About Our Chapter

In 1993, under the auspices of the Secretary of the Interior and the Trail of Tears Advisory Council, the Trail of Tears Association was created and incorporated in Missouri as a non-profit organization. The corporation papers were signed by the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation and the Principal Chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

The Association has entered into a cooperative agreement with the National Park Service to promote and engage in the protection and preservation of Trail of Tears National Historic Trail resources; to promote awareness of the Trail’s legacy, including the effects of the U.S. Government’s Indian Removal Policy on the Cherokees and other tribes; and to perpetuate the management and development techniques that are consistent with the National Park Service’s trail plan.

The North Carolina Chapter of the Trail of Tears Association is dedicated to documenting routes and sites associated with the Trail of Tears in North Carolina and sharing the story of the Cherokee homeland.

• 1980- US Congress asked NPS to recommend a way of commemorating the Cherokee Trail of Tears, the most enduring feature of the tragic Removal period in American History.
• 1987- Public Law 100-192 designated two routes as a National Historic Trail administered by the National Park Service.
• 1989- Local Cherokee County leaders pushed for a state park with a reproduction of Fort Butler, but funding for state parks was not available.
• 1990- Congress officially designated the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail.
• 1992- The National Park Service produced a Comprehensive Management and Use Plan.
• 1993- The Trail of Tears Association, a non-profit organization, was created to promote awareness and to engage in the protection and preservation of the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail resources and legacy.
• 1996- On September 1, Mark Barrett wrote an article entitled “Official Trail of Tears bypasses Western North Carolina” in the Asheville Citizens Times.
• 1996- On September 20, Mary Ann Thompson wrote Superintendent David Gaines in the Trails Office advocating for NC sites to be included as part of the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail. She wrote, “Many descendants of those removed Cherokees live in Cherokee, Clay, and Graham Counties at this time and they want this history told, but want the full story told. Tell us what we need to do to have the trail certified and to have the markers placed on the route through Western North Carolina. This story must start in Western North Carolina.”
• 1996- The Museum of the Cherokee Indian (now the Museum of the Cherokee People) opened with new displays and was designated as a certified Trail of Tears Interpretive Center.
• 1996- NC Governor James Hunt signed an agreement of cooperation.
• 1997- The first Annual Conference was held in Cherokee, NC.
• 1997- The North Carolina Trail of Tears Association (NCTOTA) organized to support the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail and to certify and include NC associated sites.
• 1998- NCTOTA developed its mission to incorporate NC into the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail.
• 2002- NCTOTA received a Cherokee Preservation Foundation (CPF) grant and Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians funding.
• 2003- NCTOTA was added to the National Trail of Tears Association.
• 2003- NCTOTA began planning for 18 outdoor interpretive exhibits to correlate with the new Cherokee County Historical Museum exhibit.
• 2006- Dr. Brett Riggs and Lance Greene published The Cherokee Trail of Tears in North Carolina: An Inventory of Trail Resources in Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Macon, and Swain Counties.
• 2008- The first 3 of 18 wayside exhibits were placed at the Andrews Rest Stop.
• 2024- The last of the original 18 wayside exhibits, a panel on Qualla Town, was installed in Cherokee, NC.