Trail of Tears Documentation Act

Madam Speaker, I'd like to thank Chairman Rahall and Ranking Member Young and their staff for their help. I'd also like to thank all 21 cosponsors for their involvement and especially Congressman Heath Shuler, who helped me champion this very worthy initiative. Most of all, I would like to thank Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, Chad Smith and Principal Chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee, Michell Hicks, as well as the National and State Trail of Tears Associations.

I am very proud of H.R. 5335, the Trail of Tears Documentation Act and count it as a great privilege to be the lead sponsor. When I was a little boy, my mother told me of my own Cherokee heritage. Her grandfather, Luna Meadows was half Cherokee. His mother, Little Flower, was a full-blooded Cherokee midwife. So completing the story of the Cherokee Removal is personal for me and very important for our country as the Trail of Tears and the forced removal is one of the seminal injustices in American history. It must be told accurately, honestly and completely. I urge passage of this bill and enactment of the legislation.

This bill is the subsequent measure to H.R. 3085, the Trail of Tears Study Act which was signed into law in December 2006. H.R. 3085 directed the National Park Service to complete a study on expanding the current Trail of Tears National Historic Trail to include previously omitted components. In 1987 when the original Trail was designated, the historical documentation available for these known passages was sparse and ambiguous. Since that time however, significant research on the proposed additions has been documented by National Park Service historians through military journals, newspaper accounts and vouchers-- compelling us to reconsider these passages. In fact, the NPS has noted that now these proposed trails are better documented than the primary routes that currently make up the Trail of Tears.

The Cherokee removal is only one tribe's story of the Indian Removal Act of 1830, but it is the most visible in American history. It is not just an Arkansas and Oklahoma story; it started in North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama. These distinct routes and campgrounds proposed in the Trail of Tears Documentation Act more fully reflect this tragic saga of a proud people's forced removal. The story is not yet complete until we commemorate the full experience.

The arteries I want to highlight are the detachments led by John Benge that traveled 734 miles starting at Fort Payne, Alabama continuing through Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma. And the Treaty Party Group led by John Bell which traveled 765 miles starting at Charleston, Tennessee crossing west over Moccasin Bend and traveling through Arkansas. It was the only one of the 17 detachments that did not disband in Oklahoma.

Also included are 29 forts and the emigration depots concentrated around Fort Payne, Alabama; Ross's Landing--present day Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Fort Cass--present day Charleston, Tennessee where the Cherokee initially were taken after being rounded up from their homes for the long journey west.

The National Park Service has demonstrated strong partnerships geared toward respecting the private property of citizens in its administering of the current Trail of Tears National Historic Trail and will continue to do so upon the addition of the Benge, Bell Routes and associated components. In fact, as the NPS traveled throughout the U.S. conducting public hearings on the proposal in the designated areas, the support and belief in this initiative were overwhelming.

The designation and interpretation of the additional sites and trails associated with the Cherokee Removal will enhance public understanding of American history. Our greatness as a nation is our ability to look at our own history objectively and in proper perspective, being mindful of the errors of the past in order

not to repeat them. Through this legislation we will honor the historic footsteps taken by the Cherokee and celebrate our future as we remember the past.

Finally, because of historical significance, H.R. 5335 enjoys broad support not only within Congress, but also with the Cherokee Nation, Eastern Band of Cherokee and associated trail organizations. The legislation is a good example of how Congress can better understand a national event through an accurate portrayal of the people, the places and the actions involved. We can learn a lot from history and in this case, ensure that it will never be repeated.

Madam Speaker, I come here in support of H.R. 5335, which would amend the National Trails System Act to provide for the inclusion of new trail segments, land components, and campgrounds associated with the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail. First, I would like to thank my colleague from Tennessee, Congressman Wamp, for sponsoring this important legislation. As an Oklahoman, this legislation is significant to my district, where many of my constituents are descendants of those who survived the Trail of Tears. However, as the only Native American currently serving in Congress this bill is also personally important to me, as my ancestors were forcibly relocated from Mississippi to Oklahoma through the Trail of Tears, though not one of the routes originally documented in the original Historic Trail. Of the dozens of tribes that call Oklahoma home today, very few are originally from the area. Virtually all of the tribes in Oklahoma experienced the tragedy of the forced relocation process.

Mr. Chairman, when the Trail of Tears Historic Trail was created by Congress in 1987, it designated two main routes taken by the Cherokee during the removal process. Historically, many routes used during removal were not well documented at the time and were not included in the designation. Since that time, researchers have identified other routes taken by Native Americans during the relocation process. A feasibility study, ordered by Congress and released in September 2007, did find additional trail segments. This bill, pursuant to the feasibility study, adds additional land components, round up routes and water routes to the Trail of Tears Historic Trail. I am happy to be an original co-sponsor of this legislation.

Not only will these additional designations help to raise awareness about this tragic chapter of our Nation's history, but will provide many across Indian country with better access to their past and collective history. The Trail of Tears crystallized the idea of race as a determining factor in American public policy and documents the first federally legislated forced removal of Native people from traditional homelands. The physical route of the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail and historic sites associated with the Trail and removal reflect the lifestyles of Native people at the time of removal, the harshness of the journey West and their remarkable adaptation to new surroundings. Thousands of Native Americans in Oklahoma and elsewhere will be able to visit these sites and identify with their ancestors' desperate journey westward.

Madam Speaker, though this bill calls awareness to one of the most tragic events in our Nation's history, it also is ultimately a story of survival. The tribes that were relocated have once again established themselves and remain strong. This achievement only helps exemplify the astonishing fortitude of American Indians.

Again, I thank Congressman Wamp for introducing this crucial legislation. As the only Native American currently serving in Congress, I am proud to support the intention of this bill and I urge Members to vote for its passage.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to voice my strong support for H.R. 5335, the Trail of Tears Documentation Act. As a co-sponsor of this legislation, I feel that it is imperative that Congress make it a priority to protect and preserve these historic routes.

H.R. 5335 amends the National Trails System Act to provide for the inclusion of new trail segments, land components, and campsites associated with the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail.

The Trail of Tears was a significant and shameful chapter in American history. In 1838-1839, the U.S. Government forcibly removed Cherokee Indians from their ancestral homelands in western North Carolina and other parts of the southeastern United States and resettled them in Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River. Over 15,000 Cherokees were systematically rounded up from their homes and forced to travel by foot, horseback, boat, and wagon across the southern U.S. to Indian Territory. More than 1,000 people died from exposure, illness, and exhaustion during the roundup and removal.

I am proud to have grown up alongside the Qualla Boundary in western North Carolina, home to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. The EBCI are descended from the Cherokee who resisted removal by taking to their ancestral mountains, where they still live to this day and keep alive the traditions and values of their forefathers.

The Trail of Tears Act designated two primary travel routes, the northern land route and the water routes. This amendment specifically adds other significant routes that were used by the Cherokee during the resettlement. These include: the Bell and Benge routes, the land components of the water routes, the routes from the roundup forts and camps in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee, and the related campsites located along the routes and land components.

I am a proud co-sponsor of this bill, and I commend Congressman Zach Wamp for introducing this legislation and fighting to ensure its passage in the 110th Congress. I ask that my colleagues join me in honoring the memory of all of the Cherokee who suffered during the removal on the Trail of Tears.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5335) to amend the National Trails System Act to provide for the inclusion of new trail segments, land components, and campgrounds associated with the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, and for other purposes, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Madam Speaker, H.R. 5335, introduced by our colleague from Tennessee, Representative Wamp, implements the recommendations of a National Park Service study that examined the possibility of adding several side trails associated with the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail.

Congress designated the original National Historic Trail in 1987 to commemorate the two main routes used during the forced removal of more than 15,000 Cherokee Indians from their ancestral homelands in the southeastern United States. At that time, many of the side routes used during the removal were not well documented.

Subsequent research has identified these routes, and in 2006 Congress directed the National Park Service to determine which, if any, of these routes would be eligible for addition to the existing trail.

The National Park Service found a number of components eligible for designation and recommended adding routes in Tennessee and Alabama. H.R. 5335 adds those routes to the existing trail.

I ask my colleagues to support passage of this measure.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I again urge Members to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

This legislation, H.R. 5335, has been explained by the good manager of the bill, and we support the legislation.

I would like to, at this time, acknowledge the bill's author, Congressman Zach Wamp, and of course Congressman Shuler. Both of them have asked me and asked the leadership of the Resources Committee to move this legislation.

I support the legislation because it does recognize the angst of those that marched on this trail. I strongly compliment both of those gentlemen for their hard work.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.