National Historic Trail of Tears Long-Distance Trail (Brett Riggs)

    The RLA is helping to establish the National Historic Trail of Tears Long-Distance Trail in the extreme southwestern corner of North Carolina. RLA staff members are currently completing technical studies to support the certification of North Carolina trail sites; results of these studies will be presented to the National Park Service and, ultimately, to the U.S. Congress for consideration and approval. Establishment of the National Historic Trail in the southwestern counties will help to preserve and enhance heritage resources of national, state, and local significance, and will provide a badly needed boost for heritage tourism development in an economically depressed region of the state. As part of ancillary efforts to develop and present heritage resources for public use, RLA staff members are also involved in:

• development of roadside exhibits that present aspects of Cherokee history and the tragic 1838 Trail of Tears removal in Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Macon, Swain, and Jackson counties;



• development of similar, but more detailed interpretive exhibits for the Cherokee County Historical Museum (Murphy, Cherokee County), Clay County Historical and Arts Museum (Hayesville, Clay County), Stecoah Valley Arts Center (Stecoah, Graham County) and Junaluska Memorial Museum (Robbinsville, Graham County); and



• research and preparation of guidebooks, maps, exhibits and other interpretive materials for the Cherokee Heritage Trails, a program of the Blue Ridge Heritage Trails Initiative of the North Carolina.