The End of the Trail of Tears: Cherokee Arrival in Western Arkansas and Oklahoma

At Fort Smith, the Cherokee detachments traveling west by water passed the last of the United States and, with a single glance back, entered Indian Territory. The sites at the western end of the Trail of Tears tell what happened next: arrival, hardship, and the rebuilding of the Cherokee Nation.

Trail of Tears sites in western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. Credit: National Park Service.

Before the forced removal

Not every Cherokee went west in 1838–1839.

• The Old Settlers. Some Cherokee saw that forced removal was likely and moved to Arkansas beforehand. Still facing discrimination, they moved again, to Indian Territory (part of today's Oklahoma), and set up their own government.
• The Treaty Party. A dissident group of Cherokee negotiated the Treaty of New Echota with the federal government in 1835, accepting millions of dollars and agreeing to move west. Some of its members traveled with the B. B. Cannon detachment, which passed through Cane Hill in 1837.
• Sequoyah. The creator of the Cherokee syllabary built a cabin near Sallisaw in 1829, before the removal, and worked to reunite the Cherokee Nation politically in its new lands.

Arriving in Indian Territory

After crossing into Indian Territory in 1838–1839, many detachments went to disbandment depots, such as one near Stilwell. The Treaty of New Echota had promised a year of provisions, but supplies came irregularly, and many Cherokee lived in tents while they waited for their first crops.

The Cherokee brought their way of life with them as well as themselves, as the Murrell home at Park Hill, near Tahlequah, and the stories told at Webbers Falls show. The last detachment to leave the Cherokee homelands arrived at Webbers Falls before heading north to a disbandment site near Tahlequah.

At Park Hill, the Cherokee Heritage Center connects the Trail of Tears to today's visitors: what the Cherokee endured, and how they remain a nation — the largest tribal nation in the United States.

Visiting

Depending on how long you stay at each, the route takes one or two days. Contact each site for hours and visiting information. The Trail of Tears National Historic Trail lists more sites in Arkansas and Oklahoma.

Sources

Based on "Trail of Tears: Western Arkansas & Oklahoma Itinerary," National Park Service (Trail of Tears National Historic Trail), a work of the United States government in the public domain.