For immediate Release: Centerville Declares September Trail of Tears Month
The town of Centerville, Tennessee in Hickman County has declared this September 2019 as Trail of Tears Month, to call attention to the sacrifices made by Native Americans that have been largely left out or scantly mentioned in the history books, a tragedy lost in the shadows.
About the Trail of Tears
Although treaties were established during the years leading up to and after the American Revolution, in 1825, the Federal government formally adopted an Indian removal policy, turned into law by Congress in 1830 as the Indian Removal Act. The law faced several legal challenges, but was put in motion in 1838 by President Martin Van Buren, who ordered General Winfield Scott to begin forcing approximately 16,000* Cherokee people off their lands and into stockades in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee. Entire communities of men, women and children removed from their ancestral lands were forced to march to reservations in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma), with many thousands of people dying along the way, an event now known as The Trail of Tears. Seventeen different detachments of people passed through Tennessee.
Trail of Tears Month in Centerville
During the month of September, the town of Centerville will display 10, double-sided banners depicting a Native American couple and child dressed in traditional Cherokee clothing, on light posts throughout the city.
In addition, the Executive Director of the National Trail of Tears Association, Troy Wayne Poteete, has been invited to speak at the Hickman County Library on September 11 at 6 PM. The evening will also include a musical performance by Daniel Bey, playing Native American flute.
Mr. Poteete is a storyteller and keeper of Cherokee history. He founded the Historical Society in Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, and served as Executive Director of the Cherokee Nation Historical Society. Troy was a delegate to the Cherokee Nation Constitutional Convention in 1999 and has represented the Cherokee Nation on the Five Civilized Tribes Museum Board. He has also held a post on the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council, served as a Justice on the Cherokee Supreme Court, and was a founding member and currently serves as Executive Director of the National Trail of Tears Association.
Mr. Poteete will also be speaking on September 10, at 7 PM, at The Farm Community in Summertown, Tennessee, headquarters of Plenty International, an organization with a long history of support for Native People throughout the world. Please call 931-964-2150 to make reservations to attend this event.
Artist Bernice Davidson
This effort to raise awareness about the Trail of Tears is due to the tireless work of Tennessee artist Bernice Davidson, a descendant of family escaping racial violence in Europe preceding World War II. Ms. Davidson has made it her mission to form a visual corridor through Middle Tennessee marking the Trail of Tears. Past projects include a Trail of Tears Museum in Pulaski, an art display on the town square of Mount Pleasant, and a mural that can be seen on a wall in Centerville, and another mural on the town square in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee.
The Lawrenceburg mural has been turned into the double sided, vinyl banners that will be hung on street light posts in the towns listed above during the month of September. All locations along the Trail of Tears in Tennessee are invited to participate in marking the Trail through the display of a banner. Visit http://bernicedavidsonart.com/ for more information.
Ms. Davidson and the participating cities would like to thank these organizations for the funding for this project:
