Trail of Tears

The memorial is meant to foster understanding and collective healing for the small Missouri town.

Archaeologist Erin Whitson describes how she has been researching – and coming to terms – with two facts around her home state and hometown: Missouri’s having the most miles of the Cherokee Trail of Tears and Steelville’s being on that path of forced removal.

Each year, a group of young members of the Cherokee Tribes gets on bikes and retraces the Trail of Tears their ancestors traveled when relocated by the U.S. government almost 100 years ago. They hope to bring more understanding and acknowledgement of the tragic event.