Trail of Tears Memorial Walk 2024

Members of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma came together in remembrance of the Trail of Tears and to honor their ancestors who made the journey at the historic Choctaw Capitol Grounds at Tvshka Homma on Saturday, May 18.

This event was the 193rd anniversary of the first Choctaws’ forced migration from their ancestral lands in Mississippi and Alabama to their new home in Indian Territory, now Oklahoma. The initial journeys of removal from 1831-1833 involved approximately 15,000 tribal members with one-fourth to one-third of them perishing on what came to be called “The Trail of Tears and Death.”

A woman smiles as she does pottery

The Choctaw Nation Color Guard lead the way during the 2024 Trail of Tear walk

Trail of Tears walkers

Trail of Tears walkers

Photos by Kellie Matherly, Karl Mayer and Jed Stockton