Trail of Tears National Historic Trail Spring Newsletter 2023

Read the latest project updates and completions from the National Trails Office (NTIR) of the National Park Service (NPS).

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Photo/J.Jarrett

National Trails Welcomes New Staff

NTIR welcomes Jordan Jarrett as the new Cultural Resources Specialist working out of the Santa Fe office. She has worked in archeology for both the National Park Service and the United States Forest Service (USFS) since receiving her Masters from Washington State University in 2013. She began her career working in Cultural Resources at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, completing various compliance and consultation projects (and doing so by boat, plane, and Jeeping on slickrock!). While there, she recorded her first historic trail segment, working with Rosemary Sucec and Lamont Crabtree to document the Slick Rocks segment of the Hole-in-the-Rock Trail near Hite, Utah. She spent two years with the NPS conducting preservation of Ancestral Pueblo structures in Flagstaff Area Monuments and at Tonto National Monument.

In 2016, Jordan moved to New Mexico to work at Bandelier National Monument, where she served as an archeologist, monitoring and recording sites on the Pajarito Plateau. Jordan and her spouse live in Los Alamos, enjoying the many parks and resources the area has to offer! After a brief stint with USFS, Jordan says she has been "fortunate enough to have the opportunity to return to the National Park Service to further our mission of protecting and preserving our amazing resources. In my current role as external compliance reviewer, I look forward to learning about our trails, protecting our resources, and learning from my coworkers and our partners along the way!"

Staff Updates

NTIR is pleased to announce a few changes within the office. NTIR Lead Historian Angélica Sánchez-Clark has accepted a new position at NTIR as the Partnerships and Outreach Coordinator. NTIR cultural resources staff Jill Jensen, who had been in the acting role in the planning position, has become the permanent planner. Congratulations to these staff members on their new positions!

High water flood event at Stark's Crossing at Gasconade Hills Resort, in Richland MO, taken on March 4, 2023. Trees in the foreground are usually completely exposed and flow at this location is not ordinarily visible.

NPS Photo

NTIR Staff Site Visits

In March, NTIR staff completed a tour of much of the north route of the Trail of Tears, visiting sites and partners along the way. Despite less-than-ideal weather, they visited Trail of Tears Memorial Park, Mantle Rock Nature Preserve, Trail of Tears State Park, Bollinger Mill State Historic Site, Hidden Waters Nature Park, Stark's Crossing, Boiling Springs Conservation Area, Montauk State Park, and the Roy Laughlin Park on Robidoux Creek.

Aerial view of Port Royal State Park and the Trail of Tears.

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Port Royal State Park Site Plans

In anticipation of Connect Trails to Parks special project funding in 2024, NTIR staff has developed two site plan alternatives for Port Royal State Park in Tennessee. Both alternatives include concepts for a larger parking lot that will have enough room to accommodate buses, a new trailhead with visitor orientation, and a new interpretive loop trail system.

Fort Smith and North Little Rock Project

As part of a Connect Trails to Parks project, NTIR staff worked in concert with Fort Smith National Historic Site (NHS) on tribal consultation to discuss all aspects of the replacement of interpretive waysides and a contemplative space at Fort Smith NHS destroyed during the 2019 flood. All five tribes passed the site at the confluence of the Poteau and Arkansas rivers on the Water Route, essentially entering Indian Territory. The multi-day in-person and virtual consultation involved representatives from the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, and Muscogee nations and key messages were determined.

This project includes new exhibits expressing each tribe's perspective on Indian Removal, their tribe's experience, and the message that the tribes are still alive and flourishing today. NTIR staff will design the exhibits as well as additional, innovative interpretive media to connect the visitor experience along a defined tour that will contextualize Indian Removal and express relevance today. The exhibits will be duplicated and placed along the river walk in North Little Rock.

Turkey Bay Off-Highway Vehicle Area.

NPS Photo

Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area

NTIR provided the US Forest Service (USFS) with special project funding to complete a project that will bring awareness to the Trail of Tears Water Route within the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area in Kentucky.

Funds will be used to design, fabricate, and install interpretive panels and site signing at six of the most highly visited locations at Land Between the Lakes. USFS will also undertake additional site improvements such as planting trees and adding benches and artwork.

Reach a new and wider audience! Contact [e-mail] for information about how to have your site featured!

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Get Your Trail Site on the NPS Website & App

We need help from the site experts! NTIR staff is creating Places webpages for sites across the Trail of Tears NHT. Creating this page has a number of benefits: your site and information will be featured in the NPS mobile app and across the NPS.gov websites, bringing your site to a wider audience. And it's very easy! Interested? NTIR staff is requesting that you fill out a Places Feature form. That's all it takes! This form prompts you for basic information about your site and the significance to the national historic trail.

Take a look at the Jacob Wolf House Historic Site for an example.

Would you like to request a form? Do you have additional questions? Contact Em Kessler for more information. ([e-mail])

New Site Video

NTIR has created a short video for the Mantle Rock site. This video is part of an effort to inform visitors about the opportunities and sites along the Trail of Tears NHT.

NTIR is creating a series of these short videos (~1 ½ mins) for trail sites, to load onto our website and to the NPS National Trails YouTube channel. The videos are meant to "advertise" trail sites to visitors, briefly telling them what there is to see and do, and try to entice them to visit.

Take a look below, or if you are reading a printed version, check out:

Mantle Rock: go.nps.gov/mantlerock

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  Mantle Rock Nature Preserve – Place to visit on the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail

  Mantle Rock Nature Preserve is a 367-acre natural area that invites visitors to explore rare and unique natural features of Kentucky and offers the meaningful experience of retracing a portion of the Trail of Tears northern route. A two- and three-quarter-mile loop trail follows a one-mile portion of the same historic road traveled Cherokee people during the forced Indian removal of 1838 and 1839. For more information: Go.nps.gov/mantlerock.

  Duration:

  1 minute, 28 seconds

Virtual Trail Stories & Experiences

Have you been following the trails on social media? You may have noticed an increase in articles, virtual visits, and virtual kids' activities. People can't travel to experience the trails in person, so NTIR has been working to bring the trails to your house. You can check out recent and past articles, become a junior ranger, take virtual visits to learn more about trail sites, and more - click the links below!

Connect with the Trail

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  Find us on Social Media

  Learn more about the trail on social media!

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  Trail of Tears Website

  Learn more on the NPS Trail of Tears website.

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  Contact NTIR

  Contact NTIR or individual staff.