A group raising funds for the Cherokee Removal Memorial Park in Birchwood will present the inaugural Native American Traditions Day this weekend.
The intertribal gathering is to be held annually in November to celebrate Native American Month.
At least 15 craft vendors and musicians are expected for the festival, said organizer Tom Morgan. Performances of music, storytelling, drumming and dance will take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
The event also will include food vendors and free primitive camping, starting tonight. Admission is by donation.
Construction on the memorial park began in 1998 and the Visitors Center was completed in 2009. Efforts are now under way to complete the third phase of construction, a Memorial Wall of Names. The wall will stand about 7 feet tall and list on seven panels the names of the 2,535 heads of households taken from the 1835 Cherokee Nation Census, also known as the Henderson Roll. This listing accounted for 16,000 Cherokees living in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina who were to be removed to the Indian Territory, the journey that came to be known as the Trail of Tears.
According to park archives, some 9,000 Cherokees and 500 Creek camped and crossed at Blythe Ferry, where the Hiwassee and Tennessee rivers merge, between August and November 1838.
According to Morgan, the total cost of building the Wall of Names is about $225,000, and $180,000 has been raised. However, this amount cannot be used until private donations are received totaling $45,000. Tax-deductible donations will be matched by a private donor (up to $20,000), then by remaining available grant funds, he said.
The Cherokee Removal Memorial Park is at 6800 Blythe Ferry Lane off Highway 60 between Dayton and Cleveland. It is normally open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Sundays. For more information, call 423-339-2769 or visit the Facebook page for Cherokee Removal Memorial.
Vendors or performers who would like to take part this weekend may call Nancy Williams, park manager, at 423-653-9059 or event organizer Tom Morgan at 423-413-4752 or 423-775-2996.