Jay I'd seen that article also and was going to mention it. I'd left my copy in the office so I'm very glad you did this...now I won't have to. It's very good news. Zach Wamp is the rep. for this area in Washington, DC. It's good to know he is aware of his Cherokee heritage and is willing to help recognize their contributions to society and history. Joyce Gaston Reece ----- Original Message ----- From: jay earl To: CherokeeGene-L@rootsweb.com Sent: Saturday, July 02, 2005 12:12 PM Subject: [CherokeeGeneCommunity] FYI: Trail of Tears expansion Trail of Tears expansion proposed Thursday, Jun 30, 2005 By Kate Barrett Stephens Washington Bureau WASHINGTON -- The Trail of Tears would be broadened through Northwest Arkansas, adding second routes near Fort Smith and Fayetteville, under a bill unveiled Wednesday in Congress. Reps. Marion Berry, D- Ark., and Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., announced a plan that could more than double the number of documented routes along the historic trail where Cherokee Indians traveled after being forcibly removed from the East Coast in 1838. The new bill outlining the routes was revealed the same day that the Senate Indian Affairs Committee unanimously advanced legislation to apologize for past mistreatment of American Indians. Cherokee Nation principal chief Chad Smith said he couldn't think of "any greater evidence" of the need for apology than the forced trek of more than 15,000 Cherokees along the Trail of Tears. "It's the sin of not learning from history that is unforgiving," he said in his remarks. The bill gives the Interior Secretary a year to complete a study of two new major routes to be added to the nationally recognize Trail of Tears. It also requires new segments to be tacked onto the beginning of the trail in North Carolina and Georgia, and new forts and arrival stations to be included along the path. Sponsors said research collected since the trail was officially designated in 1987 has already documented the proposed additions. In 1830, President Andrew Jackson's Indian Removal Act forced about 100,000 American Indians from their homes and demanded they move west to make room for new American settlers. In 1838, Cherokees made the strenuous trek from the East to Oklahoma. Nearly one quarter of them - mostly children and the elderly - died along the way. At a news conference on Wednesday, Smith pointed to a long scroll signed in 1836 by 17,600 people who objected to the removal. "You can go through this scroll and mark out every fourth one, because every fourth one perished on the Trail of Tears." he said. Both of the proposed routes pass through Northwest Arkansas, including the Bell Route just north of Fort Smith, and the Benge Route from Randolph County into Fayetteville. In Oklahoma, designations are also needed at five "dispersing depots," where Cherokees ended their journeys, said Duane King, a historian who has studied the Trail of Tears. The Cherokees' plight "is something that is still remembered, particularly in north and central Arkansas, as a very important thing, and the people there have wanted this done for a long, long time," Berry said. Rep. Dan Boren, D- Okla., said fully documenting the trail will help future generations learn from the past. "As someone who is a young person, we need to instill in those young people coming after us the history, the loss of life, and remember not to repeat those mistakes of the past," said Boren, 31, one of the youngest members of Congress. _http://www.arkansasnews.com/archive/2005/06/30/WashingtonDCBureau/3237_ (http://www.arkansasnews.com/archive/2005/06/30/WashingtonDCBureau/3237) 65.html ____________________________________________________ Yahoo! Sports Rekindle the Rivalries. Sign up for Fantasy Football http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com ==== CherokeeGene Mailing List ==== This list is for Genealogy related conversations Your supporting website http://www.wvi.com/~wb/Cherokee1.html Please Good manors and no flaming others For Culture, ridges; bumps; skin tones; or Language lessons Please visit CHEROKEE-L-request@rootsweb.com You can also find what you need search the archives or to get off this list via web site below http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/other/Ethnic-Native/CherokeeGene.html Listowner = CherokeeGene-admin@rootsweb.com