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March 4, 2008
A lone Cherokee Indian walked the barren earth where bulldozers had cleared the way for construction of a monument to the people who were at the Blythe Ferry staging area prior to the Trail of Tears in 1838.
Alva Crow of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee from Cherokee, N. C., arrived at Blythe Ferry Landing, west of Georgetown, two hours early. It was a difficult journey for Crow, who is undergoing chemotherapy.
“I am blessing the people who were here that made the removal on the Trail of Tears is here,” he said. “The people who passed away is here.”
He blessed the people to help them relieve their anger and help them go home.
“It’s time for them to go home,” Crow said. “It’s time for them to welcome the new world, the new Trail of Tears, to make it a beautiful place for them, not for us. They can go on and be happy now.”
He said it is important for people to remember how America was in the freedom they had.
US Congressman Zach Wamp has been in the forefront of passing national Trail of Tears legislation that will double the size of the trail based on 29 immigration depots and two other routes that were never documented or recorded as the Trail of Tears. A full length feature film will be released in the next two years.
“This is part of who we are. This is one of the great lessons of history that mistakes can be made by the greatest government in the history of the world,” Wamp said. “The US Supreme Court said it was unconstitutional and couldn’t be done. President Andrew Jackson did it anyway. He basically told the Supreme Court to enforce their ruling, knowing full well they had no enforcement power.”
Wamp said Jackson denied his responsibility and ordered the forced removal that led to the death of 4,000 to 5,000 before their arrival in Oklahoma.
“Here at Blythe Ferry is where 9,000 Cherokee crossed the Tennessee River,” he said. “That’s why this is a special place. That’s why it is appropriate the Cherokee Removal Memorial is here.”
The 2,400 sq. ft. memorial was funded by $1.3 million of federal transportation enhancement funds. There is an overlook on a bluff above Jolly Island where Sam Houston lived for a time. Eventually, there will be a boat dock at Blythe Ferry.
“There will be three amenities here where 9,000 Cherokee spent quite some time before they headed west,” he said. “The bright spot in this tragedy is they survived and they have very strong character. The Cherokee Nation is a strong tribe.”
The Cherokee Removal Monument was the dream of one woman, then two and then a third.
Shirley Hoskins, who had relatives on the trail was born in Oklahoma, but moved to Tennessee when her husband went to work for the Tennessee Valley Authority. A monument has been a dream of hers for 30 years.
“I lived in Chattanooga 15 years before I even knew where the Cherokee came from,” she said.
The dream began to solidify 12 years ago when Gloria Schouggins and Shirley Lawrence, of Decatur, began helping her.
County Mayor Ken Jones said Schouggins was a constant picture on his radar screen. “Every time I looked up from my desk, Gloria was right there in front of me.”
Jones said it is important the memorial be built so we do not forget.
“Building this is just, and it is right,” he said.
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