President s Letter to the Membership

Transcription

1 President s Letter to the Membership Greetings, As usual, there s a lot going on here at the Trail of Tears Association s Georgia chapter. But perhaps this month, August, will be a bit busier than most, as we nominate leaders for the next two years, finish up a long-gestating archaeology project on the Georgia removal fort sites, set up a tent for the Running Waters Pow-Wow, and ready ourselves not just for the September 10 chapter meeting in Cartersville, but also for the Oct. 3-6 National TOTA conference in Cherokee, NC. In the shadow of all of that, I d like to share a bit of personal news. I m often asked how I got interested in all of this Indian stuff, as a number of friends and acquaintances have phrased it. I m sure many of you get asked the same type of question. Maybe it s even a bit off-putting to even feel compelled to come up with a satisfactory reply. I mean, for the initiated and I think most of the folks reading this would fall into that category -- how could someone NOT be passionately interested in this subject? The story of the removal of Georgia s native people tells us a lot about not just who we were 200 years ago, but who we still are today. I get a big reminder of this every time I go to football games at my old high school. My daughter plays a trumpet for the East Coweta Marching Indians, to a yelping crowd of tomahawk-carrying, warpaint-wearing, featherdressed adults. The fact that no one seems to have an issue with this type of behavior tells us that we have a lot of work yet to do. We ve accomplished a lot during the past several years. We ve added more certified sites to the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, including the Adair homestead at the Rockdale Plantation. We ve installed new wayside exhibits and interpretive panels at the Cedartown removal camp site, and publicly dedicated it with the help of Chief Chad Smith of the Cherokee Nation. We ve installed new signage noting bits of the original Trail in Floyd and Polk counties. We ve established a growing online research database. Our membership rolls continue to increase, making us the largest TOTA chapter in the U.S. We ve done a lot of public archaeology at the removal fort sites this year. We ve nominated important Cherokee-related sites for the Places in Peril program sponsored by Georgia HPD. The list goes on. When I started this journey by tromping around the back roads of Gordon County with Jim Langford and sifting through musty deed records for Dr. Sarah Hill nearly a decade ago, I began to suspect this was going to be more than just a passing hobby for me. So this month I finally decided to fully dedicate my life to discovering more about this story, to reading deeply about it, and to telling others about it. That s why I went back to graduate school last week, to complete a Master of Arts in public history program at the University of West Georgia. As we head into the next two-year period, I d like to invite each of you to reach out and seize YOUR opportunities for personal growth more, and work together to accomplish our common goals? I hope to see you at the Running Waters Pow-Wow in Rome, at our chapter meeting in Cartersville, and at the national conference in Cherokee, NC, so we can discuss these things and chart out our future together as a growing and thriving organization, and as a true community of like-minded peers. It s an honor just and contribution. Why does this story matter to you? Why is the work of TOTA important? How might we all learn more, contribute to be a part of it. Jeff President of the GA TOTA

2 September TOTA Meeting in Cartersville, Georgia The Georgia Chapter of the Trail of Tears Association will hold its next meeting at the Bartow History Museum in Cartersville, GA on Saturday, September 10, 2011 at 10:30 AM. The museum originally opened in 1987 on North Wall Street and relocated to the beautiful and historic 1867 Courthouse in December of GA TOTA President Jeff Bishop will be giving a brief overview of the technology currently used by our organization and what we hope to use in the future. Museum Director Trey Gaines will also give us a tour of the museum. In his words, Our mission here at the museum is to preserve Bartow County history, educate a diverse community of students and visitors about its unique heritage and to celebrate its sense of place through exhibits, programs and outreach activities presented in an engaging and pleasant manner. We have been fortunate to have the staff and volunteers assist in meeting this mission for more than two decades." Current exhibits document the story of the Native Americans and early settlers to the area, the Civil War, farming and industry and prominent people from Bartow County's past. At this meeting we will also be accepting nominations for President and Vice-President for two-year terms beginning January 1, You can submit nominations at any time to Nominations Chair Myra Reidy at myrareidy@live.com or Election The terms of GA TOTA President and Vice-President expire on 12/31/2011. President Jeff Bishop and Vice-President Leslie Thomas are agreeable to serving another 2 year term. All 2011 members can submit nominations to Myra Reidy at (call or text) and at myrareidy@live.com. You may also submit your nominations at the September meeting. The deadline for nominations is September 15, If there are 2 or more nominees for either position, ballots will be sent to members. The results will be tallied at the November meeting. If there are no other nominees, voting will take place at the November meeting. Sincere Condolences and Prayers for the Amber Fay Jones Family Our sincere condolences and prayers are with GA TOTA member Phil Jones and his family as they mourn the passing of his daughter Amber Fay Jones. Amber died on August 2, 2011 at the age of 34. A donation will be made to St. Jude's Children's Hospital in her memory.

3 Georgia Chapter of the Trail of Tears Association Minutes July 9, 2011 Hoag Auditorium North GA College and State University - Dahlonega, GA Vice-President Leslie Thomas called the meeting to order at 10:30 AM. There were 80 attendees with over half being first time visitors. She welcomed the group and thanked the Georgia Appalachian Studies Center for hosting us. Rosann Kent, Assistant Director of GASC, and Dr. Alice Sampson, Director of GASC, invited everyone to visit the Appalachian Studies Center at the Vickery House after the meeting. Joel Cordle, Executive Director of the Downtown Development Authority, passed out Dahlonega tourism brochures. Our guest speaker was Don Wells, President of the Mountain Stewards organization. He spoke mainly about the Trail Trees project and efforts to produce a book and documentary about these mystery trees. The other major effort of Mountain Stewards is the Indian Trails Mapping program. Find out more at Business Meeting After a short break, President Jeff Bishop called the business meeting to order at 11:45 AM. The minutes from the May 2011 GA TOTA membership meeting were approved as written in the July 2011 newsletter. Treasurer Linda Geiger gave the Treasury report. Total income since March 13 was $ Total expenses were $ The balance as of July 5th was $ The financial report was approved as presented. Linda also spoke about the genealogy workshop held in June at New Echota State Historic Site. There were 21 attendees. *The Running Waters pow wow in Rome is held every year on Labor Day weekend. We need volunteers to man the GA TOTA booth. Contact Peggy Stanfield at peggystanfield1832@comcast.net if you can help. *The annual National TOTA conference will be held from October 3 6, 2011 in Cherokee, NC. More information can be found at *Updated GA TOTA brochures have been ordered and will be available soon. *Secretary Linda Baker has contacted Floyd County Road Dept. about the Trail signs knocked down by the tornadoes. The signs have been reinstalled. *GA TOTA member Bill Barker and GA TOTA board member Mike Wren are working on a sign plan for Chattooga County. *Archaeology at Fort Means and Fort Buffington is ongoing under the auspices of Ron Hobgood. Volunteers are needed to help Ron with this effort. GA TOTA board member Myra Reidy is working to gain Forsyth County approval to investigate the possible site of Fort Campbell.

4 *The terms of GA TOTA President and Vice-President end on 12/31/11. Both Jeff and Leslie are willing to serve again for another 2 year term but we welcome anyone interested in serving as an officer or board member to contact Linda Baker at badnil@windstream.net or at We also need someone to be our Fundraising Chairperson. If interested, contact Peggy Stanfield and she will explain the duties involved. *Donna Myers, President of Friends of New Echota, announced upcoming events at New Echota: membership meeting on July 28; Ripe Corn Moon festival on July 30; Three Sisters auction to benefit New Echota on August 13; Frontier Day on October 15; Christmas Candlelite Tour on Dec. 3. More information about these and other events can be found at or by calling *Linda Fletcher announced that the annual Cherokee Days of Recognition at Red Clay State Park in Cleveland, TN will be held the first weekend in August. *Vann House Day will be celebrated on July 23rd. *Linda Baker announced that the 2011 membership total so far is 158, 10 more than in If all of our 2010 members would renew, we would easily surpass the 200 mark. *Thank you to Myra for the great job she is doing as our new newsletter editor. *Linda Geiger and Mike Wren will be attending a Trail of Tears workshop the week of July 25th at Little River Canyon State Park in Alabama. *GA TOTA board member and National TOTA board member Dola Davis invited everyone to visit the site of another possible removal fort in Auraria, very close to Dahlonega. It is identified by a plaque and called The Station. The meeting adjourned at 12:25 PM. Respectfully submitted, Linda Baker, Secretary NPS Trail of Tears Teacher Workshop Learning Opportunities, Southeastern U.S. Indians By Linda Woodward Geiger As an informal educator with the Georgia Chapter of the Trail of Tears Association, I ve had the fortunate opportunity to attend a National Park Service Trail of Tears Teachers Workshop at the Little River Canyon Center in Fort Payne, Alabama, this week. We ve experienced outstanding presentations by Dr. Kathryn Holland Braund; Dr. Gregg O Brien; Dr. Richard Allen; Vicki Rozema; Chickamauga Battlefield interpreters Chris Young and Jim Ogden; and Dr. Andrew Frank. Today the Alabama Chapter of the Trail of Tears Association will provide presentations by Gail King, Larry Smith, and Michael Wren. This week informative Evening sessions have also been

5 provided (these have been held at DeSoto State Park). Yesterday we took a Field trip to the Brainard Mission Cemetery and Ross s Landing. About 1816, John Ross established and operated a ferry across the Tennessee River above Chattanooga Creek. It was at Ross s Landing (now Chattanooga) where thousands of Cherokees camped waiting to be removed to the West. Many of the Cherokee crossed the Tennessee River (for the first time) at this place during removal. Near the site of Ross ferry a memorial to celebrate the Cherokee has been erected. It is a delightful interactive area water park. Microfilm Donated to National Archives at Atlanta In case you have not heard, the first fifteen reels of National Archives microfilm Series M745, "Letters Sent by the Office of the Quarter Master General, Main Series, " is now available at the National Archives at Atlanta. These fifteen reels contain the correspondence pertinent to Georgia from June 5th, 1818 to November 3rd, Details of the correspondence of the Quarter Master General (Record Group 92) are described in the Descriptive Pamphlet M745. Visit to get a look at the pamphlet.

6 Upcoming Events Cherokee Heritage Center's exhibit "Generations, Cherokee Language Through Art" is currently being installed at the Museum Center at 5ive Points in Cleveland, TN. The show is up Jul 30 - Oct 15, Ninety-three Cherokee artists created 85 unique pieces of artwork using the Cherokee language. Dahlonega Appalachian Jam Saturdays 2 PM - 5 PM until Oct 8, 2011 Mountain music pickers and singers flock to the Dahlonega Gold Museum for the Appalachian Jam. Tour the museum then enjoy the live entertainment in our courtyard from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Bring a folding chair and listen or bring your instrument and join in! Traveler's Rest Pioneer Days Saturday, Sep 17, PM to 5 PM Talents and skills of the early 1800s pioneers are brought back to life. Demonstrators will be on hand for spinning, weaving, blacksmithing, hearth cooking, doll making and other pioneer skills. Visitors will also enjoy live period music and dancing Georgia's Indian Heritage Lecture Saturday, Sep 17, PM to 3 PM Etowah Indian Mounds Historic Site Dr. Max White, Professor of History at Piedmont College, will speak on Georgia's Indian heritage, including prehistoric Creek and Cherokee peoples, their culture, contributions, trials and successes. Dr. White will also discuss modern tribes we know today and how they came to be SAVE our State Parks Volunteer Day Saturday, Sep 24, AM to 3 PM We'll be sprucing up the old Cherokee Capital of New Echota with projects including trail work, cemetery clean up, painting and more. Scouts and other groups, please call ahead to register your Troop to participate th Annual TOTA Conference & Symposium Place: Cherokee, North Carolina Dates: October 3-6, 2011 Hosted by the North Carolina Chapter of the Trail of Tears Association Dahlonega Gold Rush Days Saturday, Oct 15, AM to 6 PM Sunday, Oct 16, AM to 6 PM Thousands come to see fall colors peaking and celebrate Dahlonega's 1828 discovery of gold. Included in the weekend event are 300 arts and craft exhibitors, a parade, children's activities, gold panning, hog calling, buck dancing, live entertainment, wrist wrestling, and delicious food

7 Frontier Day Saturday, Oct 15, AM to 4 PM New Echota Cherokee artists, craftsmen and Friends of New Echota members will demonstrate early 19th century skills such as basket making, spinning, weaving, weapons, candlemaking and blacksmithing. Enjoy stories and music Gold Museum Halloween Monday, Oct 31, PM to 9 PM Kids, come just to trick-or-treat or take part in our costume contest for a chance to win prizes. After receiving your Gold Museum treats, take a trip around the historic Dahlonega Square where local merchants will also have special treats for all Georgia Chapter TOTA Officers 2011 Jeff Bishop, President and National Director Leslie Thomas, Vice-President and Communication Chair Linda Baker, Secretary and Publicity Linda Geiger, Treasurer If you have received a paper copy of this newsletter, then you are not on the distribution for this publication. If you would like to be added to this list, please contact the newsletter editor, Myra Reidy, at myrareidy@live.com. Or, you are welcome to phone call or text her at

8 FROM: Georgia Chapter TOTA P.O. Box 91 Cumming, GA TO: