Cherokee remember ancestors at Red Clay for Indigenous Peoples Day
Members of the Cherokee Nation and Red Clay State Historical Park staff standing next to the Eternal Flame of the Cherokee.
BRADLEY COUNTY, Tenn. (WDEF)- October 14th historically has been Columbus Day.
However, in light of the atrocities committed against Native Americans, many are now celebrating a much different holiday, Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
Among these groups are the Cherokee Nation, the second largest Native American group in the United States.
The Red Clay State Historical Park in southern Bradley County is the site of the last historical capital of the Cherokees in the 1830s before they were removed from our area during the Trail of Tears.
They were moved to Oklahoma, where many descendants still reside, particularly around Tahlequah, Oklahoma.
Made into a park in 1979, descendants of those who lost everything say that seeing this site on this particular day holds a special meaning.
The Principal Chief of the Cherokee nation, Chuck Hoskin, Jr. said, “When we come back here there is some feelings of sorrow, feelings of the loss that our ancestors experienced.”
While on site, those in the Cherokee Nation performed various rituals to honor their ancestors who had their homes taken away from them.
These included a ceremonial cleansing at the Blue Hole Spring, which was the Cherokees’ water source while living at Red Clay.
The park’s manager, Erin Medley, said, “It is very powerful and the Council Spring is still very important to the Cherokee people today. In fact they are the only ones we allow in there at any given time because it is very sacred to them.”
While on site, they also visited former homesteads and the Eternal Flame, which honors all of the Cherokee who perished on their forced journey west.
Chief Hoskin said, “This is where we are continuing to stand our ground, but also continuing to build something up in our national character that really stays with us today that we are committed to building a government for the people, by the people, democratic principles, and investing in each other while having each other’s back. That’s how we got through a very difficult period that happened in part on this site.”
Chief Hoskin says seeing what indigenous people had to go through in our country is so important to why this particular day is so important for the Cherokee and other tribes.
He said, “Whether it’s a proclamation coming from the White House, whether it’s something back home in the state of Oklahoma. Whether it’s tribes lifting each other up talking about this issue. I think Columbus Day is a holiday that needs to be in the dustbin of history, it’s my opinion. But most of all I am glad to see Indigenous Peoples Day take prominence in this country, that’s what it should be and it is a mark of progress.”
They are also holding an identification update event for those in the Cherokee Nation who need updated cards this afternoon at the Trail of Tears Conference.
