The Friends of Moccasin Bend present the third of the three programs that comprise their ninth annual Fall Lecture Series on Monday, Nov. 10, at 7 p.m. in UTC’s University Center Auditorium. Featured speaker will be Supreme Court Justice of the Cherokee Nation and Executive Director of the National Trail of Tears Association Troy Wayne Poteete.
Justice Poteete’s topic is the Trail of Tears, in honor of the Friends’ continuing work with the National Park Service in rediscovering and re-opening the historic Old Federal Road on Moccasin Bend as an historic and natural public hiking trail. The Old Federal Road was one of the principal routes used in the 1838 Cherokee Removal.
The speaker will discuss why his people mark the Trail of Tears, why they proudly commemorate this devastating part of their history, and how the Cherokee people use the Trail of Tears in facing the challenge of contemporary life. Justice Poteete says, “We see our tribe not as victims, but as survivors. We draw inspiration from the fact that our ancestors persevered and did not accept defeat — our identity as a Cherokee Nation is preserved.”
Justice Poteete practices law, serves his tribe as a Supreme Court Justice, and communicates Cherokee stories informed and illuminated by his upbringing in the South of the Cherokee Nation, 20 years of service in Cherokee government, and a lifelong study of Cherokee history. The Moccasin Bend lectures are presented in collaboration with the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Geography at UTC. They are open to the public free of charge.
Parking is free after 5:30 p.m. on the UTC Campus. Lecture-goers are advised to park in one of the two closest lots to the University Center: the surface lot at 5th Street and Lansing Court (just behind the Maclellan Gymnasium) or the 5th Street Garage (across 5th Street from the University Center). Take Lansing Court to the west entrance of the UC, at the passenger drop-off. Stairs and the elevator are just inside. The University Center Auditorium is to the left on the second floor from the elevator or the stairs.