Council accepts plan for Trail of Tears monument

FORT SMITH, Ark. (AP) -- The Inter-Tribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes has accepted the U.S. Marshals Museum's proposal to build a Trail of Tears monument at the planned museum's site in Fort Smith.

Muscogee (Creek) Nation Principal Chief George Tiger sent a letter last month accepting the proposal and thanking the museum for "a very generous and thoughtful gesture."

The monument would represent the tribes' forced journey west into what is now Oklahoma during the 19th century, known as the Trail of Tears.

Tiger serves as president the Five Civilized Tribes, which are the Creek, Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw and Seminole nations. The Southwest Times Record reports that the museum will provide the land for the monument, which would be paid for by the Inter-Tribal Council.