More than 20 routes and sites in western North Carolina might be added to the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail.

An estimated 16,000 Cherokees were forced to leave their homelands in the southeastern U.S. in 1838 and 1839. Many died along the way to Oklahoma, the current home of the Cherokee Nation, while others were deported to North Carolina, the home of the Eastern Band of Cherokees.

The tribe's Museum of the Cherokee Indian has documented the sites for possible inclusion in the trail. An archaeologist UNC-Chapel Hill also has prepared a report detailing the North Carolina sites.

Get the Story:
Steps taken to add spots in WNC to official Trail of Tears (The Asheville Citizen-Times 7/21)

Get the Bill:
Trail of Tears Documentation Act (H.R.3085)

Relevant Links:
Trail of Tears, links and info - http://www.rosecity.net/tears

Related Stories:
Trail of Tears Documentation Act introduced in House (06/30)