Trail of Tears Mapping Project

Tracking the memorials, monuments and other sites of memory to the Trail of Tears and the genocide of Indigenous Peoples in the U.S.

Trail of Tears Mapping Project

Introduction

Our map tracks the various memorials, monuments, and sites of memory to the Trail of Tears and the genocide of Indigenous Peoples by the United States government. In doing so, we categorize types of memorials, management of memorials, and historiography and perspective.

As we'll get into, many of the historical narratives and representations put forward in these memorials are inaccurate and harmful.

Final Project Map 1252020


Categorizing Sites

Our legend differentiates between types of memorials. These can range from parks to monuments to cultural centers to museums. I'll now briefly illustrate a few.

Examples of Memorials

Examples range from the American Indian Genocide Museum in Dallas, Texas, which is privately run and owned, and was established in 2001;

to the Cherokee Removal Memorial in Cherokee Removal Park in Birchwood, Texas, established in 2013, and spearheaded by two women of Cherokee heritage;

to the Kuruvungna Sacred Springs in Los Angeles, home to the Tongva people and preserved since 1998, now a California Historical landmark;

to the Waterloo Landing in Tennessee, a part of the NPS-run Trail of Tears historic trail, and the site where many Cherokees were transferred to a steamboat to continue their expulsion west.

Our map begins with several layers, which I'll explain now.

To begin with, we have our base layer, which maps memorials across the country.

Next, we add in the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, run and operated by the National Park Service. As you can see, many of the memorials of course also mirror these lines, as they follow the actual Trail of Tears; many of these memorials, markers and sites are officially part of the NPS-run National Historic Trail, as well.

Now, we add in the layer of the tribal lands.

And finally, we add in today's recognized tribal lands, mainly reservations.


Management and Ownership

Finally, another way we decided to categorize was through the management of each memorial, which has so much to do with the perspective presented, the agency granted to respective persons and populations, and the overall appropriation of a history.

For our legend, the types we split our memorials into were as follows: National Park Service; county-run — mainly in county parks; federally run — Bureau of Land Management, for example, or a Smithsonian; municipal — often town-run parks; state; private; tribal; or private-public — for instance, when a foundation might run a public land.


Only 8 of the 32 memorials show Indigenous ownership or involvement.

Of those 8, only 3 are tribally run and maintained.

Also of those 8, only 2 are physical relics; one memorial site in Tennessee and one memorial site in Washington, D.C.


Appropriate Terminology

10% of the memorials we surveyed use the word "Indian" in the title and nearly all include the word "Indian" on their websites and/or memorial descriptions.

Problematic Rhetoric

Memorial in Name Only

The stated goal of the Trail of Tears State Forest in Illinois is for the management of "timber, wildlife, ecosystem preservation, watershed protection and recreation".

Little Bighorn

The Battlefield Memorial is dedicated to the U.S. soldiers who died in battle. The NPS website tells a mighty tale of a "clash of cultures"!

Waynesville, MO Trail of Tears Memorial

Missouri Division of Tourism site describes the Trail of Tears as the "journey of 1838-39" for the Cherokee Nation.

Confederate Monument

At the dedication ceremony, the principal speaker Mrs. E.L. McKee “stressed the need of southern history being perpetuated and eulogized the Indian soldiers of the Confederacy.” 

Kuruvungna Sacred Springs, a story of struggle and success.

The Sacred Springs were left tattered and vandalized for decades until Tongva descendant Angie Behrens stepped in. Behrens formed the Gabrielino Tongva Springs Foundations which continues to preserve the site and educate the public about its history and culture. The foundation lobbied in Sacramento and won!

A 1988 bill appropriated $50,000 to “plan for the preservation of the Gabrieliño/Tongva Springs and property adjacent thereto . . . in order to enhance environmental, cultural and educational opportunities.”


Memorials in the West

The Sacred Springs in California is just one example of memorials in the West, which are less emphasized.

Memorials in the West

Although a majority of memorials are in the South and Midwest, there are also some in the West too.

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument

This monument stores the ruins of an ancestral Sonoran Desert farming community. It was also part of a larger system of communities and canals.

Organ Mountains Desert Peaks National Monument

This monument includes cultural features such as carved prehistoric rock and "Geronimo's cave".

Effigy Mounds National Monument

This monument has 200+ sacred mounds and 20 culturally associated tribes. Mounds were used for sacred, ceremonial use.


Virtual Memorials

Another fact that is less widely known is that there are virtual memorials, which can be more accessible to some populations.

For example, the California Indians Memorial documents all Indigenous Peoples killed in the genocide.

Another example is the Bdote Memory Map, which was created to "express the historic and continued connection of the Dakota people". It recognizes tradition and sacred places can be erased and wants to preserve this history. Bdote refers to the area between the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers.

The last example is the online exhibit "Why We Serve" in the National Museum of the American Indian. It highlights Indigenous Peoples in the U.S. Armed Forces since the American Revolution.

These virtual memorials are more accessible than many in-person memorials, some of which may not have direct access such as Tuscumbia Landing in Sheffield, Alabama.

Tuscumbia Landing in Sheffield, Alabama is fenced in and lacks direct access.


How does this relate to class lectures?

  • In Week 1, we talked about redress for historical dialogue with Professor Barkan's piece "Historical Dialogue and Mass Atrocities" and the Washington Post article "Can remembering past atrocities prevent future ones?". In 2019, California governor Gavin Newsom issued an  executive order  that recognized state-sponsored violence and discrimination against Indigenous Peoples as a part of California's "dark history". He also made a "Truth and Healing Council" to report on historical relationships between those indigenous to the land now known as California and the state of California. However, is this enough?
  • In Week 6, we discussed the importance of shared narratives. This stresses the importance of plurivocal and multivocal narratives. Conventional history has repressed the histories of Indigenous peoples. It is also important to emphasize that “Indigenous” is not a monolithic identity. Shared histories are incredibly relevant to moving forward; U.S. historiography must value the narratives of Indigenous Peoples, as well as contextualizing their present situation.
  • In Week 10, Professor Barkan mentioned discourse about erasing or constructing history regarding removal of Confederate monuments in U.S. In June 14, the Cherokee nation  removed  2 Confederate monuments from Capitol Square in Cherokee County, Oklahoma. On the other hand, the mayor of Arcata, California said removing a monument of President McKinley would  take away from the city's culture . The NYC Mayor De Blasio vowed to  layer the Columbus monument  and have a new monument honoring indigenous people. Clearly, this issue is heavily related to Week 10's lecture.
  • In Week 12, we talked about human rights archiving. This is relevant because the accessibility of paper archives versus digital archives is similar to the accessibility of in-person memorials versus virtual memorials.
  • Week 7 and 11: So, we come back to an overall question of "How beneficial mapping historical dialogues is in documenting the atrocities toward Indigenous Peoples?" From our research, we've found that it is incredibly important, particularly in this context, for three main reasons:

Conclusion

  1. Mapping allows us to recognize the widespread genocide and history of injustice towards Indigenous Peoples in the U.S.
  2. Mapping these memorials gives us easily understandable representation of data in one visual, which allows us to emphasize particularly problematic areas and deepen our understanding of the issue in different regions to eventually be able to address these challenges.
  3. Lastly, mapping provides useful evidence for human rights defenders to influence high influence decision-makers and empower these individuals to create public policy solutions to mitigate past atrocities from reoccurring.

Only 8 of the 32 memorials show Indigenous ownership or involvement.

10% of the memorials we surveyed use the word "Indian" in the title and nearly all include the word "Indian" on their websites and/or memorial descriptions.

Kuruvungna Sacred Springs, a story of struggle and success.

Tuscumbia Landing in Sheffield, Alabama is fenced in and lacks direct access.