HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – This year marked the 39th Trail of Tears Pow Wow which brought together Navajo, Pawnee, Chippewa, Cherokee and other tribes in the country for a weekend of traditional dance, music and a celebration of Native American culture.

This massive annual event culminates from a year of organizing and planning, with people traveling from around the country to participate in high attendance dance competitions over a two-day period. The ceremonial grand entry allows all participants to enter the arena together, holding traditional flags and singing songs that date back thousands of years to celebrate their rich traditions and history.

For the duration of the Pow Wow, spectators are not permitted to enter the circle of the arena, but an exception was made in order to honor military veterans and emergency responders during the first grand entry on Saturday. They were invited onto the field for a warrior’s song, led around the arena by participants.

Competitors in traditional clothing representing various tribes competed for cash prizes totaling over $25,000, with age categories ranging from Tiny Tot to Golden Age. Dancers will be accompanied by drummers, who are also competing. An awards ceremony will be held on Sunday at 4 p.m. at the conclusion of the Pow Wow.

More about Hopkinsville’s Trail of Tears Commemorative Park

The Trail of Tears Commemorative Park website says the idea for hosting a Pow Wow in Hopkinsville was developed by the Trail of Tears Commission, Inc. as a way to commemorate in 1988 the 150th Anniversary of the Cherokee removal from ancestral homelands.

This forced removal affected Hopkinsville as it was on the Trail of Tears route and served as a major stopping point for the Cherokees in Kentucky during the fall and harsh winder of 1838-39. Kentucky had even older ties to the Cherokees as it was once a part of Cherokee ancestral lands.

The park in Hopkinsville is located on the encampment that was occupied by Cherokee exiles on the Trail of Tears. This location holds gravesites of Chief Whitepath and Fly Smith. A placard near the site explains that both Whitepath and Fly Smith had been seriously ill after their group traveled from the Nashville area in the 1830s. They arrived at the Hopkinsville encampment on an Army wagon and died soon after.

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