Steelville's Connection to the Trail of Tears
The Trail of Tears was a massive push by the United States government to forcibly remove all native people from the southeastern United States.
Missouri has the most miles of Trail of Tears, but only a few sites are known. The Steelville area has several known sites.
Thousands of Cherokee, Creek and enslaved people walked the Northern Route of the Trail of Tears and camped in Steelville.
Some died and were buried in Steelville, others survived the journey and built a new life in Indian Territory (Oklahoma).
What can we learn from archeological sites like those in Steelville, Missouri?
- There are no accounts telling us how the Cherokee setup their encampments or what they had with them.
- Discarded items give archeologists a window into the past. By the time they got to Steelville, things had started to break beyond repair.
- Where and how they set up camp speaks powerfully to the question: “How do we keep as many people alive as possible while on this journey ?
- Archeologist Erin Whitson is the first in her field to focus on what the experience was like for people walking the path westward.
Why is Erin Whitson’s work in Steelville, Missouri important nationally?
“What I'd also really like is to help Cherokee people feel like they have a spot here.” – Erin Whitson
- Archeologist Erin Whitson has worked for years with members of the Cherokee Nation, and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, to identify tools and methods to authenticate sites like Steelville and interpret what they find.
- These are nonrenewable resources, graves and encampments that speak to an important time in our nation’s history that we need to remember.
- Steelville, a town of 1,500 people in Crawford County, Missouri. Steelville is located along the Northern Route of the Trail of Tears where thousands of Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek), and their enslaved people camped during the forced removal of Native people from the southeastern United States.
Trail of Tears Remembrance Committee. You Can Help!
The Steelville Trail of Tears Remembrance Committee is raising $200,000 to place a permanent monument at one of the encampment sites.
Renowned Cherokee and Pawnee artist Daniel HorseChief has created the conceptual design for an bronze sculpture titled “The Trail”.
The sculpture depicts a falcon rising from tears and flames like an ascending phoenix, with figures representing the diversity of human experiences along the Trail of Tears.
All donations will go directly to the production and installation of the planned monument
Checks can be made payable to: STV HS ToT Memorial, and mailed to: Steelville Area Historical Society,
10535 Doc Polk Rd.,
Steelville, Mo 65565.
Donations may be dropped at any
First Community National Bank Branch.
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