The Trail of Tears National Historic Trail is administered by the National Park Service, and commemorates the removal of the Cherokee and the paths that 17 Cherokee detachments followed to resettlement in the Indian Territory (Oklahoma). The trail encompasses about 2,200 miles of land and water routes, and traverses portion of nine states (Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Tennessee).

In 1838, the U.S. government forcibly removed more than 16,000 Cherokee Indian people from their homelands in Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina and Georgia, and sent them to the Indian Territory. The relocation devastated the Cherokee; hundreds died during the trip west, and thousands more perished as a result of the relocation. The move became known as the “Trail of Tears”. The National Park Service now maintains the Trail of Tears as National Historic Trail in partnership with other local, state and federal agencies; For example the Missouri State Parks, Department of Natural Resources, maintains Trail of Tears State Park in Jackson, Missouri.

Another source of information about the Trail and Cherokee History in general is the Cherokee Nation.  The Cherokee History Page has a number of articles concerning the history of the Cherokee people, and the Trail of Tears in particular.  The Eastern Band of the Cherokees did not leave the Cherokee Homeland on the Trail, but remain in parts of North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia to this day.

The Library has a number of items relating to the Trail of Tears; one particular item of interest to Missouri readers is "The Trail of Tears Across Missouri" by Joan Gilbert. The Local History & Genealogy Department also maintains a number of works about the Trail, as well as Cherokee Genealogy and History, and an information file about the Cherokee Indians and the Trail of Tears State Park in Jackson, Missouri.

You may also wish to refer to our Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) concerning Native American Genealogy.