To commemorate National American Indian Heritage Month in November, and in partnership with the Museum of Native American History, the Arkansas Trail of Tears Association (ARTOTA) will provide a program on Indian Removal and the Cherokee Trail of Tears, as well as contemporary preservation efforts to mark and interpret the removal routes through Arkansas. The recorded program will be available on the museum’s website with a live Q&A session via Zoom and Facebook Live on Saturday, November 14th at 5:30pm.

Dr. Bethany Rosenbaum, President of ARTOTA, and John McLarty, Project Manager of ARTOTA, will discuss the backdrop of the Indian Removal Act of 1830, Treaty of New Echota of 1835, and Cherokee removal from 1837-1839. Special attention will be given to enslaved persons among the Five Tribes and contemporary efforts to research and interpret the experiences of former slaves on the Trail of Tears. 

The program will also discuss the congressionally designated Trail of Tears Association that works directly with the National Park Service to research, preserve, and interpret the Cherokee Trail of Tears. The Arkansas Trail of Tears Association works to develop heritage tourism opportunities, enhance mixed-use trail access, and provide educational

programs. The Arkansas Trail of Tears Association is a chapter of the National Trail of Tears Association, a nonprofit organization that supports the network of the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail. The Arkansas chapter works to commemorate the land and water removal routes of the Cherokee, as well as the Chickasaw, Choctaws, Muscogee Creek, and Seminole as they were removed through Arkansas into Indian Territory. 

More information about the association can be found at https://artota.org/ or on Facebook at Arkansas Trail of Tears Association.