2018 Trail of Tears Association National Conference

The Trail of Tears Association (TOTA) National Conference will be held in Decatur, Alabama. TOTA is a non-profit, membership organization formed in 1993 to support the creation, development, and interpretation of the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail. Designated as a national historic trail by Congress in 1987, the Trail commemorates the forced removal of the Cherokee people from their homelands in the southeastern United States to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) in 1838 – 1839. In 1993, the Association entered into a cooperative agreement with the National Park Service (NPS) to promote and engage in the protection and preservation of Trail of Tears National Historic Trail resources; to promote awareness of the Trail’s legacy, including the effects of the U.S. Government’s Indian Removal Policy on the Cherokees and other tribes (primarily the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee Creek, and Seminole); and to perpetuate the management and development techniques that are consistent with the National Park Service’s trail plan.