History

The signing of the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek in 1830 between the Choctaw people of Mississippi and the United States government signified the removal of the Choctaw people from their land. The removal was orchestrated through a series of five-hundred mile walks to reservation lands in Oklahoma.

The suffering caused by the mistakes and inefficiency of the War Department, combined with one of the region’s worst blizzards in history, was indescribable. Transportation problems became critical; wagons were in short supply and many roads became impassable except by foot.

The walks resulted in the loss of a substantial number of the participants and are now known as the Choctaw Trail of Tears. Thus, the Trail of Tears carries with it a strong reminder of the perseverance of the Choctaw people--both those who walked the trail, and those who remained behind in defiance of the removal treaties.

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