Steelville Trail of Tears Remembrance Committee – Go to Website
2025 Highlights from Steelville’s Trail of Tears Project
Thanks to supporters like you, 2025 was a year of visible progress and deepening community engagement.
Bringing History to Life
- Plein air artists painted along the Trail of Tears route in Steelville, sparking conversations with visitors and locals.
- A full set of interpretive panels for the monument site has been finalized and is ready to be installed, with assistance from partners including Impact 100, the NPS National Trails Office, the Cherokee Nation, Trail of Tears Association members, and Middle Tennessee State University (Amy Kostine).
Reaching People Where They Are
- A community charrette on June 12 brought together Steelville residents, Remember the Removal riders, and NPS staff to brainstorm ideas for the monument space.
- Multiple articles in the Cherokee Phoenix, with support from Assistant Editor Will Chavez, shared the project with Cherokee readers.
- Regular coverage in the Steelville Star, coordinated by committee member Mary Young, kept local supporters informed.
- Outreach tables at the Old Iron Works Festival (October 12) and Ferguson’s Farmers’ Market (September 6) helped connect with new friends and donors.
- The Trail of Tears Remembrance Committee cleaned and reset two tombstones in the Potosi Presbyterian Cemetery. The tombstones were for two Cherokee who died on the Trail of Tears.
- Erin Whitson presented her Trail of Tears program 5 times across the state, including at the NTOTA Conference in Springfield.
- 7 Committee members represented the group at the National Trail of Tears Association Conference in Springfield.
Learning, Sharing, and Partnering
- Colleen led a plant walk, highlighting the cultural and historical significance of plants that will be part of the monument’s herb garden.
- Colleen, Tiffany, and Saundi gave three presentations at the Missouri Botanical Garden on Indigenous Peoples’ Day, sharing the story of the Trail of Tears and Steelville’s role.
- All three Cherokee tribal governments—the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, and the Cherokee Nation—offered guidance and support.
- The City of Steelville formally approved the monument-site plans and committed to help with lighting and water access for the herb garden.
- We established a river cane planting in the installation area with the help of Dr. Alexander Wait of Missouri State Univ. and Roger Cain of the UKB.
Events, Film, and the Road Ahead
- The third annual “Remember the Removal Walk, Ride, and Bike” event brought out more than 120 participants and supporters.
- A Cherokee-themed dinner on November 1, 2025, at Steelville Presbyterian Church gathered friends of the project around food, stories, and updates on the monument plans.
- A Tulsa-based film crew, supported by a Missouri Humanities grant, continued filming a short documentary about the project, with final shoots scheduled in and around Steelville in early December and a planned release in 2026.
- The “100 from 1000” capital campaign launched, inviting 1,000 people to give at least 100 dollars each to build the monument and interpretive site.
100 from 1000
Please support the “One Hundred from One Thousand” campaign currently being conducted by the Steelville Trail of Tears Remembrance Committee to help bring a Trail of Tears monument to the Steelville Community Park. You can join this grassroots fundraising effort by not only making a donation, but also by sharing this information in your social media or texting your friends, family members, and everyone in your contact list.
Help us preserve the memory!
As we reflect on an impactful year at The Steelville Tail of Tears Remembrance Committee, I am thankful for all of you who have given to help us reach our goal. We have come a long way, we still have a long way to go. We are thankful for the people who have put countless hours of work into our project. Together, we will be able to install a bronze memorial dedicated to the thousands of Cherokee, Creek, and enslaved people who walked the Northern Route of the Trail of Tears and camped in Steelville.
We need your help!
Make your tax-deductible end-of-the-year donation by Clicking Here.
If you have any grant or foundation suggestions that could help, please pass those on to us.
Trail of Tears Art Fund Raiser
Paintings from Steelville Arts Council (STARCO) Plein Air events 2024 & 2025 Funds raised will benefit the Trail of Tears monument to be built in Steelville City Park. The Paintings- Silent Auction will begin at the National Trail of Tears Association conference in Springfield MO September 29th – October 1st 2025. Bidding will close in February.
The Third Annual Walk, Ride, Trail Ride was a great success.
Walk attendees were ready to go. Bike Riders traveled 30 miles along the Northern Route of the Trail of Tears. We visited the Trail of Tears Marker. Walkers went 5 miles. It was a beautiful day.
The Third Annual Walk, Ride, Trail Ride was a great success.
Plan now to attend the fourth annual walk, Dec. 5, 2026
Copyright © 2025 Steelville Trail of Tears Remembrance Committee, Steelville, MO.