sessions include topics such as “Trail Association Leadership, Capacity Building, and Tribal Outreach,” “Loss of Land and Home,” and “175 Years Later: Documenting the Historic Buildings of the Trail of Tears.”
Today (Wednesday) at 4:30 PM, there will be a grave-marking ceremony for Whitepath and Fly Smith, Cherokee chiefs who are buried at the Trail of Tears Commemorative Park. Following the grave-marking ceremony, there will be a tour of the park and a dinner will be served.
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 natural 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 in Oklahoma from 1838 to 1839.